Ritchie’s chance to be No.1 at Macc

JOHN Askey believes the number one position could now be Ritchie Branagan’s to lose after the Macclesfield goalkeeper put in a man-of-the-match performance against Eastleigh.

Branagan came into the starting line-up for Saturday’s game after Shwan Jalal was forced off with a head injury against Lincoln.

He was knocked unconscious during an accidental collision, ruling him out of the weekend match.

While the Silkmen may have lost the game 1-0, Askey was extremely impressed with Branagan.

“Ritchie was initially going to be our first-choice goalkeeper this season, but this now gives him a great chance to prove he should be in the net,” he said.

‘’He performed well on Saturday so it will be his position to lose, and hopefully this can create a good competition between the two of them.’’

Branagan joined Macclesfield from Salford City in 2013, but was second choice in the team behind Rhys Taylor.

Taylor left for Newport County earlier this summer, giving Branagan the chance to stake a claim for the number one shirt.

He began his youth career at Bolton before joining Bury, and has also been capped for Republic of Ireland at U21 level.