Depleted Macc no match for the Hoppers

MACCLESFIELD were without a glut of regulars and Preston came ready to take advantage.

Grasshoppers wasted multiple invitations into the opposing half as Macc struggled to get going, before scoring the first try through Luke Proctor.

Neither attack was in full flow until a nice break by Tom Davidson fed the Hoppers backs and Scott Jordan eventually scored.

Macc wasted a few opportunities of their own before a third try for the Lancashire side, who were awarded a penalty in midfield and kicked to the corner. Discipline was apparently a problem for Macc, who nevertheless edged it in the scrum.

It looked like a long way back, but they re-grouped and got on the right side of the ref. Their attack picked up and they scored through Josh Redfern to trail 19-7 at the break.

Macc restarted brightly but wasted the chance to reassert themselves before Hoppers went up the other end and took three points, quickly following with a close-range score.

The game was gone for the home side and the remainder was grim viewing as they tried to play for bonus points. Preston, though, took advantage of the looseness of the game and scored multiple times.

Macclesfield have a door-die game against Sheffield Tigers next week whereas Preston have secured their N2N status, if it was even in doubt.