FOOTBALL – Minor-league Macclesfield delivered the biggest upset in FA Cup history yesterday by stunning holders Crystal Palace 2–1 in a third-round thriller, knocking Oliver Glasner’s team out of the competition and sending the Moss Rose crowd into raptures.
Manchester City humbled Exeter City 10-1, Aston Villa won 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United beat Bournemouth on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw and Sunderland knocked out Everton in a shootout. Captain Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts struck in each half as hosts Macclesfield, coached by Wayne Rooney’s younger brother John, bridged a gap of 117 places in England’s football pyramid, an FA Cup record.
“I can’t believe it, we never thought we would be in this position,” John Rooney told the BBC. “We were incredible from the first minute. I thought we were deserved winners. I couldn’t be any prouder of the lads.”
Dawson rose to head home a curled free kick from Luke Duffy in the 43rd minute. Buckley-Ricketts doubled their lead in the 60th minute when he twisted his body to wrong-foot Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez in front of a delirious crowd at Moss Rose, which hosted an Under-nines practice earlier in the day. Palace’s Yeremy Pino scored with a stunning free kick in the 90th minute to make for nervy added-time minutes but Macclesfield hung on for a remarkable victory.
Palace boss Glasner, who gave the club its first major trophy last season when they beat Manchester City in the final, made six changes to the team from Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.
He sent on reinforcements in Will Hughes, Tyrick Mitchell and Brennan Johnson to start the second half, but the changes made little difference as the visitors, who are 13th in England’s top flight, looked rattled.
Sixth-tier Macclesfield are the first minor-league team to eliminate the FA Cup holders since Crystal Palace themselves knocked out Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1908-09 first round. Arsenal were the last holders to go out in the third round, losing to Nottingham Forest in 2018. The victory was the latest chapter in a remarkable rise for Macclesfield, who were expelled from the National League five years ago, with debts totalling more than £500,000.
The club was purchased by local businessman Robert Smethurst and Macclesfield entered the ninth tier in 2021-22, winning three promotions in four seasons since. They were also playing with heavy hearts after 21-year-old forward Ethan McLeod died in a car accident while travelling back from an away match last month.
Antoine Semenyo marked his debut for Manchester City with a goal as they humiliated League One (third-tier) Exeter, matching their biggest win in the competition.
Newcastle edged past top-flight rivals Bournemouth 7-6 on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time. Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon made it 2-2 with a 95th-minute penalty and after Harvey Barnes thought he had won it for the hosts in the 118th minute Marcus Tavernier struck in stoppage time at the end of extra time to set up a shootout.
Aston Villa heaped more pressure on Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank.
Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers put Villa in control by halftime but Tottenham were vastly improved after the break and Wilson Odobert’s reply set up an absorbing finale.
Top-flight sides Fulham, Brentford and Burnley advanced, Fulham beating Middlesbrough 3-1, Brentford defeating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 and Burnley thrashing Millwall 5-1.
The Premier League’s bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers maintained their recent improvement with a 6-1 thrashing of League Two Shrewsbury Town.
The first FA Cup tie at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium ended in a defeat for the hosts as they went down on penalties to top-flight rivals Sunderland after a 1-1 draw, Sunderland keeper Robin Roefs saving all three penalties he faced.
Stoke City edged Championship leaders Coventry City 1-0, Southampton beat Doncaster Rovers 3-2, Ipswich Town defeated Blackpool 2-1 and Burton Albion routed minor-league Boreham Wood 5-0.
Chelsea defeated Charlton Athletic 5-1 in the last match yesterday.
&uuid=(email))