NOUBLE PENALTY PEGS BACK MACC
RARELY will the footballing cliche ‘a game of two halves’ have been more appropriate after Macclesfield and Colchester drew.
Macclesfield held a warranted lead at the break but Colchester – happy to be just one in arrears – equalised a minute after the restart, dominating the second period.
And though they seemed the more likely winners late on, U’s boss John McGreal was happy with a point.
“You have to give credit to Macclesfield, there’s definitely been a change from when we played them in December,” he said.
“We did well to come in one down at half-time, we weren’t at it, they were much better.
“We changed the shape and I was much more pleased with the second-half performance.
“You have to give credit to Macclesfield for nullifying our central midfield, though I thought we caused our own problems at times. The boys adapted well and I’m really pleased to come to a team that drew late on with Crewe last week – they never give in, that’s what we’ve found out about Macclesfield under Sol Campbell, we had to work to get that point.”
Campbell was somewhat less satisfied, as he was left ruing another stop-start performance from his Silkmen side.
“We played really, really well in the first half,” he said.
“We restricted a very fluent and mobile team to very few open-play scenarios, we got the goal and could have extended it but in the second half we were slow starters.
“It’s not what I’m looking for as a team. The first half was excellent, but the second half was too slow.
“We needed a second goal to put the game to bed, but we need to be more switched-on.
“Colchester were always going to go at us and we had to be ready for that, as individuals and as a team.
“The small details will make the difference, that’s what’s missing – we’ve got the bigger picture, but it’s small details we’ve got to look after.”
Clear-cut chances were few and far between, but Macc deservedly took the lead moments before half-time.
Scott Wilson played a neat through-ball for strike partner Harry Smith, and when he played it back into his path, the Silkmen’s leading scorer rasped a firsttime finish past Rene Gilmartin.
However, it took the U’s a minute of the second half to get back on terms.
Courtney Senior’s determined charge into the box was ended by Brice Ntambwe’s clumsy shove, which allowed Frank Nouble to equalise from the spot. Though Reece Cole hit the bar for the hosts, the visitors were far stronger in the second period but also struggled to find a breakthrough and settled for a point.