Biggest shock in English soccer history? Holders dumped out by non-league team

Last May, Crystal Palace were the heroic underdogs when they beat Manchester City to clinch a famous FA Cup triumph. Now, they find themselves on the other side of a shock result.

Palace began their FA Cup defense with a trip to sixth-division Macclesfield. Despite Palace fielding a strong team with England internationals Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton, it was Macclesfield who took the league shortly before halftime when captain Paul Dawson opened the scoring.

Isaac Buckley-Ricketts doubled the hosts’ lead on the hourmark before Palace’s Yeremy Pino pulled one back in the final minutes. Macclesfield held out for the 2-1 win and secured one of the most extraordinary upsets in FA Cup history.

Is this the biggest FA Cup upset ever?

Although it has lost some of its value in recent years, the FA Cup remains a central part of the English soccer calendar. Stories of shock wins echo down the years and Macclesfield’s victory on Saturday will rank among the greatest.

Macclesfield are in the National League North, the sixth tier of the English soccer pyramid. Crystal Palace are a Premier League side, the reigning holders of the FA Cup, and competitors in this season’s UEFA Conference League.

According to the BBC, the last time the FA Cup holders were knocked out by a non-league team was in the 1908/09 season, when Palace knocked out Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In fact, there are very few examples of non-league teams beating any Premier League sides this century. Since 1990 the only top flight teams to lose to non-league opposition in the FA Cup are Norwich City (0-1, vs Luton Town) and Burnley (0-1, vs Lincoln City). Now, Crystal Palace join that list.

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