Macclesfield boss John Rooney "couldn't be any prouder" of his team's efforts after their dream run in the FA Cup came to an end.

Brentford won 1-0 on Monday thanks to a Sam Heathcote own goal, which came midway through the second half.

Macclesfield, who dumped out holders Crystal Palace in round three, were looking to become the first non-league team to knock out two top-flight sides in one FA Cup season since Millwall in 1913-14.

There was not much to separate the sixth-tier hosts from their Premier League opposition on Monday, with Brentford managing only one attempt on target, albeit the Bees did have 16 shots overall and put up 1.75 expected goals to Macclesfield's 0.46 xG.

"The lads have been outstanding and I couldn't be any prouder of them," Rooney told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"That little bit between, the lads have been incredible. To lose 1-0 to a Premier League side to an own goal, I couldn't have asked more of them.

"Our season doesn't stop tonight, we get back to our bread and butter and bounce back on Saturday."

Among teams to play at least two games against Premier League sides this season, only Fredrikstad (0.5), Arsenal (0.7) and Manchester City (0.9) have a lower goals conceded per game ratio than Macclesfield (1.0).

2 - Among teams to play at least two games against Premier League sides this season, only Fredrikstad (0.5), Arsenal (0.7) and Man City (0.9) have a lower goals conceded per game ratio than Macclesfield (1), who only conceded two goals in two games. Valiant. pic.twitter.com/KolU81TcFW

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 16, 2026

And Brentford coach Keith Andrews noted his team had to deal with being in a situation where nobody else wanted them to progress to a fifth-round tie with West Ham.

"It was a really tough test. We knew it would be," he told TNT Sports.

"Macclesfield play with a real spirit and the way they approach the game they had confidence from the last round.

"We eventually wore them down and got the goal we clearly needed. The pitch will never be used as an excuse but it was different, I suppose. Different from what the players are used to training on and playing on daily – that's a fact.

"We are a pretty likeable club and we are normally the underdog, but everybody wanted us to lose tonight and we had to deal with that."