Macclesfield 2–1 Crystal Palace (2026)

Macclesfield 2–1 Crystal Palace
Event	2025–26 FA Cup
Date	10 January 2026
Venue	Moss Rose, Macclesfield
Referee	Tim Robinson
Attendance	5,348

Macclesfield vs Crystal Palace was an FA Cup third round match played on 10 January 2026 at Moss Rose, Macclesfield between National League North side Macclesfield and Premier League side Crystal Palace. In a match widely regarded as the biggest upset in the history of the competition as well as one of the biggest upsets in the history of football,^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Macclesfield defeated reigning FA Cup holders Crystal Palace 2–1.^[5]

This was the first time since the formation of the Premier League that a level 6 side had defeated a side from the top division. This also made Crystal Palace the first defending champions to lose against a non-League team since Wolverhampton Wanderers lost against Crystal Palace themselves in 1909.^[6] It was also the biggest upset in terms of league placings (117 places between the two sides) in FA Cup history,^[7] a record previously held by Chasetown vs Port Vale in a 2007–08 FA Cup 2nd round replay (108 places).^[8]^[9]

The match was Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi's final game for the club.

Route to the match

Macclesfield

Round	Opposition	Score
QR2	Atherton Laburnum Rovers (H) (Div. 9)	3–0
QR3	Nantwich Town (H) (Div. 8)	2–0
QR4	Stamford (H) (Div. 7)	1–0
1st	AFC Totton (H) (Div. 6)	6–3
2nd	Slough Town (A) (Div. 6)	1–3 (a.e.t.)
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue.

As a National League North team, Macclesfield started in the second qualifying round, where they were drawn with North West Counties League side Atherton Laburnum Rovers at home. They won the match 3–0 due to goals from Sean Etaluku, Ethan McLeod and D'Mani Mellor.^[10] In the third qualifying round, they were drawn with Northern Premier League Division One West side Nantwich Town at home, where they won the match 2–0 due to goals from Josh Kay and Danny Elliott.^[11] In the fourth qualifying round, they were drawn with Southern League Premier Division Central side Stamford at home. They won the match 1–0 due to a goal from Paul Dawson,^[12] sending the phoenix club to the FA Cup for the first time in history.

In the first round proper, they were drawn with National League South side A.F.C. Totton at home. They won the match 6–3 with goals from Paul Dawson, Rollin Menayese, Lewis Fensome and a hat-trick from Elliott.^[13] In the second round proper, they were drawn with National League South side Slough Town away. After goals from Elliott, James Edmondson and Regan Griffiths, they won the match 3–1 after extra time to set up the game with Crystal Palace.^[14]

On 17 December, between the second and third rounds, striker Ethan McLeod died in a car accident on the way home from the league match against Bedford Town.^[15]

Crystal Palace

As a Premier League team, Crystal Palace were automatically given a bye to the third round of the FA Cup.

Match summary

10 January 2026

12:15 GMT

Macclesfield	2–1	Crystal Palace
Dawson 43' Buckley-Ricketts 60'	Report	Pino 90'

Moss Rose, Macclesfield

Attendance: 5,348

Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex)

Macclesfield

Crystal Palace



GK	1	Max Dearnley
LB	15	Luis Lacey		79'
CB	12	Sam Heathcote	79'
CB	5	Rollin Menayese
RB	4	Lewis Fensome
DM	28	James Edmondson
LM	7	Isaac Buckley-Ricketts
CM	6	Paul Dawson (c)
CM	21	Josh Kay	45+2'	80'
RM	11	Luke Duffy		79'
ST	9	D'Mani Mellor		90+5'
Substitutes:
GK	31	Shea Callister
DF	2	Luke Matheson		79'
DF	35	Cameron Borthwick-Jackson		79'
MF	8	Regan Griffiths
MF	17	Carlos Dos Santos		80'
MF	23	Danny Whitehead		90+5'
MF	33	Cameron Bradbury-Allen
FW	34	Mikey Stone
Coach:
John Rooney


GK	44	Walter Benítez
CB	23	Jaydee Canvot		46'
CB	6	Marc Guéhi (c)	76'
CB	26	Chris Richards
LM	24	Borna Sosa	62'
CM	42	Kaden Rodney		46'
CM	20	Adam Wharton
RM	55	Justin Devenny		69'
AM	10	Yéremy Pino
AM	86	Joél Drakes-Thomas		46'
ST	12	Christantus Uche
Substitutes:
GK	1	Dean Henderson
DF	3	Tyrick Mitchell		46'
DF	5	Maxence Lacroix
DF	60	George King
DF	72	Dean Benamar
MF	11	Brennan Johnson		46'
MF	19	Will Hughes		46'
FW	63	Zach Marsh
FW	73	Benjamin Casey		69'
Coach:
Oliver Glasner

Match statistics

	Macclesfield	Crystal Palace
Goals scored	2	1
Total shots	13	12
Shots on target	4	4
Ball possession	28%	72%
Corner kicks	2	3
Fouls committed	8	13
Yellow cards	2	2
Red cards	0	0

References

^ "Superb Macclesfield FC knock out Crystal Palace in greatest Emirates FA Cup upset". The FA. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Immense exploit en FA Cup : Crystal Palace éliminé par Macclesfield, club de D6 entraîné par le petit frère de Wayne Rooney" (in French). L'Equipe. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Macclesfield pull off FA Cup's greatest shock by knocking out holders Crystal Palace". The Guardian. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Football : le club amateur de Macclesfield, entraîné par le frère de Wayne Rooney, signe un exploit historique en Coupe d'Angleterre" (in French). Le Parisien. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Non-League Macclesfield knock holders Crystal Palace out of FA Cup". Sky News. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ Matthews, Tony (editor). We All Follow The Palace. Juma, 1998. ISBN 1-872204-55-4
^ "Rooney's sixth-tier Macclesfield climb 117 Places to topple cup holders in FA Cup's greatest ever upset". Gulf News. 11 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
^ "Macclesfield beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to make FA Cup history". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
^ "FA Cup cult hero: Chasetown's Danny Smith downed Port Vale in 2007". The FA. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
^ "Emirates FA Cup Second Qualifying Round – Macclesfield 3 - 0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Emirates FA Cup Third Qualifying Round – Macclesfield 2 - 0 Nantwich Town". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Emirates FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round – Macclesfield 1 - 0 Stamford". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Emirates FA Cup First Round – Macclesfield 6 - 3 AFC Totton". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Emirates FA Cup Second Round – Slough Town 1 - 3 Macclesfield". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
^ "Ethan McLeod: Macclesfield forward dies in car accident on M1". BBC Sport. 17 December 2025.

[1] "Superb Macclesfield FC knock out Crystal Palace in greatest Emirates FA Cup upset". The FA. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[Lequipe-2] "Immense exploit en FA Cup : Crystal Palace éliminé par Macclesfield, club de D6 entraîné par le petit frère de Wayne Rooney" (in French). L'Equipe. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[TheGuardian-3] "Macclesfield pull off FA Cup's greatest shock by knocking out holders Crystal Palace". The Guardian. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[LeParisien-4] "Football : le club amateur de Macclesfield, entraîné par le frère de Wayne Rooney, signe un exploit historique en Coupe d'Angleterre" (in French). Le Parisien. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[5] "Non-League Macclesfield knock holders Crystal Palace out of FA Cup". Sky News. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[6] Matthews, Tony (editor). We All Follow The Palace. Juma, 1998. ISBN 1-872204-55-4

[7] "Rooney's sixth-tier Macclesfield climb 117 Places to topple cup holders in FA Cup's greatest ever upset". Gulf News. 11 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.

[8] "Macclesfield beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to make FA Cup history". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2026.

[9] "FA Cup cult hero: Chasetown's Danny Smith downed Port Vale in 2007". The FA. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2026.

[10] "Emirates FA Cup Second Qualifying Round – Macclesfield 3 - 0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[11] "Emirates FA Cup Third Qualifying Round – Macclesfield 2 - 0 Nantwich Town". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[12] "Emirates FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round – Macclesfield 1 - 0 Stamford". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[13] "Emirates FA Cup First Round – Macclesfield 6 - 3 AFC Totton". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[14] "Emirates FA Cup Second Round – Slough Town 1 - 3 Macclesfield". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.

[15] "Ethan McLeod: Macclesfield forward dies in car accident on M1". BBC Sport. 17 December 2025.

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FA Cup
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History List of finals Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Scottish clubs Non-League clubs in the 5th Round Giant-Killing Award

Macclesfield Football Club
Ground	Moss Rose
Seasons	2021–22 2022–23
Notable matches	Macclesfield 2–1 Crystal Palace (2026)
See also	Macclesfield Town

Crystal Palace F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1990 2016 2025
FA Community Shield	2025
Football League play-off Finals	1989 Second Division 1996 First Division 1997 First Division 2004 First Division 2013 Championship
Full Members' Cup Final	1991
Other matches	Newcastle United 0–1 Crystal Palace (1907) Liverpool 9–0 Crystal Palace (1989) Macclesfield 2–1 Crystal Palace (2026)