‘Surreal’ – young fan torn between Macclesfield and Palacepublished at 12:15 GMT
Macclesfield v Crystal Palace (12:15 GMT)
Ruth Gregory
BBC Sport
For Macclesfield season ticket holder Toby, today’s fixture is on he could have only once dreamed of, having also supported Palace since the age of four.
“It’s just surreal,” he said. “Sometimes I used to think ‘what if Macc were to play Palace?’. And it was just like ‘that’s not going to happen’. Well it is.
“It’s an event you wouldn’t normally see happen as a supporter. It feels really weird to be seeing all Palace’s top players here.”
The 12-year-old began watching Macclesfield in 2020 while also still following the Eagles to away games across England’s north west.
Toby is still torn between which team he wants to see progress through to the fourth round.
“I’ve got tickets in the home end,” he said. “Choosing who I want to win, it would be great to see Palace play in another round but it would just be amazing to see Macc go on into the fourth.
“I’m not expecting too much of a thrashing from Palace and I’m expecting Macc to do well, so probably a 2-1 Palace win.
“But I’m hoping Macclesfield do get a last-minute goal, that would be great.”
