John Rooney praised his non-league Macclesfield side after they dumped holders Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup in one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history.
National League North Macclesfield, formed five years ago from the ashes of Macclesfield Town, started the day 117 places below Premier League Palace and became the first non-league team in 117 years to beat the FA Cup holders, ironically since then-Southern League side Palace dispatched Wolves in 1909.
Macclesfield out-played the Londoners in their 2-1 win, with captain Paul Dawson setting the tone with a full-throttle challenge which earned him a cut to the head in the opening seconds before he himself headed in the opening goal two minutes before half-time.
Stunned, Oliver Glasner made three changes to a flat Palace side at the break but it made no difference as Macclesfield started the second half on top and doubled their lead through Isaac Buckley-Ricketts on the hour.
Yeremy Pino’s 90th-minute free-kick set up six nervy minutes of stoppage time.
However, Macclesfield saw them out as every challenge was cheered by a sold-out crowd who charged on to the pitch at full-time.
Manager Rooney, the younger brother of former England captain Wayne, said: "It still doesn’t feel real.
"To go and perform the way they did…I spoke before the game about having a little bit of hope in the FA Cup, but do they really believe it? Probably not."
John Rooney praised his non-league Macclesfield side after they dumped holders Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup
|GETTY
He added: "When you’re 1-0 up you’re thinking, can we get to half-time?
"The message then is just managing the game, can we slow the game down? Can we take the sting out of it? I thought they did it unbelievably.
"It’s mad to say but I thought we were the deserved winners on the day.
"I thought we were incredible, every one of them from the subs to the starting eleven."
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The National League North outfit sit 117 places below Crystal Palace in English football's pyramid | GETTYIt was a day of celebration for a club still coming to terms with the loss of Ethan McLeod, their forward who was killed in a car crash travelling back from their match at Bedford Town on December 16, aged just 21.
A banner bearing his name hung behind the dugouts, and his family were in the stands to watch.
"For me, when we finished the game and then I walk in the office and see Ethan’s mum and dad in there, that’s very special to me," an emotional Rooney added. "Just knowing they were here with us, and I’m sure Ethan was looking down on us today."
While Macclesfield celebrated, Palace boss Glasner looked stunned after seeing his side meekly surrender the trophy they won in May, their first major honour.
Captain Paul Dawson opened the scoring | GETTYThe Austrian said: "I have no words for this performance. It’s not just losing, it was creating no chances, and this was really hard to watch.
"Nobody could dribble past even one player. There was no physical presence. We weren’t in any dangerous areas. There was no kind of quality today in attack. This is what makes it so disappointing.
"Things can happen but if you play like this then things will happen. That’s why this makes it really hard.
"A few players are angry, a few are quiet. There is every kind of emotion."
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