Macclesfield’s Remarkable Journey
Macclesfield’s story is a remarkable one. Macclesfield Town ceased operations in October 2020 before the current iteration of the club was established. For a detailed account of their journey so far, refer to John Brewin’s article.
FA Cup Fifth Round Draw
Before tonight’s match, attention turns to the FA Cup draw for the fifth round. Which team will Brentford or Macclesfield face next? Niall McVeigh is providing live updates on the draw.
Match Preview: Macclesfield vs Brentford
Welcome to a historic minute-by-minute coverage. This evening, sixth-tier Macclesfield hosts Premier League side Brentford at the Stadium in the FA Cup fourth round.
Macclesfield’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the previous round was one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history. Against all odds, they defeated the reigning FA Cup holders, a team ranked 117 places above them at the time. Defender Luke Matheson, known for his equaliser for Rochdale against Manchester United in 2019, reflected on the significance of tonight’s game:
“It’s not necessarily [about saying] ‘we can do this’, it’s ‘we’ve done this’, so we want to go out there and prove it to ourselves again.”
In contrast to Crystal Palace, Brentford are performing strongly. Manager Keith Andrews has led Brentford to seventh place in the Premier League following a 1-1 draw with league leaders Arsenal. A victory for Brentford tonight would be historically significant, marking only the third time the club has advanced to the fifth round since their quarter-final appearance in 1989.
The match kicks off at 7.30pm GMT. Join us for live coverage over the coming hours.
