The FA Cup has started this weekend for all Premier League sides, including current holders, Crystal Palace. This competition is no stranger to giant killings. Crystal Palace were scheduled to face National League North side, Macclesfield. Palace were expected to win. However, this isn't what occured.
Macclesfield have knocked holders Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup, beating them 2-1 in the third round in the competition's biggest ever upset.
Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts got the goals for the Silkmen at Moss Rose, before Yeremy Pino pulled one back for Palace late on. Macclesfield fans poured on to the pitch to celebrate the famous victory over their Premier League opponents, who won the trophy by beating Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley in May.
Saturday's result is the biggest shock in history in terms of league places between victors and the defeated - 117 places between the two. The previous biggest gap was 108. It was the first time the holders had lost to non-league opposition since Palace themselves beat Wolves back in 1909 while in the Southern League.
Macclesfield's captain, Paul Dawson, revealed he had helped clear snow from the pitch before Tuesday's league game against Radcliffe FC.
Dawson and his manager, John Rooney, dedicated the stunning win to Macclesfield's 21-year-old forward, Ethan McLeod, who was killed in a car accident as he returned from last month's game at Bedford Town.
Formerly known as Macclesfield Town, the Cheshire club was wound up in 2020 with debts of more than £500 000 and reformed as Macclesfield FC the same year, playing in the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL) Premier Division.
The shock scoreline has echoes of other famous upsets by non-league teams in the world-famous tournament, such as Hereford's 2-1 win over Newcastle in 1972 and Blyth Spartans' 3-2 victory over Stoke City six years later.
The final whistle prompted scenes of jubilation as fans raced on to the pitch to celebrate, with captain Dawson lofted into the air.
There have only been nine non-league wins against top-flight opponents in the past 100 years of the FA Cup. This one was particularly significant given what Macclesfield supporters have gone through in recent times. One hundred and forty six years of history were consigned to the history books when Macclesfield Town ceased trading in 2020.
Local businessman, Robert Smethurst, bought the club's assets and, with former player Robbie Savage joining the board, they were reformed as a phoenix club. After joining the ninth-tier North West Counties Premier Division, three promotions in four seasons have lifted them to the sixth tier, where they are just a handful of points outside the play-off places despite being in the bottom half of the table.
Smethurst bought it on a whim while drunk having made his fortune through car selling app, AutoTrader. He was a worried man when he sobered up. "The place had fallen apart," he said. "It was as derelict as it could possibly be: The seats were broken; the glasses were smashed; the pitch was non-existent; weeds, cracked tarmac..."
His hard work and £4 millon investment, saw this phoenix club rise from the ashes of bankruptcy and win three promotions in four seasons, taking them to the National League North.
With Savage having left to join Forest Green Rovers, they are now managed by John Rooney – younger brother of former England captain Wayne - and he has fashioned a side who play with confidence and purpose, no matter who they face.
That was evident in this game, with the performance from the players all the more impressive because of the tragedy they had to deal with recently. On 16 December, Silkmen forward Ethan McLeod died in a car accident while travelling back from Macclesfield's National League North match at Bedford Town.
His team-mates clearly wanted to pay tribute, and did so by delivering this historic result that will be talked about for years to come.
Wayne Rooney was reduced to tears on punditry duty for the BBC as he watched his brother John produce the greatest shock result in FA Cup history. Non-league side Macclesfield FC ran out 2-1 winners over cup holders Crystal Palace to progress to the fourth round and shock the footballing world with a late Yeremy Pino consolation not enough to save the Eagles’ blushes.
He said: "It's incredible to see my younger brother achieve this, he has not long been the manager. I am so proud of him."
Speaking afterwards, John Rooney told BBC One: "I can't believe it, we never thought we would be in this position. “We were incredible from the first minute. I thought we were deserved winners. I couldn't be any prouder of the lads. I couldn't have asked any more of them and you can see the joy in them."
He continued to praise Dawson, who is "unbelievable in the air. He scores goals from the field and can play centre half, he puts his head where his goals are. He has that passion and sometimes we have to rein him in a bit but he was incredible today. He is a class clown. I didn't think it was possible but there is that little bit of hope that anything can happen on the day."
No one typified the home side's fighting spirit more than man-of-the-match Dawson, who was injured in an aerial challenge five seconds after kick-off and then played with a bandaged head after treatment. Yet it didn't prevent him scoring the first goal with a header just before half time. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts stunned Palace further when he added a second after the break.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Smethurst said: "It's unbelievable scenes. I have no words. It's the stuff of dreams! To see everyone run out onto the pitch shows how much it means to everyone. When I bought the club five years ago I never never would have imagined this could happen. I bought it from Rightmove after four days drinking, and look where we are now."
'"'ve already planned the Ibiza trip already with the boys. Not right now, but definitely (at the end of the season)."
The owner went on to admit he had feared an absolute hammering by last year's FA Cup winners. "It's Palace, an absolutely quality team," he added. "I was thinking 6-0, 7-0, but I've never seen anything like this. The players were insane. It's a special moment for not just me, but the fans, the community, to put Macclesfield back on the map after it went under."
Palace, who had caused their own shock by beating Manchester City to win the FA Cup last May, had dominated possession from the outset but struggled to create many meaningful chances as their poor form continued.
After celebrating their memorable FA Cup trophy win at the end of last season, Palace fans would never have envisaged their defence would end at the first stage, particularly at the hands of a team five divisions below them.
They are now without a win in nine games but this is by far their most disappointing result in that run.
They had fielded a mixture of young players and experienced first teamers for this game and the youngest player on the pitch perhaps should have given them the lead in the first half. Joel Drakes-Thomas, 16, was picked out by a brilliant cross from Kaden Rodney but just failed to connect with his head after peeling away from the defence.
Crystal Palace manager, Oliver Glasner, sent on experienced Premier League players Tyrick Mitchell, Brennan Johnson and Will Hughes for the start of the second half but Palace appeared rattled and continued to struggle against their National League North opponents.
Instead, Macclesfield continued to play with a determination and belief that they could upset Palace and so it proved as Buckley-Ricketts reacted superbly to a deflected shot that fell into his path to flick home a second.
Pino's fine free-kick, curled expertly over the wall and just under the bar, gave Palace some hope of rescuing the situation, but the home side stood strong to win.
Glasner told the BBC: "Congratulations to Macclesfield. We lacked any kind of quality today. Conceding a set-play from a header, we had to do better. The second goal was slapstick. And at the other end if you can't create clear-cut chances, it's just a lack of quality what we've shown today. We lost and we deserved to lose."
"I was looking for quality from everyone. I brought on more attacking players [at half-time], but I have no explanation for what I've seen today. You don't need tactics in these kinds of games. You just have to show what you're capable of, and show a little bit of pride and you'll perform in a different way. But today we lacked everything."
Ex-Palace striker, Clinton Morrison, said on Soccer Saturday: "Palace were nowhere near good enough. Macclesfield were the better team, they were outstanding. Palace were an embarrassment. They thought they could just turn up at Macclesfield. It's nothing to do with the pitch, it's about can you go and compete, Macclesfield wanted it more than Palace."
Crystal Palace captain, Marc Guehi, went over to the small section of Palace fans who made the journey to Cheshire. They watched their team concede the second goal right in front of them and didn’t hide their disappointment.
Guehi, who is at the centre of mass transfer speculation once again, spoke to several of them. He was joined by some of the Palace staff as he looked to try and cool the emotions.
BBC coverage of the full-time scenes picked up the incident with matchday presenter Mark Chapman describing it as "intense." At full-time, Guehi sunk to his knees and prayed. In May, he was lifting the FA Cup, the first major trophy in Palace’s history. Here, he was left totally at sea by the Silkmen, who play in the Conference League North.
Macclesfield's story truly tugs at the heart strings. It's somewhat of an inspirational story. It shows that anything is possible and that the sky's the limit. I look forward to see just how far the club can go and see if they can knockout any other Premier League sides.
This also proves that big and top sides can't take anything for granted. Mistaking the size and strength of a club can have dangerous consequences. Palace should've played more starters then youth players. They brought this result onto themselves. They have no one to blame but themselves.