This weekend proved that the magic of the FA Cup lives on, even if Crystal Palace switched roles from beneficiaries to victims in their first defence of the historic trophy.
For frequent users of the "typical Palace" moniker, this could be a pinnacle example. However, if supporting this club has taught any life lessons, unintentionally or not, it has been to stay humble in victory, whilst magnanimous in defeat.
So in that sense, unless all football romanticism were quashed forever by 97 minutes of acute frustration, even temporarily, it was a deserved victory for Macclesfield– the phoenix club, with a fanbase that suffered the pain of liquidation, which Palace twice avoided.
The result, and the manner of the performance, clearly angered Oliver Glasner, who will need to refocus and, most importantly, get his team back to work on the training ground. That's a luxury not afforded to sides with such busy schedules. The Achilles heel of set-piece defending allowed the National League North outfit into the game, as it has with others, and needs time and addressing.
With the away trip to Sunderlandon Saturday, this is the first time the squad has had a full seven days between matches since the end of September, excluding international breaks, during which a reasonable number of players are away from the squad.
If there are silver linings to be found, even in the darkest of clouds, perhaps that is it. The failure to reach the FA Cup fourth round also gives the team a free weekend ahead of their Conference League matches against either Sigma Olomouc or Zrinjski Mostar, a must-win play-off to keep this season from being a "what if".
Find more from Alex Pewter at FYP podcast
