Gary Rowett heaped praise on Altrincham after seeing his Burton side salvage a replay in a six-goal thriller at the Pirelli Stadium.
The League Two Brewers managed to salvage a 3-3 draw when top-scorer Calvin Zola struck in the third minute of added time after Rowett's men had been given a footballing lesson in an incident-packed game that included two Burton own goals and penalty misses at either end.
Rowett said: "I think we've seen that the cup is still a magical competition because this was a game that had a little bit of everything.
"I thought Altrincham were absolutely fantastic.
"That's what this competition is about sometimes - the lower league team rising to the occasion - and I take my hat off to them because in spells of the game they did really, really well."
