FOOTBALL was the main event at Macclesfield Town’s FA Cup clash with Everton, but there was plenty off-pitch action too – with a Norwegian invasion, a crew of sleepless heaters...and even a marriage proposal.

As most supporters slept in their beds, six stalwart lads braved a whole night of freezing temperatures to thaw the ground with little heaters.

An appeal from the club for helpers to keep the pitch from frosting over led to the band of dedicated volunteers working from 8am on Friday (January 2) through to 8am on Saturday (January 3).

Pat Slattery, 37, of Fir Grove, Macclesfield, was one of the hardy souls who slogged it out for more than 24 hours – all in the name of his beloved Macclesfield Town.

He said: "We proved everyone wrong by getting the pitch ready for the game despite the weather – the frost was about 2in deep!   We had heaters on defrosting the grass, but it could only do a quarter of the pitch at a time, so it took us a while."

The Odd Jobs Cleaning Group worker added that "a bit of laughing and joking" through the bitterly cold evening kept their spirits up ahead of the big game.

Pat was joined by three youngsters on the sleepless night – Ian Prior, 15, Will McGinnis, 16, and James Wilson, 14.

He said: "The young lads were fantastic, they come to home and away games. They’re the future."

Patrick Nelson, chief executive of Macclesfield Town, said: "We portrayed not only the football club but the whole town at its best."

He added: "The volunteers made all the difference and we couldn’t have managed without them.  To thank them, we’re going to make them match sponsors for the Wycombe game."

And the volunteers were not the only fans willing to go the extra mile to see their team – a trio of Macc Town mad men travelled a whopping 1,200km to watch their heroes.

Terje Thorsdalen, 49, Rune Thorsdalen, 37, and Bjorn Thorsdalen, 34, each paid £300 to fly from their home town of Grimstad.

Terje, a member of the Scandanavian Macclesfield Town Supporters Club, said: "We booked our plane tickets straight away when the draw was made.  This was one we didn’t want to miss out on!"