Macclesfield’s sixth-tier heroes topple holders Palace in greatest FA Cup shock | OneFootball

Sixth-tier Macclesfield stunned holders Crystal Palace 2-1 in the FA Cup, the competition’s biggest shock and the first time a sixth-tier club have beaten top-flight opposition in 155 years.

Captain Paul Dawson, head bandaged after a 7th-minute clash, led from the front. “He (John Rooney) told me last week I’m two stone overweight and my best foot is my head,” Dawson said at full time, speaking to the BBC.

His header broke the deadlock before half-time, then Isaac Buckley-Ricketts’ backheel made it 2-0 on 61 minutes. Yeremy Pino’s 90th-minute free kick was scant consolation for Palace.

Liquidated in 2020, the club were reborn under owner Rob Smethurst and, with Robbie Savage involved, climbed three divisions from the ninth tier.

This is a part-time squad who train twice a week. Dawson cleared snow and delivered team tracksuits, and Rooney, Wayne Rooney’s younger brother, even told him to get off a tractor.

The day carried grief. Striker Ethan McLeod, 21, died in a car accident on 16 December, his No 20 retired, and his parents watched as Rooney dedicated the win to him.

At full time fans swarmed Moss Rose and lifted Dawson. With Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton on the pitch, both likely for England at this summer’s World Cup, Macclesfield sang Adele and celebrated a promised Ibiza trip. They will be the lowest-ranked side in Monday’s fourth-round draw.

Source: NY Times