Flint Town United manager Lee Fowler praises his former player’s FA Cup heroics

It was a proud day for Flint Town United manager Lee Fowler today when one of his ex-players became an FA Cup hero.

Macclesfield Town full-back Luis Lacey, 21, helped his side cause a major upset when they beat holders Crystal Palace 2-1 at Moss Rose in a third round shock on Saturday afternoon.

With Macc lying 14th in the tier 6 National League North and Palace 13th in the Premier League, there were 117 places in the English pyramid between the teams.

It is believed to be the biggest status gap in the cup’s 154-year history when a giant-killing occurred.

Luis was at Flint in 2023-24 on a loan deal from Tranmere Rovers. He had a superb season as the Silkmen finished runners-up in Cymru North and clinched promotion to the Cymru Premier as tier 2 champions Holywell Town did not meet the criteria required to go up.

Luis made 31 appearances for Flint, netting five goals, and made the Cymru North Team of the Season.

His elder brother Paddy, now a professional boxer, was also at the Essity that season.

Younger brother Shea, 18, plays for Manchester United and came on as a sub in this week’s 2-2 Premier League draw at Burnley, the youngster almost scoring a stunning winner when he hit the crossbar near the end.

Fowler had his own FA Cup adventures in a long professional career. His first goal in senior football came in the third round of the cup for Coventry City against Cardiff City in 2002-03.

The first game at Cardiff ended 2-2 and the sky blues won the replay 3-0, Fowler scoring the first goal at the Ricoh Arena with Dean Holdsworth and Jay Bothroyd also on target.

The Flint chief was delighted with today’s achievement by his former player, saying: “Luis was ready for men’s football and we were able to give him that first step into senior games.

“When the opportunity for Paddy and Luis came as a package, firstly we were able to bring in two players with different qualities and for football romance, two brothers playing in the same team.

“It was special for them, well I say that until Paddy face-planted and burnt his nose in the 5-1 win v Llandudno away (in front of his dad and Shea and Luis).

“It was pleasing to see Shea make his debut for Man United (in midweek) and Luis versus Palace today, both avoiding the older brother’s antics on the day lol.

“They are a great family and I wish them all huge success. We all should be proud of what they have all done and will continue to do, I’m just glad we have played a small part in their story.”