Macc pegged back at Barrow
MACCLESFIELD Town saw their winning streak come to an end on Saturday after they were held to a draw at Barrow.
Danny Whitehead opened the scoring for the visitors in the first half at Holker Street, before Jason Walker equalised from the penalty spot just before the interval.
Both goalkeepers were then called upon in the second half on several occasions to make sure their team didn’t concede another goal, with the game finishing 1-1.
It was a quiet start to the match, with the hosts having the first real chance when a cross into the box by Richie Sutton was met by Andy Cook, but the striker was unable to force a save out of Macc goalkeeper Ritchie Branagan, who came in for Shwan Jalal.
The Silkmen started to come into the game more as the half progressed, with Reece Styche having an effort deflected wide before John McCombe headed against the crossbar.
Macc continued to push Barrow and they were rewarded in the 24th min- ute when Whitehead slotted home after getting on the end of a pass from Danny Rowe to make it 1-0.
Macclesfield still had to be alert at the other end though, as Andy Haworth saw a free-kick hit the post for Barrow.
Styche was causing problems for the opposition defence but it was in his own box where he made his biggest contribution to the game, fouling Walker and forcing the referee to award a penalty.
Walker dusted himself off and took the spot kick himself, firing it into the back of the net to make it 1-1 at half-time.
The Silkmen looked to restore their lead through Rowe as the second half got underway, but he couldn’t steer his attempt on target.
In the 51st minute, Barrow then forced a good save out of Branagan after a powerful shot by Jordan Williams from outside the box.
The action quietened down from that point onwards until Macc came to life in the 65th minute, going close on several occasions.
First a Chris Holroyd effort was deflected wide, before Whitehead had two chances in quick succession on the edge of the box, but he couldn’t con- vert either of them.
Barrow tried their luck after getting through the wave of Macclesfield chances, as top scorer Cook almost headed the home side in the lead, but his attempt went narrowly wide. Whitehead was at the front of almost every Silkmen attack and was again involved in another move late on, but he was denied by Barrow goal- keeper Joel Dixon.
Both teams searched for a winner in the closing stages but neither of them could find it, meaning they had to settle for a point apiece.