Sammy the Saint mascot trips over advertising board and is escorted off Pirelli Stadium before St Albans City suffer heavy FA Cup defeat at Burton Albion

It wasn’t the scoreline that initially caught the headlines at Burton Albion on Saturday – it was the antics of a very wobbly mascot.

Sammy the Saint, representing seventh-tier side St Albans City, had everyone watching even before the first whistle blew, though perhaps not in the way anyone expected.

Sammy the Saint Takes a Tumble

The mascot appeared slightly unsteady on his feet as he hyped up the crowd ahead of the FA Cup first-round clash.

A video shared on X captured the chaos: Sammy collided with an advertising board and hit the deck, only to spring back up and punch the air enthusiastically for the visiting fans.

The entertainment didn’t stop there. As Sammy tried to continue his walk along the front of the stand, he swayed precariously from side to side, narrowly avoiding another fall.

His pre-match performance quickly turned into a full-blown spectacle.

Early Ejection from the Stadium

The fun ended abruptly when security stepped in. Sammy was escorted off the Pirelli Stadium pitch before the game had even started, flanked by guards on both sides.

Undeterred, he kept waving to the away fans as he made his exit, ensuring he left a memorable impression.

St Albans Suffer a Heavy Defeat

If Sammy’s pre-match struggles foreshadowed the day, St Albans’ on-field performance did little to reverse that impression.

The Saints went down 6-0 to League One Burton Albion.

The underdogs initially held their own, trailing just 1-0 at halftime against a team three divisions above them.

But the second half told a different story, with Burton firing in five more goals to secure a dominant victory.

Non-League Heroes Shine Elsewhere

While St Albans’ day ended in misery, other non-league sides celebrated impressive FA Cup upsets.

Boreham Wood, Brackley, Carlisle, and Gateshead all knocked EFL opposition out of the competition to reach the second round.

Brackley edged past League Two’s Notts County 4-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw, Carlisle sent Reading out of League One, and Gateshead stunned Wimbledon in London.

Boreham Wood recorded a decisive 3-0 win over Crawley Town.