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, Macclesfield defeated reigning FA Cup holders Crystal Palace 2–1.
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.Matthews, Tony (editor). We All Follow The Palace. Juma, 1998. It was also the biggest upset in terms of league placings (117 places between the two sides) in FA Cup history, a record previously held by Chasetown vs Port Vale in a 2007–08 FA Cup 2nd round replay (108 places).
The match was Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi's final game for the club.
Route to the match
Macclesfield RoundOppositionScoreAtherton Laburnum Rovers (H)(Div. 9)3–0Nantwich Town (H)(Div. 8)2–0Stamford (H)(Div. 7)1–01stAFC Totton (H)(Div. 6)6–32ndSlough 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. 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. 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, 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. 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.
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.
Crystal Palace As a Premier League team, Crystal Palace were automatically given a bye to the third round of the FA Cup.
Match summary
GK 1 Max Dearnley LB 15 Luis Lacey CB 12 Sam Heathcote 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 RM 11 Luke Duffy ST9 D'Mani Mellor Substitutes: GK 31 Shea Callister DF 2 Luke Matheson DF 35 Cameron Borthwick-Jackson MF 8 Regan Griffiths MF17 Carlos Dos Santos MF23 Danny Whitehead MF 33 Cameron Bradbury-Allen FW 34 Mikey StoneCoach: John Rooney GK 44 Walter Benítez CB 23 Jaydee Canvot CB 6 Marc Guéhi (c) CB 26 Chris Richards LM 24 Borna Sosa CM 42 Kaden Rodney CM 20 Adam Wharton RM 55 Justin Devenny AM 10 Yéremy Pino AM 86 Joél Drakes-Thomas ST 12 Christantus Uche Substitutes: GK 1 Dean Henderson DF 3 Tyrick Mitchell DF 5 Maxence Lacroix DF60 George King DF72 Dean Benamar MF 11 Brennan Johnson MF19 Will Hughes FW63 Zach Marsh FW 73 Benjamin Casey Coach: Oliver Glasner
Match statistics Macclesfield Crystal PalaceGoals scored 2 1Total shots 13 12Shots on target 4 4Ball possession 28% 72%Corner kicks 2 3Fouls committed 8 13Yellow cards 2 2Red cards 0 0
References