Halloween has come and gone, Christmas is on its way and the mercury plummets.

The first weekend in November and the FA Cup returns - but so does the poor weather.

And of Saturday's 33 FA Cup first-round ties, nowhere was it more apparent than in Altrincham's tie against Notts County.

For around an hour of their Cup epic, the game was played with the pitch enveloped in a thick layer of fog that provided havoc not just for the players and fans but the commentators and camera operators at the J Davidson Stadium.

Commentating in such conditions would be difficult enough, but after Callum Roberts struck a late equaliser for the Magpies, another 30 minutes of extra time beckoned, ultimately leading to penalties.

It was a match that those in attendance and those at home could barely see, with the fog making it impossible to see one end from the other.

In bizarre circumstances, Notts County fans at the opposite end of the ground had to rely on the cheers or silence from the home support to determine whether the League One side had progressed.

In better conditions, Jacob Bedeau had given Notts County the lead just before the half-hour mark but the hosts hit back as Lucas Weaver and Lewis Banks scored to give Altrincham a 2-1 lead and raise hopes of a 18th league scalp for the Robins in the competition - this time against a side two leagues and 38 places above them.

With the conditions worsening, referee David Rock opted to continue with the tie, with the fog failing to clear and meaning that the cameras often could not even pick up the ball.

That gave BBC commentator Steve Bower the unenviable job of trying to describe the action he could not see.

Ultimately, with the game going to spot-kicks, a predictably nervy affair followed, with Altrincham missing the target three times - as Aidan Barlow and Sam Taylor missing their kicks while Ed Jones had his penalty saved by James Belshaw - as Notts' Rosaire Longelo eventually slotted home the decisive kick to send the visitors through.

Those watching at home would have got a slightly different view of proceedings compared with a normal penalty shootout, however, with the BBC camera operators perching themselves behind the goal to at least get a vantage point of what was going on.