Macclesfield FC beat Crystal Palace in historic FA Cup upset

Macclesfield FC, a Cheshire market town club, knocked out Premier League side Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, becoming the first non-league opposition to beat the cupholders since 1909. The part-time squad — described in the report as PE teachers, podcasters and property developers — capped a phoenix-like rise from oblivion barely five years after the 146-year-old Macclesfield Town FC was wound up and later sold on the Rightmove website.

The team, managed by John Rooney, had the better of Palace from start to finish and were led by captain and first goalscorer Paul Dawson, a former highway supervisor who now works for a friend’s candle business; the report says Dawson had been shovelling snow from the pitch the previous week and was carried on supporters’ shoulders after the match with a bloodied, bandaged head.

Fans described the result as surreal. Lifelong supporter Richard Snape said he kept thinking “I’m just going to wake up and it’s all a dream,” and Bob Trafford, the club’s head of sponsorships, said: “What we did will outlive us all.” The victory followed a period of hardship for the club, including its winding-up in September 2020 and, more recently, the death of 21-year-old forward Ethan McLeod in a car accident; McLeod’s parents were at the game and, according to the account, congratulated players and staff afterwards.

Key Topics

Sports, Macclesfield Fc, Crystal Palace, Fa Cup, Moss Rose Stadium, Paul Dawson