‘Heartbreak will make us better’
MACCLESFIELD Town captain Andy Halls insists the team will benefit next season from the experiences they have faced during the past campaign. The Silkmen missed out on the playoffs after finishing ninth in the National League table, before then suffering heartbreak with a 3-2 defeat to York City in the FA Trophy final at Wembley.
While it may have been a frustrating end for Mac- clesfield, Halls is adamant that there are plenty of positives to take into the new season, both on the pitch and off it.
“I think the silver lining is that the club’s made money from the cup run in the FA Cup and the cup run in the FA Trophy which I think is the best you can take out of this season,” he told the club’s official website.
“We finished higher than what we did last season, we earned more points so in that aspect it’s positive.
“I think overall, despite not winning the trophy at the end, we can take a lot of positives and say that this has been a good season, which will help going into next season for sure.
“When we lost the FA Trophy final I was gutted for everyone involved and all the fans that travelled down in numbers.
“I’m just disappointed we couldn’t do it, I feel that we deserved it – we were the only team looking to create chances and play football.
“But they had three shots on target and scored all three so I’m not taking anything away from them, they’re really effective in what they do.
“I just feel that we didn’t get what we deserved and with these finals it is heartbreaking stuff – it’s the most down I’ve been after a football match.”
York’s FA Trophy win came just a few weeks after they suffered relegation from the National League, but Halls admits that league form went out of the window in the game.
“It doesn’t really count for anything. Parkin made life difficult for the defenders,” he said.
“They had three shots and scored from all of them where we created five or six real good chances and not put them away.”
Just over a week removed from the final, Halls is still full of praise for all of the fans that made the trip to Wembley to cheer on Macclesfield.
“The support was unbelievable.
“If I’m honest I didn’t expect that number to come to follow Macc to the final so a huge credit to them,” he said.
“I’d like to thank them all personally but obviously that’s not possible so my message to them is thanks for coming and I’m sorry that we couldn’t get the result that we deserved.”