Minnow Macclesfield beat title holder Crystal Palace 2-1 in one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history on Saturday to reach the fourth round.
Macclesfield is a team playing in the sixth tier of English soccer, five levels below its Premier League opponent, and took the lead when captain Paul Dawson headed in a cross from Luke Duffy in the 43rd minute.
Isaac Buckley-Ricketts made it 2-0 in the 60th, prompting wild celebrations.
Following a scramble in the penalty area the ball pinged to Buckley-Ricketts, who came through the Manchester City academy, and he deftly clipped the ball with the outside of his right foot past goalkeeper Walter Benítez.
“I can’t believe it, we never thought we would be in this position,” Macclesfield coach John Rooney told broadcaster BBC. “We were incredible from the first minute. I thought we were deserved winners. I couldn’t be any prouder of the lads.” Rooney started and ended his playing career as a midfielder with the club — and is in only his first season coaching. He is the younger brother of former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.
Yeremy Pino curled in a last-minute free kick over the wall to leave Macclesfield facing a nervous six minutes of stoppage time as home fans broke out into chants of “Silkmen! Silkmen!” — the club’s nickname.
Macclesfield held on against a Palace side whose dismal afternoon was summed up when U.S. central defender Chris Richards did a foul throw in the final minute of stoppage time, giving possession back to Macclesfield.
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The fans sprinted onto the field at Moss Rose — a modest 5,900-capacity stadium in northwest England — in celebration at the final whistle while Dawson and Duffy were carried aloft.
The FA Cup has a long history of dramatic knockouts and huge upsets on the day, such as when non-league Hereford beat Newcastle 2-1 in a third round replay in 1972 or when underdog Palace beat overwhelming favorite Liverpool 4-3 in the 1990 semifinals.
On Friday night, second-tier Wrexham eliminated Premier League side Nottingham Forest, and now the magic of FA Cup has graced Macclesfield.
“I didn’t think it was possible but there is that little bit of hope that anything can happen on the day,” coach Rooney said.
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Dawson said Macclesfield “means the world to me” and called the victory “an immense achievement.” Palace manager Oliver Glasner had “no explanation” for what he’d just seen.
“You don’t need tactics. In these kinds of games, you don’t need a manager,” he told the BBC. “If you just show what you’re capable of and having a little bit of pride, then you perform in a different way, but today we missed everything. “We deserved to lose.”
Palace captain Marc Guéhi walked over to speak with the team’s traveling fans after the defeat.
Other matches
In an all-Premier League tie, Sunderland beat Everton on penalties after the match finished 1-1 following extra time.
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Enzo Le Fée put Sunderland ahead in the first half while fellow midfielder James Garner equalized for home side Everton in the 89th.
Norway forward Jørgen Strand Larsen scored a hat trick as Premier League struggler Wolves routed fourth-tier Shrewsbury 6-1. The 2021 FA Cup winner Leicester, now playing in the second tier, won 2-0 at fourth-tier Cheltenham.
Top-flight clashes ahead
Among Saturday’s later third-round matches, seven-time FA Cup winner Manchester City — the runner-up last season — took on third-tier Exeter, while Newcastle hosted Bournemouth and Tottenham faced Aston Villa in all-Premier League clashes.
Also, eight-time champion Chelsea visited second-tier Charlton in the last game.
Semenyo says goodbye
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Bournemouth sold Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo to City on Friday in a deal worth a reported 65 million pounds ($87 million).
He thanked Bournemouth fans “for all the memories” in a full-page advertisement printed in the Bournemouth Echo newspaper.
