Party on hold for Silkmen
MACCLESFIELD’S wait to be crowned Vanarama National League champions continues after Tranmere Rovers’ victory at Dover last night.
The Silkmen’s highly anticipated return to the Football League stalled on Saturday when they were held to a 1-1 draw against Leyton Orient at the Moss Rose while Rovers won 2-0 at home against Aldershot.
That left Macc hoping Dover could do them a midweek favour by beating Micky Mellon’s men at The Crabble – but the Prenton Park outfit ran out 1-0 winners.
It means Macc are seven points clear and need a win from one of their final two games to guarantee promotion – while Rovers must win all three of their remaining fixtures.
Macc go to Eastleigh on Saturday in a game televised by BT Sport which kicks off at 12.30pm.
Meanwhile, manager John Askey took the positives from his side’s 1-1 home draw with in-form Orient, despite failing to gain automatic promotion with two games to spare.
Askey was pleased with his players’ efforts: “We’ve got to get three points with two games to go – we’d snap your hands off (to be in this position).
“I still can’t believe it. We’re just enjoying it and it’s up to other teams to try and catch us.
“I thought we started brightly against Orient and created two or three great chances.
“We played Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday and, with the away travel, one or two looked a bit leggy so I thought again (the players) worked their socks off to get that point.”
However, Macclesfield were indebted to defender David Fitzpatrick for ensuring the game remained level late on; his last-ditch clearance denying a goal-bound effort from David Mooney.
Askey underlined that block as a key moment in the match: “That is as important as scoring at the other end and that could be what wins us the title.
“The players have been terrific all season and it shows; you’ve got to have guts and fight to do that.”
Although the whole team has played a crucial role, the individual contribution of veteran midfielder Dan Whitaker to the team’s success was also highlighted.
The 37-year-old opened the scoring against Orient with his 100th career goal.
“He’s fantastic, I don’t think anybody has got a bad word to say about him,” said Askey
“I’ve known him for a long time and he’s no different now than when he was 17.
“He still loves the game, he trains harder than anyone else, practices harder than anybody else and that’s why he does what he does.”