‘I told the lads’ – Macclesfield hero reveals Marc Guehi’s pre-match admission set up FA Cup shock

Macclesfield hero Paul Dawson has revealed Marc Guehi’s dislike of the club’s 4G pitch set the stage for the greatest FA Cup shock in history.

The Silkman skipper wrote himself into the competition’s folklore with the opening goal in a 2-1 victory over holders Crystal Palace.

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The 27-year-old took the fight to the Premier League side after suffering a bloody injury just five seconds into the third-round tie.

A clash of heads following an aerial challenge with Jaydee Canvot left Dawson needing to don a Terry Butcher-style head bandage.

However, the midfielder battled on to score from a header to give Macclesfield the lead just before half-time.

Isaac Buckley-Ricketts added a second after the restart, and John Rooney’s men held on for the win despite Yeremy Pino’s late goal.

Dawson’s efforts in particular were emblematic of the spirit his team showed, and their captain has his opposite number to thank.

The former Lancaster City player admitted a pre-match exchange with Palace talisman Guehi about the pitch had left him buoyed.

Guehi said ‘not a bit of me, this’ when asked about the pitch

“I just kind of took it as another game,” Dawson explained during an appearance on talkSPORT Breakfast on Monday morning.

“All the boys were confident. We went in definitely thinking we could win the game.

“Then before the game, obviously the two captains, so me and Marc Guehi and, well, Franny Jeffers did it…Normally it’s the gaffer with me and their assistant did it.

“And Franny turned around to Marc and he goes, ‘Pitch all right for you?’, he said. ‘No, not a bit of me this.’

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“From that moment on I thought, ‘You know what? There’s something here for us’,” Dawson continued to talkSPORT.

“I went back in, told the lads and, yeah, we was up for it.”

What went through his mind when he scored

Dawson’s goal against Palace was undoubtedly the biggest of his career, and the player joked he’s rewatched it over 100 times.

However, the Macclesfield captain revealed that he didn’t know how to celebrate it, having had his headgear fixed by teammate Sam Heathcote seconds before he scored from Luke Duffy’s free-kick.

Dawson added: “I can’t actually remember [the goal], I’m not gonna lie. It happened that quick. It was all such a blur.

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“Obviously, I’ve watched it back 112 times,” he joked.

“I didn’t know what to celebrate. I didn’t know how to celebrate. I just ran to the corner.”

FA Cup fourth round draw

Dawson and the rest of his Macclesfield teammates will be glued to the draw for the FA Cup fourth round tonight.

It will be held at 6:35pm ahead of the final third-round tie between Liverpool and Barnsley.

talkSPORT will have live commentary from Anfield, as well as the drawing of the balls by Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole beforehand.

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