Macclesfield, a non-professional team, achieved one of the biggest surprises in the history of the FA Cup by eliminating not only a Premier League team, but more precisely the holder of the trophy, Crystal Palace.
The team coached by John Rooney, Wayne Rooney’s younger brother, competes 117 places below Crystal Palace in the English football pyramid, in the National League North – sixth division -, and staged perhaps the biggest surprise ever, given the difference in divisions.
At the Moss Rose Stadium, with a sold-out capacity of 5,000 spectators, Paul Dawson put Macclesfield ahead in the 43rd minute, with Isaac Buckley-Ricketts adding to the surprise by scoring the second in the 61st minute.
📸 – JUST 5,000 SEATS IN THEIR STADIUM… PLAYING IN ENGLAND’S 6TH DIVISION… THEIR ENTIRE STARTING XI IS WORTH LESS THAN €1M COMBINED.
AND YET… MACCLESFIELD FC ARE BEATING CRYSTAL PALACE IN THE FA CUP.
✨ THIS. IS. THE. MAGIC. OF. THE. FA CUP. ✨ pic.twitter.com/uSUi1rV7r5
— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) January 10, 2026
Yeremi Pino pulled one back for the visitors in the 90th, but Macclesfield, from a town south of Manchester, withstood the pressure and secured a triumph that will go down in history.
Crystal Palace, who last May had surprised by beating Manchester City in the Cup final, are thus on the way, confirming their poor form – they have accumulated nine consecutive games without winning.
