In a competition known for shock results, the FA Cup produced the biggest in its 154-year history on Saturday.
Non-league Macclesfield FC stunned holders Crystal Palace with a well-deserved 2-0 victory — the 117 places between the two sides in the football pyramid makes it the largest upset in the tournament has ever seen.
It had every bit the feel of a classic cup tie, no more than when Macclesfield’s captain, Paul Dawson, scored the game’s opening goal. A teammate fixed the bandages on his head moments before a deep-free kick came in, which Dawson thumped home.
The ensuing action added further drama: Striker Isaac Buckley-Ricketts doubled Macclesfield’s lead after the hour mark, and Palace winger Yéremy Pino scored a free-kick as the clock ticked into added-time.
Sixth-tier Macclesfield held on to seal a piece of FA Cup history, but how much of a shock is it?
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Macclesfield becamse the first team to win an FA Cup game against an opponent five rungs higher than them in the football pyramid.
They’re also the first non-league club to knock out the cup’s defending champions in 117 years. The last team to do that… Crystal Palace (vs. Wolves in 1909).
The only upset that could rival it for shock factor is Sutton United’s famous 1989 victory over then-top flight Coventry City. Only, Macclesfield are a division lower than Sutton were that day.
