Defending champion Crystal Palace loses to 6th-tier Macclesfield 2-1 in massive FA Cup upset

MACCLESFIELD, England (AP) — 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.

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.

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.

Dawson said Macclesfield “means the world to me” and called the result “an immense achievement.”

Palace manager Oliver Glasner said he 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.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer