Keith Andrews made a beeline for the Macclesfield dressing room after Brentford’s fourth-round FA Cup victory at Moss Rose and told John Rooney and his players they had been immense against his Premier League charges.

The Brentford head coach said footballing journeys like the one Macclesfield have enjoyed since their rebirth “fills my heart” as he waxed lyrical about the true test his team were given by the National League North outfit.

The visitors sealed their passage to the fifth round, where they will play at West Ham, via Sam Heathcote’s second-half own goal. Until that point, Macclesfield’s dogged defending and determination had made it a difficult night for Brentford, the Silkmen threatening to pull off a second successive cup upset after stunning the holders, Crystal Palace, in the third round.

“A tricky game for us,” said Andrews. “We have a lot of respect for the way they play, the spirit they have, the way they can change and perform to the levels they have against us and Palace, it’s a testament to John and the club.

“It was never going to be easy, I thought we didn’t make it easy for ourselves in the first half but we...