SHOCK AND AWE

A weekend that showed the Cup at its finest... now get on with scrapping extra-time

- BY JOHN CROSS

THE FA Cup had its greatest shock and one of the best third-round weekends in recent history.

Macclesfield’s fairy-tale win against Crystal Palace - the lowestranked team knocking out the holders - made them the first sixth-tier team to beat a topflight side in the competition.

There were so many great stories around that tie. The Silkmen dedicated it to their striker Ethan McLeod, who died after a car crash last month. Wayne Rooney's brother John is the manager.

The club's owner Rob Smethurst buying the club on Right Move after a four-day bender in Ibiza. Honestly, if you cannot buy into Macclesfield and enjoy their heroics then you must have a heart of stone.

What a fabulous story. Weston-super-Mare, the semipro side from National League South, put up some fight after taking 600 fans to Grimsby, only to go out 3-2.

Clubs get more generous away ticket allocations in the FA Cup. Arsenal filled one end at Portsmouth.