Macclesfield assistant boss almost missed Chelsea draw

Macclesfield assistant manager Ray Mathias was doubly surprised by yesterday’s FA Cup third-round draw, which has pitched Coca-Cola League Two’s bottom club away to Barclays Premiership champions Chelsea.

The Silkmen, whose player-manager is former England midfielder Paul Ince, booked their place in the draw with a 2-1 win over Hartlepool. As well as struggling to take in the fact that his side now face a glamour trip to west London, Mathias was taken by surprise the draw had started at all.

“I was in the house on my own and I was just having a shave. I was told [the draw] was on at 4pm and not 3pm. It was on the TV so I was halfway through a shave,” Mathias told Sky Sports News.

“Going to Chelsea is a fantastic thing for the players. They have earned the right to go there and hopefully they will do credit to themselves.”

The big tie of the round pitched holders Liverpool against Arsenal, with the sides also due to meet in the Carling Cup quarter-finals on December 19.