10 other great FA Cup shocks after Macclesfield knock out Crystal Palace in thrilling match
Macclesfield joined the FA Cup giant killers on Saturday as they knocked Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup.
The National League North team sent the holders tumbling out with goals from Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, before Yeremy Pino pulled one back for Premier League Palace late on. The Press Association has looked back at 10 other celebrated upsets in the famous competition.
Listed below are 10 other thrilling FA Cup moments.
Hereford 2 Newcastle 1 (1972)
Southern League side Hereford had earned a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park in February 1972 and were given little chance of emulating that feat in their third-round replay. It was all going to plan when Newcastle took the lead in a game which had been postponed three times by bad weather. But Hereford grew stronger as the match went on and Ronnie Radford equalised with a long-range thunderbolt, one of the cup’s most famous goals, to take the game into extra-time where Ricky George hit the winner.
Blyth Spartans 3 Stoke 2 (1978)
A famous upset for Northern League side Blyth Spartans as they handed Stoke an early exit in the fourth round. Despite Terry Johnson’s early opener, Stoke pulled two goals back, but Steve Carney equalised and Johnson lashed home a winner at the end. The win set up a fifth-round meeting with Wrexham, who beat them in a replay at St James’ Park.
Sutton 2 Coventry 1 (1989)
Coventry arrived in Surrey just 18 months after winning the 1987 FA Cup and were riding high in the top flight. It appeared to be a case of “no contest” against the non-leaguers. But they were left stunned in their third-round meeting as Tony Rains and Matthew Hanlan became the goalscoring heroes for a team fashioned by English teacher Barrie Williams. Both scorers became instant celebrities, appearing on Terry Wogan’s chat show the following Monday.
Wrexham 2 Arsenal 1 (1992)
The Gunners were the reigning league champions, Wrexham were bottom of the old Division Four. Arsenal took the lead at the Racecourse Ground through Alan Smith in the third-round clash but with 10 minutes to go, 37-year-old Mickey Thomas unleashed a 20-yard free-kick past David Seaman for the equaliser. The Welsh side could sense an upset and Steve Watkin popped up late on to score the winner and send their illustrious opponents crashing out.
Wycombe 2 Leicester 1 (2001)
Second Division club Wycombe provided an upset in the quarter-finals in 2001, beating Premier League Leicester 2-1. Paul McCarthy put the Chairboys ahead before Muzzy Izzet equalised for the Foxes, but Roy Essandoh, who remarkably was brought in via an advert on Ceefax in to ease Wycombe’s injury crisis, sent them into the semi-finals with a last-gasp header.
Chelsea 2 Bradford 4 (2015)
Bradford brilliantly responded from two goals down to dump the Premier League leaders out to advance to the fifth round and end Chelsea’s hopes of challenging for an unprecedented quadruple. Jon Stead, Blues reject Filipe Morais, Andy Halliday and substitute Mark Yeates sparked jubilant celebrations from Phil Parkinson’s League One visitors.
Crawley 3 Leeds 0 (2021)
In their third-round tie, Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds were reeling from two goals inside three second-half minutes from Nick Tsaroulla and Ashley Nadesan before Jordan Tunnicliffe finished them off with 20 minutes remaining. To rub salt in the wounds Crawley even handed a debut to reality TV star Mark Wright as a late substitute, but the only way was out of the cup for Leeds.
Cambridge 1 Newcastle 0 (2022)
Third-tier Cambridge stunned Premier League Newcastle with a 1-0 FA Cup victory at St James’ Park that fired the League One side into the fourth round. Joe Ironside scored the only goal of the game, striking in the 56th minute to dump Eddie Howe’s side out of the competition.
Maidstone 2 Ipswich 1 (2024)
National League South Maidstone made a mockery of their lowly status to brush off Championship Ipswich and book a spot in the fifth round. Lamar Reynolds and Jeremy Sarmiento traded goals before Sam Corne scored the winner in the 66th minute.
Plymouth 1 Liverpool 0 (2025)
Plymouth, bottom of the Championship, produced a huge upset. Reds boss Arne Slot gambled with a weakened side in Devon and literally paid the penalty as Ryan Hardie’s second-half spot-kick sent Argyle into the fifth round – only the fourth time the team starting the day at the top of the Premier League had been eliminated by a side from outside the top flight.