Brentford end Macclesfield’s fairytale run in the FA Cup

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·16 de febrero de 2026

Brentford end Macclesfield’s fairytale run in the FA Cup

Macclesfield FC, the amateur team from the English Sixth Division that had eliminated the current champion Crystal Palace in the previous round, bid farewell to the FA Cup on Monday after losing 1-0 to Brentford, another Premier League team, in a match where they held on for over an hour.

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In the previous round, on January 10, Macclesfield staged one of the biggest upsets in the 150-year history of the FA Cup by eliminating the then-champion Crystal Palace, which currently occupies the 13th position in the Premier League: a difference of 117 positions separated them in the hierarchy of English football.

But on Monday, in their modest Moss Rose Ground stadium (5,350 seats and fences along the sidelines), the "Silkmen," who compete in the National League North, succumbed to the seventh-placed team in the Premier League.

The players led by John Rooney, younger brother of Wayne Rooney, former captain of the English national team, bravely resisted the professionals.

Brentford, which logically had possession of the ball (75%), was not very precise either, with only one shot on target out of 16 attempts in the ninety minutes.

An own goal by the unlucky defender Sam Heathcote, after an apparently harmless cross, allowed the West London team to find the net with 20 minutes remaining in the game.

Founded in 1874, Macclesfield went into bankruptcy in September 2020. Rescued by a local businessman, the club from northern England is gradually rising from the depths of English football.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brentford Football Club (@brentfordfc)