macclesfield, England – The used car salesman and scented candle selling captain have reached the end of the road after Macclesfield’s fairy tale FA Cup run was ended by a PE teacher’s own goal Premier League brentford.
Sam Heathcote’s unfortunate (and acrobatic) header aaron hickeyA 70th-minute cross, which deflected off goalkeeper Max Darnley at his near post, was enough to secure a 1–0 victory for Brentford, who will face London rivals West Ham in the fifth round.
FA Cup romance? not this time.
FA Cup’s biggest shock ever by ousting holders crystal Palace Macclesfield collapsed in the biggest game in their history, with a 2–1 reverse at their small Moss Rose ground in the third round. But while Brentford were expected to take notice of Palace’s humiliation and mercilessly send Macclesfield’s team of former professionals and part-timers off to real jobs in the real world, it proved to be nothing for Keith Andrews’ team.
Just four days ago, Brentford broke armoryA 1-1 draw at the GTech Stadium could have ended their Premier League title claim with a home win. But after making seven changes to their starting line-up for this game – top scorer igor thiago and England midfielder Jordan Henderson Without even traveling with the team – Andrews saw his Brentford team struggle to perform like the team that had started the day 116 places above sixth-tier Macclesfield in the English football pyramid.
Macclesfield were good – much better than you would expect from such a low-ranked team – and showed that Palace’s result was no fluke. During the game, Andrews went to the home team’s dressing room to pay tribute to the team his players had just defeated.
“It was a difficult game for us for obvious reasons,” Andrews said. “I respect his way a lot [Macclesfield] Play and the spirit they have. To be able to perform at their level in two games against us and Palace is a testament to Macclesfield, their players and their team. [manager] John Rooney. I told him I had great respect for what he had achieved.
“I love the English pyramid and the stories arising from it. Macclesfield gave us a proper cup tie: I can’t say I enjoyed it, but I’m sure everyone else did.”
7:47
Can giant-killer Macclesfield FC pull off another FA Cup shock?
Alex Aljo tells the story of Macclesfield FC as they stunned the football world by beating Crystal Palace in the FA Cup third round.
Facing Macclesfield was a thankless task for Brentford. Win, and they would achieve the minimum expected of them, but defeat was always a threat and Palace met the same fate. For the Premier League players to share their warm-up spot with Macclesfield’s under-11s, who enjoyed a small-sided game on an artificial surface with Andrews’ top-flight stars, must have been a strange experience, as was seeing Tubbs the Duck, Macclesfield’s oversized yellow mascot, prance around at the same time.
But it summed up Macclesfield as the community club that they are. The pitch may be the surface on which the first team plays its games, but every other weeknight, it is packed with children from the local area, all of them dreaming of one day actually being able to play on it.
It’s not just Macclesfield kids who chase the dream. The first team players are exactly the same.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and D’Mani Mellor both made first team appearances Manchester United Before leaving the league, however, captain Paul Dawson first worked on the streets selling candles. Goalkeeper Max Darnley sells cars and Heathcote, whose own goal decided the tie, will return to his day job as a teacher on Tuesday morning.
All of them have the ability to perform against top level players, but some have had no luck in their football journey, while others have failed to take their chances when they came. But ultimately, they are still talented football players and in over an hour of play in freezing conditions on Monday, they were the better team. Brentford didn’t look like a team five divisions higher up the food chain.
Macclesfield had their chances, mainly restricted to shots from distance, but they did enough to worry Brentford, whose only strategy was to hit long balls and cross into the penalty area, which the home team dealt with easily until Heathcote inadvertently headed Hickey’s cross into his own net. But that’s often what happens when David meets Goliath – Goliath usually wins, and not necessarily by style or temperament.
Manager Rooney said, “For a club of our level to go head-to-head with two Premier League teams is incredible.” “In the end we only lost by an own goal, so I’m really proud of the players tonight.
“Obviously the players are down, but they’re a good, honest, hard-working group and they’ve only lost one football match. They’ve made everyone proud.”
Another upset always seemed a distant dream, but Macclesfield’s moment has arrived and they will never forget it. Their place in FA Cup history is secure.
