The FA Cup still has that old knack of making heroes and breaking hearts, and so Macclesfield’s fairytale came to an end as Sam Heathcote’s own-goal saw the National League North side knocked out by Brentford last night.
Heathcote, the PE teacher from Altrincham and one of the stars of the incredible third-round win over holders Crystal Palace last month, headed in midway through the second half. As hard as they tried, there was no way back for John Rooney’s giantkillers.
‘Football can be cruel, but I couldn’t be more proud,’ said Rooney. ‘All the lads are a little bit down, and Sam is the same, but that’s natural – they’ve just lost a football match.
‘It will take time for them to get back to being themselves, but they all know what they’ve achieved. For a club of our level to go toe-to-toe with two Premier League sides is incredible.’
So Brentford go through to meet West Ham in the fifth round after beating a team 116 places below them in the football pyramid.
It’s not the first cup dream that Keith Andrews’ side have killed off this season after knocking Manchester United’s conquerors Grimsby Town out of the Carabao Cup.
Macclesfield’s FA Cup dream came crashing down as they lost 1-0 to Brentford at home
Sam Heathcote (left) was the unfortunate soul to score an own goal after 70 minutes
Macclesfield manager John Rooney was immensely proud of his players, who had defeated Crystal Palace in the third round to reach this stage
Afterwards, Andrews went into the Macclesfield dressing-room to congratulate them on a fantastic run and received a round of applause.
‘I love the English football pyramid,’ said the Brentford boss. ‘I’ve played in a lot of it and coached in a lot of it. I love what it stands for.
‘This club are on a really good journey and I like stories like that. It actually fills my heart. I thought they were absolutely immense right to the end and gave us a proper cup tie that most people would have enjoyed – I can’t say I did!’
For a while, it looked as though Brentford might suffer the same fate as Palace after making seven changes from their draw against Premier League leaders Arsenal on Thursday.
They had trained on astroturf and inspected the 4G pitch at the Leasing.com Stadium earlier in the day, but it was the non-leaguers who started and finished the first half stronger, going close with two efforts from the edge of the box by Luke Duffy and captain Paul Dawson.
‘Against All Odds’ declared a banner that was unfurled behind the goal in the Star Lane End before kick-off, and there was a palpable sense of belief among the home fans that their team could do it again.
‘I didn’t think we made it easy for ourselves in the first half,’ admitted Andrews.
Brentford began to find more spaces and stretch the game after the restart though as the underdogs, who have only been able to train once a week, began to show the first signs of fatigue.
They attacked from both flanks and Macclesfield’s defending became increasingly desperate which led to the decisive goal in the 70th minute.
Aaron Hickey had been a menace down the Brentford left all game, and it was no surprise that he crossed towards the near post. Heathcote thought he had it covered and threw himself at the ball to head it out for a corner, only to guide it past goalkeeper Max Dearnley and into his own net.
In the end, Brentford deserved their win but there was absolutely no shame in that for Macclesfield, and Heathcote in particular. Once again they punched well above their weight.
‘Did we think we’d get to the fourth round? I didn’t,’ said Rooney. ‘To go on this journey and do it all together is something I’m so proud of.’