Journalists provided a timely post-match review of Macclesfield’s stunning FA Cup upset over defending champions Crystal Palace, detailing the entire process of this sixth-tier club securing the biggest shock in the tournament’s history. Through match details and player backgrounds, it showed how the team achieved an epic FA Cup victory despite a huge gap in strength, the loss of a teammate and harsh real-life difficulties.
As Macclesfield’s players sang Adele’s Someone Like You in the home dressing room, this was their regular celebration ritual after every promotion over the past five years. Since the club’s reconstruction, they have climbed from the North West Counties Super League all the way to the National League North. But even in their wildest fantasies, they never imagined they would be celebrating a win over FA Cup holders Crystal Palace in front of a packed stand converted from a rented tennis court, with millions of TV viewers watching.
This marked the first time a sixth-tier league team has eliminated a top-flight opponent since the FA Cup was founded in 1871. There is a 117-place gap between the two sides in England’s football pyramid. The last time a non-league team knocked out the defending FA Cup champions dates back 117 years—in 1909, when Wolves were eliminated by Crystal Palace. This historic upset has surpassed all previous classic cases: none of the iconic shocks, from Ronnie Radford’s Hereford to Mickey Thomas’s Wrexham and Sutton United’s win over Coventry, can compare to it.
So when the final whistle blew, Wayne Rooney struggled to contain his emotions as he held the microphone, trying to describe the feat achieved by his brother John as manager. “I’m a bit emotional, to be honest,” Rooney said. He had flown back to the UK from Barbados late on Friday night and then worked as a match commentator amid the bitter cold in Cheshire. “Seeing my brother pull this off—he hasn’t been a manager for long, but he’s led the team to the fourth round of the FA Cup and beaten Premier League side Crystal Palace. I’m so proud of him.”
It’s worth remembering that less than a month ago, 35-year-old John Rooney had to call each player individually to deliver the tragic news: their teammate Ethan McLeod had been killed in a car crash on the M1 motorway while returning from an away game in Bedford. To pick up the pieces as a club amid such grief and pull off what is arguably the greatest FA Cup upset of all time is an incredible achievement in itself. McLeod’s parents, Gillian and Gordon, were also at the stadium that night to witness the moment.
To put this victory into perspective: Macclesfield captain Paul Dawson was shoveling snow off the artificial turf pitch last Tuesday night. On the eve of the match, he had just finished packing scented candles and diffusers to deliver the new training kits to the club. The captain, who joined from Bamber Bridge in 2023, faced off against England international Adam Wharton, who has a transfer value of £100 million that night. But from the way the game played out, you could barely tell the difference between the two.
The greatest compliment to Macclesfield, and the harshest criticism of Crystal Palace, is that they fully deserved this win. They controlled the game from the first minute. In a well-rehearsed kick-off tactic, Dawson collided heavily with James Tomkins while contesting an aerial ball. Both players suffered cuts to their heads, and Dawson even had to play on with a bandage wrapped around his skull.
In the 43rd minute, his teammate Sam Heathcote adjusted the bandage for him from behind before they prepared to take a free kick. Luke Duffy delivered the ball, and Dawson rose to head it past goalkeeper Walter Benítez with his bloodied forehead, opening the scoring for his team.
“I’m claiming that as an assist!” said Heathcote, a primary school teacher from Altrincham, a town that has witnessed many FA Cup upsets before. “Getting stuck in right from the start was about setting the tone for the game. If I were the opposition, I’d be thinking: ‘Wow, these lads mean business.’ This wasn’t supposed to happen, was it? When the final whistle went, I couldn’t put that feeling into words. I never thought I’d walk into school on Monday as someone who’s won an FA Cup tie.”
Dawson stood alongside his teammates, a fresh bandage wrapped around his head and slippers on his feet—a fitting image for a captain who had just led an underdog to a historic triumph. “My head’s as hard as concrete,” he said. “I never wanted to come off the pitch; the adrenaline was carrying me through. The manager gave us a clear game plan: make the game ‘ugly’, press them hard on the plastic pitch and make life difficult for them. Next up is Manchester United. If we can beat the defending champions, we can beat anyone.”
As Dawson led the fans in wild celebrations in front of the stands after scoring, the camera cut to Oliver Glasner on the bench, who slumped back in his seat in despair; it then panned to club owner Robert Smethurst in the stands, his mouth wide open as he gasped silently: “Wow.”
At half-time, Glasner realized the situation was dire and sent on several star players, including Brennan Johnson, the club’s record signing at £35 million. But if anything changed on the pitch, it was that Macclesfield played even better in the second half. In the 60th minute, they doubled their lead. It was a scrappy goal: Crystal Palace failed to clear their lines, the ball bounced around the penalty area repeatedly, and eventually fell to Lewis Fensome. His shot took a deflection off Marc Guehi and rolled into the path of Isaac Buckley-Ricketts—a part-time music producer known by his stage name “Mudboy LM”—who flicked it past the goalkeeper with ease. In the 89th minute, Yeremy Pino pulled one back for Crystal Palace with a curling free kick, but Macclesfield held on for the win.
Less than eight months ago, Guehi was lifting the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium, celebrating Crystal Palace’s first major trophy in the club’s history after beating Manchester City. Now, the England defender trudged over to the away fans’ section to apologize for this lackluster title defense. “I can’t put this performance into words,” Glasner said after the match.
Owner Smethurst bought Macclesfield via a property website during a four-day bender in 2020, and he has been teetotal ever since. As the celebrations continued late into the night, he was probably the only sober person at the party.
