AFC held on heavy pitch at Golbourne

CHESHIRE FOOTBALL LEAGUE ONE GOLBOURNE SPTS ..........2 AFC MACCLESFIELD ......2

AFC Macclesfield were held to a draw at Saturday after earning a share of the spoils against Golbourne Sports.

Surprisingly, after the recent bad weather, the game was given the go ahead but the pitch wasn’t at its best.

It was clear from the kick off that it wasn’t going to suit AFC Macclesfield’s passing style.

It was Golbourne who took the early lead on 15 minutes after Jack Hunter got caught in possession on the edge of the box, with the Golbourne striker taking full advantage and making it 1-0.

Macclesfield threatened on a number of occasions but they couldn’t break down the packed Golbourne defence.

It was a scrappy first half and the teams went in at half-time with the score remaining 1-0 to the hosts.

It was a similar story at the start of second half, but in the 56th minute, a long ball found Jack Banister who smashed the ball into the roof of the net to level the scores.

Macclesfield were now getting to grips with the pitch and in the 64th minute, they made it 2-1.

Jack Hunter was brought down in the box and Banister grabbed his second by converting the spot kick.

Macclesfield looked comfortable but in the 88th minute, against the run of play, the game was all square when the Golbourne striker grabbed his second of the game.

The drama wasn’t over as in the 90th minute, Hunter was again brought down in the box, giving the visitors a last gasp penalty.

Banister was on for his hat-trick, but the goalkeeper pulled off a stunning save to ensure the match finished 2-2.

While the first team may have been held to a draw, AFC Macclesfield Reserves were victorious after a 3-1 win at Styal Reserves in the semi-final of the Cheshire Football League Reserves Cup.

Although Styal were fielding a number of first team players, Macclesfield took charge and with their quick passing and movement gained success on the wings from the excellent direct running of Jack Naylor.

The early pressure paid off.

Naylor beat the Styal left back with a great turn and struck the ball at goal, hitting the post.

Fortunately, Macc striker Matty Horton reacted first and placed the ball into the back of the net.

Within minutes it was 2-0 after another great pass to Naylor allowed him time to thread the ball through for Nathan Jackson, who calmly placed the ball into the back of the net.

The reserves continued to put pressure on the Styal defence, but were unable to take their chances.

Styal began to get into the game knowing another Macclesfield goal would make it game over. As Styal started to get hold of the ball, Macc began to commit unnecessary fouls.

It was from one of these fouls, which resulted in a goal for Styal.

They delivered a dangerous cross from the free kick and their striker was quickest to react to put the ball into the back of the Macclesfield net.

Just before half time, Styal should have equalised.

Their striker took the ball past the Macc goalkeeper but was stopped by Trevor Firth who produced a match winning tackle.

The second half started with both teams having their share of the ball, but Styal were becoming frustrated due to the great defensive performances of centre halves Trevor Firth and Jamie Collins, while full back Michael Nowell kept the Styal star winger quiet throughout the match.

Macclesfield began to take advantage of Styal’s frustrations at not being able to create any clear chances and began to create chances of their own.

With 20 minutes remaining, Bradley Griffin ran at the Styal defence and released a pass to Lee Quinlan who got to the ball before the oncoming Styal goalkeeper and slotted the ball in to the net to make it 3-1 and earn his side the win and a place in the final.