Macclesfield's are off to Ibiza after biggest ever FA Cup upset

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.

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...'

But his hard work, and £4 millon investment, saw this phoenix club rise from the ashes of bankruptcy and win three promotions in four seasons, taking them to the National League North.

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Emotional Macclesfield owner promises to take his FA Cup heroes to IBIZA after astonishing upset

John Rooney was joined at the 5,300-capacity Moss Rose ground by Wayne, who flew in from a holiday in Barbados. John said: 'I never thought this would happen. I can't believe it. In the first half we had chances, when we took the lead the message to the boys was to try and manage the game.

'Scoring a second was a surprise, but I thought we were well-deserving winners. We nullified them. We were absolutely incredible.' 

No one typified the home side's fighting spirit more than man-of-the-match Dawson, who was injured in an aerial challenge five seconds after kick-off and then played with a bandaged head after treatment. Yet it didn't prevent him scoring the first goal with a header just before half time. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts stunned Palace further when he added a second after the break.

The Premier League side pulled one back from a stoppage-time free kick, but Macclesfield held on to secure the famous win.

Wayne, working as a pundit for the BBC, was on the verge of tears. 'It's incredible, I am getting emotional to see my younger brother achieve this,' he said. 'He's not been long in management and to get through to the fourth round of the FA Cup and beat Crystal Palace, I am so proud of him.'

But it was really a day for the fans. 'I'll never forget this day for as long as I live,' said 19-year-old Peter Whitford. 'Who'd have thought it? We're in the fourth round now but who knows... we could go all the way. You have to dream, don't you?'