Ellesmere Rangers joint boss John Rhodes was bubbling with excitement after watching his side pull of a shock against Bromsgrove Rovers to progress to the first round of qualifying in the FA Cup for the first time in their history.

The West Midlands Premier side put on a thrilling second half performance to beat their British Gas division one Midlands opponents 2-1 thanks to goals from Tim Nunnerley and Danny Barton.

“I don’t think anybody can say that we didn’t deserve it,” beamed Rhodes.

“We expected them to come at us in the first half, but then in the second half we knew it was there for the taking.

“We said if we can get tighter into wider areas and play a little bit more, we felt that we’d get something.

“The first goal was all important, the right time to strike. We’ve given away a silly penalty, but that happens.

“But we’ve shown strength of character to go 2-1 up and I thought it was deserved in the end.

“Ed (Shone) has made some fantastic saves. To play against a side two divisions up and to limit them to four or five chances in the game, shows how well we did.

“This is for all the people behind the scenes, the gentleman who do so much through to the ladies in the kitchen, it’s a team effort from top to bottom and that’s the wonderful thing about it.”

Rangers will now meet fellow Midlands Alliance outfit Cradley Town away on September 13.