Wayne Rooney was in tears as he watched his younger brother mastermind one of the greatest shocks in FA Cup history.
John Rooney’s Macclesfield side, who are mid-table in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football – knocked out FA Cup holders Crystal Palace in a dramatic 2-1 victory at Moss Rose.
Macclesfield deservedly led through captain Paul Dawson’s first-half header and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, before Yeremy Pino pulled one back for Palace in the 90th minute. And although the Premier League team chased a late equaliser, Macclesfield dug in to hold on.
Wayne Rooney watched on pitchside and was part of BBC Sport’s punditry panel. Choking up after the full-time whistle, as fans rushed onto the pitch in celebration, he said: “It’s incredible to see my younger brother achieve this. He has not long been the manager. I am so proud of him.
“He looked so calm towards the end. I know he wanted the referee to blow his whistle but, at the end, he just turned round and did a little fist pump to the bench. He looked calm. I don’t know how. But, you know, it’s such an achievement. What he’s achieved today, absolutely superb.”
The Rooney brothers shared an embrace as the Macclesfield manager joined for a pitchside interview.
“I can’t believe it, we never thought we would be in this position,” John Rooney said. “We were incredible from the first minute. I thought we were deserved winners. I couldn’t be any prouder of the lads. I couldn’t have asked any more of them and you can see the joy in them.”
Macclesfield are 117 places below Palace in the football pyramid and John Rooney admitted he could not quite believe his side were winning in the closing stages of the tie.
He said: “When we got later on in the game, we were thinking about slowing it down. I never thought we’d be in that situation. We still can’t believe it. (I) can’t get my head around it.
“I thought it was incredible from the first minute. The message at half-time was to manage the game. Can we slow the game down? But I didn’t see that coming. But, you know, I thought we were well-deserved winners.
“I think we nullified them to one chance in the first half. I thought we were incredible to a man.”
