RETURN OF THE MACC!
Askey’s boys make a splash as Football League beckons
MACCLESFIELD TOWN opened up a six-point gap at the top of the National League heading into Easter Monday’s clash with Chester thanks to a dramatic last-minute winner at Woking.
Danny Whitehead struck in the 94th minute as the Silkmen won 3-2 to take full advantage of the misfortune of their title rivals Sutton United, who were leading 3-2 at halftime when their game at Maidenhead United was abandoned. The U’s hope to close the gap at home to Bromley in front of the BT Sport cameras tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Salford City moved six points clear in National League North after edging out Curzon Ashton 2-1, and Havant & Waterlooville maintained their National League South title charge by beating Westonsuper-Mare 2-0.
VERDICT: Macclesfield once again showed their title credentials to deservedly score a second late goal this week while edging hapless Woking closer to the drop zone
AS THE Macclesfield players and fans celebrated Danny Whitehead’s injury-time winner to move six points clear at the top, manager John Askey was left wondering what all the fuss was about.
The man behind Macc’s incredible title challenge was sent off late on for kicking a puddle out of frustration and with the match live on BT Sport, he watched the remaining minutes unfold from the Woking boardroom.
Amazingly, Askey was the last person inside the ground to know the Silkmen had snatched three priceless points.
“There was a 30-second delay on the TV,” he told The NLP. “I heard the cheer, I knew the ball was in Woking’s half so I presumed it was a penalty or a goal. I couldn’t believe it when it went in. It just shows you don’t need a manager!”
On a day when the weather played havoc, the conditions almost had the final say when Tyrone Marsh’s goalbound effort stopped in the mud before Whitehead slid in to apply the crucial touch. It was a cruel result on relegation-battling Woking, who had led through Charlie Carter before Nathan Blissett headed in a firsthalf equaliser.
Reece Grego-Cox cancelled out Marsh’s emphatic finish with six minutes to go, but Macclesfield still found a way to win.
“We’ll only say ‘it’s what champions do’ if we actually achieve that,” added Askey. “It shows the players have resilience and keep their heads. Full credit to them.”
It took 20 minutes for his side to get going, only after Shwan Jalal spilled Carter’s header, allowing the midfielder to net the rebound.
The away side began to show their class and finally a sublime cross from Mitch Hancox allowed Blissett to plant his diving header into the corner.
Askey sought more control in the middle of the park at the break, switching to a 4-3-3 formation, and within ten minutes of the second half, Macclesfield were ahead.
Blissett cleverly flicked Pilkington’s cross onto Marsh, who slammed a volley into the top corner.
From there the visitors should have killed the game off but they were made to pay by Grego-Cox, ghosting in at the back post to tap-in Cook’s corner.
Yet when it looked like they would have to settle for a point, Macclesfield produced a huge moment in the title race. Marsh wheeled away in celebration after slipping the ball under Baxter, unaware his effort had held up in the mud, two yards from the goal line.
Defender Joey Jones could have cleared if he hadn’t turned his back to goal, also thinking the ball was heading in, as Whitehead raced past him to score.
Gutted Woking manager Anthony Limbrick said: “We worked so hard to get back in the game.
“It is difficult to know what to say right now. It’s just so heartbreaking for the players.”