Walsall vs Macclesfield Town. The FA Cup First Round.
Poundland Bescot Stadium.
Saturday 5 November 2016 18:04, UK
Vanarama National League side Macclesfield produced an FA Cup shock as they dumped out Sky Bet League One Walsall with a 1-0 victory.
There are 46 places between the clubs but John McCombe's header enhanced the Silkmen's giant-killing reputation, having beaten Swindon and Cardiff in the cup in recent seasons.
Walsall could have led after nine minutes as Joe Edwards ran half the length of the pitch but was denied a superb solo goal by Craig Ross's low save.
Macclesfield's winner came in the 23rd minute when Walsall goalkeeper Neil Etheridge rushed from his box to foul Paul Lewis out wide and McCombe glanced home the resulting free-kick from Danny Whitaker.
Etheridge redeemed himself with a superb fingertip save to claw Danny Rowe's 20-yard strike away from the bottom corner.
Walsall ended the half strongly but could not find an equaliser as Erhun Oztumer's fierce strike was kept out by the strong palm of Ross.
Etheridge's poor clearance almost gifted Macclesfield a second goal in the first minute of the second half but Jack Sampson struck the post from a tight angle.
The miss never looked like proving costly, though, as Macclesfield defended superbly and almost grabbed a late second as Whitaker curled inches wide.
