Brave Trophy run ends with Tyneside defeat
FA TROPHY SEMI FINAL GATESHEAD .................... 2 MACCLESFIELD .............. 1
MACCLESFIELD went into last weekend’s fixture with optimism having previously got the better of National League side Dorking Wanderers and high-flying National League South side Hampton & Richmond Borough.
But the 170-mile trip to National League promotion-pushers Gateshead proved a challenge too far.
695 Silkmen supporters made the trip to Tyne and Wear on Saturday afternoon to see their side fall 2-1 short of a trip to Wembley after strikes from Ben Worman and Callum Whelan inside the opening 25 minutes meant that the Heed entered the interval two goals to the good.
Hope was provided for all in blue after Kane Drummond halved the deficit less than two minutes after the break, but false hope this was after the hosts managed the game well to kill any desire of a Macc leveller, meaning it was Gateshead who secured a place in the final of the FA Trophy.
Manager Michael Clegg made two changes to the side that were victorious away at Hyde United on bank holiday Monday, with Brandon Lee and Sam Perry returning to the starting XI in replacement for Neil Kengni, who dropped to the bench, and Paul Dawson, who was suspended for cumulative yellow cards.
Dan Lafferty earnt a spot back in the lineup after claiming his first goal for the Silkmen in their 3-1 victory over the Tigers last week.
An unfortunate start to Saturday’s clash saw Gateshead snatch the lead in the first chance of the game.
A clever ball over the top of the Silkmen back four found Dajaune Brown, who beat Sam Heathcote for pace before squaring it behind him which Ben Worman had already anticipated, wasting no opportunity in setting the ball in front of him and slotting a left-footed effort past Ollie Byrne to break the deadlock within the opening five minutes.
Equipped with the advantage, Gateshead sought a second and did so via Brown, whose excellent first touch allowed him to spin Heathcote and pick out
Luke Hannant in acres of space out on the right flank, but the former Colchester United man could only fire his conclusive effort high of the crossbar.
Luke Duffy then found himself dispossessed just outside the Silkmen area, allowing Worman to play in Brown once again, but the 18-year-old’s firsttimed effort could only flash the face of goal after being forced out to a tight angle by Lafferty.
The hosts were without their leading goalscorer Marcus Dinanga, a man who has netted 26 times this season, but this didn’t stop the Tynesiders from scoring.
Lee’s attempted short ball to John Rooney only got as far as Greg Olley, who slotted a ball into the path of Brown who burst into the Macc area before trying to cut inside onto his left foot but was stopped by Lafferty’s welltimed sliding challenge.
However, the loose ball was picked back up by Brown who unselfishly teed the ball up for Whelan, who powered home a second past a helpless Byrne inside the area to make Macclesfield’s task that much harder.
As Silkmen heads started to drop, Gateshead continued to pose a relentless threat. After Brown withstood the physical presence of Laurant Mendy, the winger knocked the ball to Ed Francis on the edge of the area, who curled an outstanding effort towards the top left corner which struck the far post before being stabbed away by Tre
Pemberton before the two sides entered the interval.
But a two-goal deficit didn’t stop Macc from attempting to claw back wherever they could, with Drummond pulling a goal back immediately after the restart.
After Whelan’s headed clearance only got as far as Drummond, the inform Silkmen forward chested the ball in front of him before drilling an extraordinary strike from 20 yards out into the bottom left corner to half the deficit and motivate his side to push for the leveller.
Clegg turned to his bench in an attempt to find this leveller, calling upon Dan Sweeney who replaced Tunde Owolabi.
But Macc quickly found themselves in trouble after Tom Allan had been set free down the right after Lee had given him enough space to get in behind, with the Heed winger picking out Olley inside the area in a suitable position for a shot, but his effort was kept out by an excellent stop from Byrne who reacted quickly to push the effort away with both hands.
Macc’s second change of the afternoon followed and saw Perry make way for the return of Alex Curran, who made his first appearance since picking up an injury on the 3rd February against Bamber Bridge.
Neil Kengni then replaced Lee at left-back, but as hard as Macc appeared to fight for a leveller, they couldn’t quite dig deep enough to find that second goal.
The hosts did well to keep a strong hold of possession in the five additional minutes of added time at the end of the 90, allowing them to claim the victory and a place at Wembley.
The FA Trophy final will be played on Saturday 11th May, where Gateshead will meet fellow National League play-off contenders Solihull Moors after they concluded victorious 2-1 away at Bromley.
But the Silkmen must now dust themselves off and turn towards a crucial run of games in the run for promotion, with the next being an away trip to Basford United on Saturday 13th April.
GATESHEAD:
Montgomery, Tinkler, Richardson, Grayson, Hannant, Allan, Francis, Whelan, Worman, Olley, Brown Byrne, Pemberton, Lee, Lafferty, Heathcote, Perry, Mendy, Drummond, Owolabi, Rooney, Duffy 3,031
MACCLESFIELD: ATTENDANCE:
NEARLY 700 Macclesfield fans made the trip to Hyde United to see their side secure a statement 3-1 victory on Easter Monday against a 10-man
Tigers.
Danny Lafferty opened the scoring after 12 minutes before the hosts’ Florian Yonsian tied things up on the half-hour mark.
Fortunately for the Silkmen, however, second-half strikes from Paul Dawson and Kane Drummond gave Macc the three points to wrap-up a successful bank holiday clash.
Manager Michael Clegg made two changes to the side that were triumphant against FC United of Manchester just two days prior, with Dan Lafferty and John Rooney returning to the starting XI in replacement of Drew Baker and Sam Perry.
Macc applied the pressure on the Hyde backline immediately, with Rooney doing well to spot Tre Pemberton’s overlapping run to his right, with the Silkmen full-back squaring a ball into the area for Tunde Owolabi to hit first time, but his effort soared high over the bar.
But Macc soon found themselves ahead after Lafferty’s first Silkmen goal broke the deadlock early on.
Rooney’s corner-ball from the left was planted onto the head of Laurant Mendy, who knocked the ball to Lafferty to allow the centre-half to nod home from close range.
Having fallen behind, Hyde looked to provide a response by coming forward down the left flank where Antoine Makoli’s intelligent footwork allowed him to get the better of Pemberton but could only watch his shot fly over the bar.
But the Tigers weren’t trailing for long. Makoli entered the Silkmen area on the half-turn, allowing him to unleash an effort goalwards but was palmed away by Byrne.
However, the ‘keeper’s stop was only pushed as far as Yonsian, who knocked the ball past a scrambling Byrne and into an empty net to make things all square.
Macc appeared eager to reinstate their lead, coming forward with pace down the centre of the pitch.
Mendy rose highest to nod the ball across the edge of the area to Owolabi, who flicked a ball to Rooney to give the Silkmen number 10 the desired space for a shot, but despite a well-hit half-volley, Jordan Eastham was down quickly to keep the attempt out and the two sides entered the interval level.
Macc returned from the break equipped with great determination and threat, with their first chance of the second period concluding successful.
Rooney’s smart ball to Luke Duffy allowed the winger to attempt a shot on goal but was stopped by Will
Squires, with the ball ricocheting into the path of Drummond.
A flawless cross from Drummond was weighted perfectly for Dawson at the back post who, unmarked, nodded the ball with composure past Eastham to snatch back his side’s lead in front of the elated travelling Silkmen fans.
And circumstances continued to spiral downhill for the hosts after Harry Ditchfield saw red with half-anhour to go.
Rooney’s high ball over the top of the Hyde backline was set into the path of Owolabi at full sprint, but was prevented from meeting the end of it after Ditchfield had knocked the ball away with his hand, causing the referee to issue the centre-half a straight red card.
Macc were then able to capitalise on having the advantage of an extra man, with Drummond soon adding a third for the visitors.
After Laurent Mendy picked up possession in the middle of the park, a quick ball to Rooney saw the Silkmen number 10 thread a pin-point ball through the gap in the Hyde backline, allowing Drummond to open up his body a slot a composed finish into the bottom right corner to hand his side a comfortable lead.
Following the goal, Michael Clegg used this as an opportunity to make a double change which saw Pemberton and Dawson make way for Sam Perry and Bohan Dixon.
Macc’s final chance of the game nearly saw them claim a fourth after an intelligent lobbed through-ball by Mendy allowed
Owolabi to sprint towards the Tigers area at full force to meet Eastham one-on-one, but the Hyde ‘keeper timed his run to perfection and made himself big enough to sweep the ball away from Owolabi.
Tom Clare was then introduced to play out the closing minutes, replacing Drummond.
HYDE:
Eastham, Ditchfield, Doherty, Spooner, Amado, Squires, Fearnley, Jones-Griffiths, Yonsian, Redshaw, Makoli
MACCLESFIELD:
Byrne, Pemberton, Kengni, Lafferty, Heathcote, Dawson, Mendy, Drummond, Owolabi, Rooney, Duffy
ATTENDANCE:
1,473