By IAN GALLAGHER

Published: 00:33 GMT, 11 January 2026 | Updated: 02:15 GMT, 11 January 2026

They had queued in the cold outside Macclesfield FC's tiny ground for more than six hours to buy a ticket. Yet they would have happily done so for ten times longer.

Especially if they had even the slightest notion they were about to witness not only the greatest day in their club's history, but the FA Cup's greatest giant-slaying.

A day when the footballing gods sprinkled magic dust over their hitherto-unremarkable Cheshire market town; when hope conquered reason and then some; when such was the explosion of joy at the final whistle that some fancied the noise was heard 50 miles north in Manchester.

It was the day the unthinkable happened. The day non-league Macclesfield FC - managed by Wayne Rooney's younger brother, John - defeated the Premier League's Crystal Palace, the big boys from London.

Not bad given that 117 league places separate the two clubs. And, sure, it was only in May that Palace beat Manchester City in the final and lifted the trophy for heaven's sake. For the record, the last time a non-league side knocked out the holders was in 1909.

The reward, in part, for the Macclesfield players will be a boozy holiday to Ibiza which club owner Robert Smethurst had promised them if they won.

Everyone loves a David and Goliath story, but this was a fairytale, too. One freighted with poignancy.

For at the end, as Macclesfield's men celebrated their 2-1 victory, hoisting captain Paul Dawson on to their shoulders, they also found time for serious reflection, dedicating their win to 21-year-old striker Ethan McLeod who died in a car accident just before Christmas.

Macclesfield's captain Paul Dawson celebrates Macclesfield victory against Crystal Palace in the biggest upset in FA Cup history 

Ecstatic Macclesfield fans after they beat Palace yesterday. The supporters had queued in the cold outside Macclesfield FC's tiny ground for more than six hours to buy a ticket. Yet they would have happily done so for ten times longer

How they did Ethan proud. Playing with determination and belief, no one could dispute they deserved it.

Yet only six years ago the club, half-a-million pounds in debt, was facing ruin. Then along came Mr Smethurst, 48, who bought the club on a whim while drunk having made his fortune through car selling app AutoTrader. He was a worried man when he sobered up. 'The place had fallen apart,' he said. 'It was as derelict as it could possibly be: The seats were broken; the glasses were smashed; the pitch was non-existent; weeds, cracked tarmac...'