Derby win has Silkmen rising to top

NW COUNTIES PREMIER DIVISION MACCLESFIELD .......... 1 CONGLETON TOWN ... 0

JAMES Berry-McNally’s dramatic 56th-minute strike gave The

Silkmen maximum points against Congleton Town on Monday, as Danny Whitaker’s side moved to the NWCFL Premier Division summit.

Macc started in the ascendancy and were unlucky not to break the deadlock within the first sixty seconds. Laurent Mendy released Aaron Dwyer through on goal, yet as he steadied himself to pull the trigger it allowed defender Gary Roberts time to divert the effort wide of goal.

As the Silkmen fans continued to create an electric atmosphere, the game developed into a real derby affair.

Peter Williams was unlucky to see his effort sail high and wide in the 7th minute and further to this,

Tom Pope would crucially lose his footing in the 11th minute as he threatened to run clean through on goal.

Although the game understandably represented a war of attrition within the midfield for much of the first period, Macc did carve out a flowing move in the 15th minute which ended with Edy Maieco firing wide of the near post from ten yards out.

Congleton went on to dominate the game at that point and in the 21st minute were desperately unlucky not to take the lead when Roberts slid the ball past Pierce - only to see it spectacularly cleared off the line by Louis Shead.

After weathering the storm somewhat, Macc then regained the ascendancy as Berry-McNally fired over the bar from an acute angle before Mendy forced David Parton into an incredible save with a rasping drive.

The hosts continued to press and in the

32nd minute, Dwyer’s pinpoint cross from the right was volleyed back across goal and agonisingly wide of the near post by Berry-McNally.

Dwyer proved to be the dangerman once again two minutes later, as he glanced Sanogo Sekouba’s cross from the left wide of the far post.

Although Macc had begun to carve out a number of guilt-edged chances, the visitors continued to be a potent threat, and in the 38th minute skipper Jonathan Beaumont was inches away from giving Congleton the lead when a cross from the left scraped his outstretched boot - flying away to safety.

Mendy then headed a Berry-McNally corner straight at Parton, before Tom Pope rattled Ben Pierce’s crossbar with a ferocious effort.

The second period began with the hosts dictating play right from the off. Within a minute of the restart, Edy Maieco’s surging run through the Congleton defence was thwarted with a cynical challenge and from the resultant free-kick, Aaron Dwyer was unlucky to see his looping effort fly narrowly wide of the left-hand post.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 56th minute, when Berry-McNally cut inside from the left before brilliantly firing the ball into the far corner of the net.

Six minutes later, Macc could easily have doubled their lead when Dwyer’s teasing cross from the right was volleyed inches over the bar by Kielen Adams.

Adams then went on to strike over the bar from six yards out as Macc continued to dominate, with Tom Pope’s speculative effort for the visitors flying high and wide in the 70th minute.

Substitute Sam Grimshaw then caused havoc down the left-hand flank, before seeing his driven cross evade the advancing Adams by the smallest of margins.

MACCLESFIELD FC:

Pierce, Hanson, Sekouba, Shead, Coker, Mendy, Dwyer, Berry-McNally, Clare, Maieco, Adams. Subs: Sanogo, Ajayi, Grimshaw, Hodgson, Fleming.