These cup classics may be fantastic entertainment but John Askey won't fancy being put through the mill by his players too often.
Macclesfield had let a two-goal lead get wiped out by Brackley and after Jack Mackreth had scored a stunning third goal the Saints had laid siege to Rhys Taylor's goal, coming agonisingly close to forcing a replay.
And while Askey eased his shattered nerves assistant manager Efe Sodje revealed that his gaffer was going through a heady mix of emotions.
“We should have been through more comfortably,” said Sodje after the 3-2 nailbiter.
“I've come out because I think the manager's had a heart attack! He's a bit annoyed with them but at the end of the day we're in the third round so he had to congratulate them.
“We should have won but at the end of the day it's the FA Cup, we had to fight our best for the win and we've got it.
“It had seemed plain sailing once Scott Boden had doubled the half-time lead five minutes after the restart. But Brackley, who'd seen off League One Gillingham in the first round, hit back with two goals and had looked on course for a second scalp before the mercurial Mackreth struck.
And after the Silkmen survived Brackley's late rally Sodje said he hopes the frantic action will encourage more people through the turnstiles.
“After these performances in the league and the cup we hope the supporters will keep coming down, we need them to,” he admitted.
“We've performed well against Swindon and Vauxhall in the rounds before and here again today.
“We didn't look like winning it when it got to 2-2 but we're through and we'll see what happens now.”
