16 hours ago
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Oliver Glasner was left seething as Crystal Palace crashed out of the FA Cup saying his team “didn’t show any kind of quality” as they were beaten by sixth-tier part-timers Macclesfield.
Palace became the first holders since 1909 to be beaten by non-league opposition, goals either side of half-time from Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts stunning the Premier League club. Yeremy Pino’s 90th-minute consolation was the only positive on an otherwise catastrophic day for Palace, who were deservedly beaten.
“I have no words for this performance,” he said. “It’s not just losing, it’s creating almost no chances. It was really hard to watch, there was no physical presence, no kind of quality in our attack. This is what makes it so disappointing.”
Glasner said some Palace players were angry in the dressing room while others were quiet. He said: “There is every emotion beside happiness. With all the respect [to Macclesfield] in a game like this you don’t need a tactic, you don’t need a manager who tells you what to do. You have to do the right things. We have to score five or six against a non-league team, but we didn’t show any kind of quality.”
The Austrian refused to blame Macclesfield’s artificial pitch and denied that Palace underestimated their hosts, while he congratulated his opposite number, John Rooney, in the tunnel after the game.
Rooney and the Macclesfield defender Sam Heathcote dedicated their famous victory to Ethan McLeod whose death in a car accident last month at the age of 21 had left the club in mourning.
“We spoke about Ethan being here with us before kick-off,” said Rooney. “Seeing his parents after the game was something very special and I’m sure Ethan was looking down on us today.”
Heathcote said: “A lot of the lads said that at the full-time whistle when we managed to find each other … that was for him. We try to do our best for him. It’s been such a difficult time, everyone has come together massively since that happened and that shows you how special this club is.”
Heathcote, who combines playing football with working as a primary school teacher, added: “We seemed to find a little bit extra. Everyone was egging each other on. The fans were so loud and gave us that bit extra to push us on.
“I am just so proud of everyone. I love this club, it’s full of special people. Something like this is not supposed to happen, is it? But we have got a group of lads who are willing to roll their sleeves up and have a go and it’s come off for us. I’m so happy for everyone.”
