John Rooney explains how Macclesfield completed Crystal Palace FA Cup giant-killing – ‘You never really think you’re going to do it’

Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts put the National League North side 2-0 up, before Yeremy Pino scored a free-kick late on to ramp up the nerves throughout Moss Rose.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Rooney – brother of former England captain and Manchester United record goalscorer Wayne Rooney – was in disbelief at what he had just seen his team manage.

Rooney said: “No (I can’t believe it). Sitting there last night, I was thinking, ‘What if? What if?’ But you never really think you’re going to do it.

“After the first half, I thought we had real belief. I thought we were outstanding for 90 minutes. Did I think we could do it? No, probably never. Probably still a bit shocked, but credit to the players, I thought they were outstanding.”

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The former non-league and EFL player – who also played in America – gave total credit to his players for the victory, and explained just how The Silkmen managed it.

“That’s the players,” he said on TNT Sports.

“We can only give them a certain amount of information. Once they cross that white line, it’s down to them; they’re the ones that go over the white line and put that shift in.

“We can give them bits and bobs and help them initiate, and the bits we did give them, I thought they were outstanding at it.”

He added: “Out of possession, we know we can’t go toe-to-toe and have a full press against them, which we usually would. So out of possession, we went into a 4-5-1 block and tried to be hard to break down.

“I thought every one of them, to a man, understood everything we told them. Outstanding and credit to them, because when you get over the white line, players at our level, the occasion might get to them. I don’t think it did. I think they took it on their shoulders and carried it out.”

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Skipper Dawson opened the scoring with a header in the first half from a set-piece, which Crystal Palace have been poor at defending lately.

“We’ve done our homework,” Rooney explained. “We know they have conceded from set-pieces this season. I thought we would have looked more dangerous off a corner.

“But when we got the free-kick, I turned round and said, ‘Dawson’s scoring here’ and when he popped up I was like, ‘Wow!’ He knows where the back of the net is and for the size of him, he’s not the biggest, but he’s incredible in the air and his timing’s unbelievable.”

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