SILKMEN SLIP UP AS DONS CAPITALISE
THOUGH it had looked rosy early on, Macclesfield slipped deeper into relegation danger with a defeat at home to MK Dons.
Sol Campbell’s men let slip a one-goal lead as the promotion chasers eased to victory, with Campbell ruing his players’ inability to do the basics right.
“We’ve had a good go against a top side, it would have been better if we’d come in at 2-0, but it was 1-1 so the whole game changed,” he said.
“But we need to keep the concentration, the focus and the drive.
“When you look at MK Dons, they did stuff that was quite basic but effective, we need to do the job right, not allow guys to get back in, just defend properly, keep the ball.
“We’ve got 30 points to play for and 10 games that will define us. The players are hurting, but they’ve got to dust themselves off and go for it. Until it’s mathematical I won’t be giving up. It’s still in our hands and while it is in our hands it’s still worth fighting for.”
The win could have been more emphatic, but Dons boss Paul Tisdale was satisfied with their professionalism at a side scrapping for survival.
“Just because we didn’t score the goals in the first half, I don’t think that means we didn’t do well” he said.
“I commended the players for their intent, their attitude, their energy, their play, from the first minute to the last, they did the same things at 1-0 down that they did at 3-1.
“We played good football, we pressed and competed, and the difference from half-time was a change of style.
“It was a good game for us, Macclesfield did well in the first half and got the lead but in terms of attacking play I think we deserved it. From start to finish they were excellent.
“I don’t want to eulogise too much, it’s just another three points. All we can focus on is the next game.”
Campbell rang the changes in his starting XI, with nine alterations to the side that began the previous game.
But it was the only retained outfield player, centre-back Nathan Cameron, that put Macc ahead after 19 minutes.
Elliott Durrell’s free kick into the box was headed back across goal by Botti Biabi, which was then bundled in by the hosts’ skipper Cameron.
Macc had further chances, but James Pearson hit the bar and keeper Stuart Moore smothered the danger with Durrell poised to score.
The visitors levelled before the break through David Wheeler, who darted to the near post and glanced in Connor McGrandles’ corner.
Rejuvenated by that, MK Dons took control in the second half and, after Kieran Agard wasted an early chance, Callum Brittain drilled their second goal in through a crowd.
The only downside for the Dons was that they added just one goal – Agard’s 79th-minute header – to their tally.