Kelleher in howler to gift Kewell the points
THINGS are looking up for County following their win at Macclesfield, while Silkmen boss Mark Yates refuses to throw in the towel.
Defeat to the Magpies, courtesy of Fiacre Kelleher’s 81stminute gaff – which lead to Jon Stead scoring from the spot – kept Macclesfield rooted to bottom spot and desperate for a first win.
But Yates, who could only watch on in horror as his defender gifted the ball to Enzio Boldewijn, leading to a penalty for keeper Kieran O’Hara’s foul, says he and his players will fight on.
“It’s desperately disappointing to lose in the way we did,” said Yates. “Both teams struggled to create chances, there weren’t many throughout the whole game.
“I thought we had the better chances and were the better team, but it’s another defeat in difficult circumstances with the way we gave away the goal.
“Without a doubt we were well worth a point, but we shot ourselves in the foot and struggled to get any momentum after that.
“It’s a tough one for us all, but that’s where we are. The lads are working hard and putting their bodies on the line and we win and lose together.
“The dressing room is gutted, they’re distraught, Kels [Kelleher] the most of all. He’s gutted at that howler. Mistakes are costing us, but we have to pick ourselves up and go to the next game.
“I’m a fighter and I have to lift the lads, but we know we’re not a million miles away.”
While Yates rued his luck, it was a different story for Magpies boss Harry Kewell, who has overseen three straight wins.
And he put their scrappy success at the Moss Rose down to hard graft, admitting: “It was an important win for us. We’ve worked hard and we’re starting to see some benefits now.
“It wasn’t a pretty game, I’ll say that first and foremost, we knew we’d have to dig in and defend well. We had to be alive and wait for that little bit of magic.
“You have to win ugly, in every league. You have to do the tough things first, ie work hard, get your attitude right, win headers and pick up second balls.
“You’ve got to do all that and then you earn the right to play. Once you’ve done that, you play.”