Macclesfield etched their name into the Emirates FA Cup history books by defeating Premier League opposition and reigning FA Cup holders Crystal Palace to secure a place in the fourth round of the competition.
It marked the first occasion since 1908 that a non-league side has eliminated the cup holders, and the first time a sixth-tier club has knocked out a Premier League team. But how exactly did they pull it off?
John Rooney has since reflected on how his sixth-tier Macclesfield outfit stunned Emirates FA Cup champions Crystal Palace to achieve a historic upset.
Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts fired the National League North side into a 2-0 lead, before Yeremy Pino struck a late free-kick to heighten the tension around Moss Rose.
However, the goal proved only a consolation as Macclesfield stood firm to seal a remarkable win and progress to the fourth round.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Rooney — the brother of former England captain and Manchester United’s all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney — admitted he was still struggling to comprehend what his side had accomplished.
Rooney said: “No [I can’t believe it]. Sitting there last night, I was thinking, ‘What if? What if?’ But you never really think you’re going to do it.
“After the first half, I thought we had real belief. I thought we were outstanding for 90 minutes. Did I think we could do it? No, probably never. Probably still a bit shocked, but credit to the players, I thought they were outstanding.”
The former non-league and EFL midfielder — who also enjoyed a spell playing in the United States — paid full tribute to his squad for the famous victory and detailed how The Silkmen managed to overcome their top-flight opponents.
“That’s the players,” he said on TNT Sports.
“We can only give them a certain amount of information. Once they cross that white line, it’s down to them; they’re the ones that go over the white line and put that shift in.
“We can give them bits and bobs and help them initiate, and the bits we did give them, I thought they were outstanding at it.”
He added: “Out of possession, we know we can’t go toe-to-toe and have a full press against them, which we usually would. So out of possession, we went into a 4-5-1 block and tried to be hard to break down.
“I thought every one of them, to a man, understood everything we told them. Outstanding and credit to them, because when you get over the white line, players at our level, the occasion might get to them. I don’t think it did. I think they took it on their shoulders and carried it out.”
Captain Dawson opened the scoring with a first-half header from a set-piece, an area Crystal Palace have struggled to defend in recent weeks.
“We’ve done our homework,” Rooney explained. “We know they have conceded from set-pieces this season. I thought we would have looked more dangerous off a corner.
“But when we got the free-kick, I turned round and said, ‘Dawson’s scoring here’ and when he popped up I was like, ‘Wow!’ He knows where the back of the net is and for the size of him, he’s not the biggest, but he’s incredible in the air and his timing’s unbelievable.”