Moss Rose legend John Askey has revealed his pride after Macclesfield pulled off the shock of the FA Cup third round against Cardiff City.
The late goals sent the Silkmen through to face either Wigan or Bournemouth at the Moss Rose and Askey says the win should put smiles back on the faces of the Moss Rose fans, who’ve had precious little to cheer in recent times.
‘Sir John’, currently youth team manager and an experienced part of the coaching staff, was a member of the Macc Town team that won promotion to the league in 1997 and, while he admits the FA Cup is special, there is plenty of hard graft still to come.
"It’s great to be involved in the first team again, just helping out where I can," he said. "This is a massive achievement and it’s nice to be involved in it. It’s great to play against lads who are better than us on paper and beat them.
"It’s a massive boost for the club and it could earn a lot of money, especially if it’s shown on TV. But the obvious priority is the play-offs and games like Braintree (Macc’s first game in the aftermath of the cup win) are ones that will decide our future."
As for his own FA Cup memories, Askey casts his mind back to the mid-eighties, when Macc beat Hartlepool and Rotherham to earn a third-round tie against Port Vale.
"We lost to Port Vale but it was a good cup run in front of full houses and it was special, especially for me as my dad played for Vale. But whatever round you play in it’s special, especially when you’re testing yourself against better players."
