Shakers pile on
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO MACCLESFIELD .............. 1 BURY .................................. 4
THE Silkmen fell to a 4-1 home defeat to promotion hopefuls Bury in what proved to be a difficult afternoon at the Moss Rose.
Neil Danns inspired the visitors to victory with his first half brace setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Bury had the better of the early exchanges and hit the underside of the crossbar in the first minute, before two goals in four minutes made things difficult for the Silkmen.
The first came after Rhys Taylor was unable to deal with a cross, and he was only able to palm the ball into the path of Neil Danns who tapped the ball into the empty net.
Danns then scored his and Bury’s second moments later with a stunning strike from outside the box as he found the far corner and gave Taylor little chance in the Macclesfield goal.
The Silkmen fought back and almost pulled a goal back when Peter Vincenti lost his marker in the Bury box; but his header was straight at Joe Murphy in the visitors’ goal.
Ben Stephens then did pull one back for Macc as he lifted the ball over the onrushing Taylor after being played through on goal.
More Silkmen pressure ensued, with Harry Smith and Ben Stephens having chances to level the score, but they were unable to pull the Silkmen level.
Bury then restored their two-goal lead just before half time as Jay O’Shea curled a free kick into the far corner.
The Silkmen came out fighting in the second half and created a host of early opportunities with Stephens, Smith and Scott Wilson all coming close for Macc.
Wilson came the closest as he connected with a cross from the right-hand side, but he couldn’t connect cleanly with the ball and scooped the ball over the bar from close range.
Stephens then came close once more, but his shot lacked the power to trouble Murphy.
Bury then extended their lead through Nicky Maynard as he diverted the ball past Taylor from close range following a cross from the left-hand side.
On a brighter note, Ryan Lloyd made his longawaited comeback from injury off the bench for Macc, but his introduction could not help the Silkmen overturn the deficit in what was a disappointing afternoon.