Brawls, wonder goals and historic upsets - Emirates FA Cup third-round magic moments you may have missed

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A miraculous third round of the Emirates FA Cup produced arguably the biggest shock in the tournament's history, but what were the moments missed by the biggest headlines? The packed slate of fixtures produced plenty of enthralling storylines to complement the upsets and incredible strikes as England's biggest teams entered the competition and battled to reach the last 32.

Highlights: Macclesfield SHOCK holders Crystal Palace in cupset for the ages

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A vintage third-round weekend of the Emirates FA Cup started with a bang on TNT Sports as Wrexham dramatically upset Nottingham Forest on penalties, but that turned out to be only the appetiser as Macclesfield recorded one of the biggest shocks in English football history by knocking out holders Crystal Palace.

However, that result was far from the only intriguing storyline of the round.

Wayne Rooney was in attendance to watch his brother mastermind one of this competition’s greatest upsets, as John Rooney’s side took the lead before half-time and only came under real pressure in injury time after Yeremy Pino scored a stunning free-kick against the run of play.

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Macclesfield held on though, triumphing 2-1 thanks to goals from Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts that were celebrated with raucous cheers by the Leasing.com Stadium crowd, who rushed the field at the final whistle.

You probably did not miss that, but you may have missed the most emotional scenes of the day that came well after the full-time whistle as the parents of Ethan McLeod visited the home dressing room. In December, McLeod was killed in a car crash on the M1, driving home from Macclesfield’s National League North game against Bedford Town.

The 21-year-old forward appeared as a substitute in that game and the club hung a banner in memory of McLeod for the FA Cup tie, before his team-mates produced the best possible tribute.

"That was for him, big team performance, we dug in really well, that was for Ethan," captain Dawson told TNT Sports.

Buckley-Ricketts added: "This is who we do it for. I was thinking about it literally as the final whistle went, thinking ‘Ethan was here’."

Good, bad and ugly in north London as full-time brawl breaks out

There were "sacked in the morning" chants at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Thomas Frank’s Spurs fell to their fourth defeat in a month to two well-taken Aston Villa goals, but it was the scenes after the final whistle that were ugliest of all.

Joao Palhinha took issue with Morgan Rogers’ post-match celebrations and Micky van de Ven was needed to keep the pair from squaring up, before at least 20 more players and staff from both sides rushed in.

Eventually peace was restored with Rogers and his team-mates able to salute their fans, while pressure mounted on Frank in the home dugout.

Rogers hit Aston Villa’s second goal after Emi Buendia opened the scoring, and Tottenham were unable to add to Wilson Odobert’s second-half effort with all three finishes taken clinically.

"I am at the side and I thought it was Lamare [Bogarde]. Lamare’s not ‘young young’ any more but when you think one of your young team-mates is getting pushed down the hill you get right over there," Aston Villa captain John McGinn, who had been substituted by that point but still joined the fray, told TNT Sports.

"It was good togetherness from us but I just went over to try and split it up. I was getting a few digs to the hand but I have got one of those faces that makes it look like I was the aggressor. But I actually was not, it all got sorted in the end and it is good to see us together.

"I think there was a few boys from the bench, we have got a good togetherness and team spirit."

‘More indiscipline involving Tottenham’ – Brawl breaks out after Villa win FA Cup tie

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Only scores against the best

Having spent the first half of the season on loan at Weston-super-Mare without scoring, George Birch finally got off the mark in style by netting an incredible strike against Manchester City as Exeter City took something from their 10-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.

Having failed to net against Salisbury, Torquay, Chippenham, Horsham, Ebbsfleet, Eastbourne and Hemel Hemstead, Birch instead opened his account for the season against the eight-time Premier League winners, 2023 European champions and seven-time victors in this competition.

Birch drove forwards against the backpedalling defence and then opened fire from the D, rifling his shot straight into the top corner, leaving James Trafford with no chance.

Rather optimistically, Birch immediately picked up the ball and raced back to the centre-circle, apparently hoping to spark a nine-goal comeback that did not quite come off.

And there was a more touching celebration earlier, when Ryan McAidoo scored City’s ninth goal and sprinted straight into the stands to seemingly share the moment with his father and family.

"You think in years to come, he will be talking about this goal with his grandchildren at the Etihad. Love how he went to get the ball," said TNT Sports’ Fara Williams.

Cisse emulates Cisse

FA Cup third-round highlights - Stoke City vs Coventry City

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Mark Robins exacted revenge on Coventry City, who sacked him last season and had emerged victorious in their first two games against Stoke City since Robins took over at the bet365 Stadium.

And Stoke reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in style too, as Lamine Cisse hit an audacious winner moments before Birch’s effort 30 miles north.

Emulating Papis Cisse’s iconic goal for Newcastle United against Chelsea, the ball was cleared to Lamine Cisse on the edge of the penalty area and the Frenchman took a touch, then hit a looping shot with the outside of his boot that swung over Ben Wilson and into the corner of Coventry’s goal.

"That is the goal of the day," Kevin Nolan said on TNT Sports’ FA Cup Goals Show. "Hats off to the referee for letting the play go on. What a strike. A late winner in the FA Cup third round, is superb."

Controversy on Merseyside

Everton and Sunderland went the full distance at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, as an 89th-minute James Garner spot-kick cancelled out Enzo Le Fee’s superb strike.

Despite the decision being made by a human referee and not VAR, debate still raged over John Brooks awarding the late penalty that allowed Everton to reach extra time against Sunderland, especially the extent of the contact from Granit Xhaka and Trai Hume on Adam Aznou.

Highlights: Roefs saves three penalties in shoot-out win for Sunderland at Everton

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"Maybe we should have tried to create a bit more chances," Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris said afterwards, as reported by the Sunderland Echo. "We created two or three, scored once and when it is only 1-0, a decision can affect the flow of the game. It is a bit harsh because when I reviewed the clip, it was difficult to award a penalty but it was the case."

TNT Sports' Steve McManaman added: "Aznou has had an impact. There's no VAR, and it's John Brooks who has given it. He's bought the foul. I don't think there was any connection with the legs. He's just gone down."

David Moyes’ Penalty Nightmare

After Garner held his nerve from 12 yards in normal time, Everton missed all three of their penalties in the shoot-out.

Robin Roefs was the hero, diving low to parry Garner’s sturdy effort, then making a carbon-copy save of Thierno Barry’s underhit penalty. Beto went the other way but Roefs again guessed correctly, diving left and easily able to stop the Bissau-Guinean’s weak shot.

Meanwhile Jordan Pickford was unable to replicate his previous shoot-out exploits, as Enzo Le Fee, Granit Xhaka and Luke O’Nien all scored.

"I do not think you blame anybody when you lose a penalty shoot-out. It is something that can happen, the goalkeeper is there to make saves," David Moyes reflected, per the Liverpool Echo.

"But I think there is a way to lose if you are going to do that. It felt as if we did not look as if we did not do it in that way and that is why we have all walked away with huge disappointment.

"When we get to that point, you are hoping to go on and show it and it was poor."

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