Crewe clinch spoils of derby
SKY BET
LEAGUE TWO
CREWE ALEXANDRA .... 2 MACCLESFIELD .............. 0
THE Silkmen suffered a derby-day defeat against highflying Crewe Alexandra at the weekend.
Chris Porter’s penalty and Stephen Walker’s calm finish in the first half were enough for the home side to reign victorious at the Alexandra Stadium.
After a relatively quiet opening, Crewe had the chance to score from the spot.
Perry Ng jinked his way into the area before being tripped by Fraser Horsfall. Chris Porter duly despatched past Mitchell in the tenth minute , sending him the wrong way.
Crewe controlled the game after their opener and Macc gallantly looked to restore parity, against one of the league’s most potent forces.
Stephen Walker could have doubled Crewe’s lead when he wriggled through on goal, but Mitchell blocked well from a tight angle.
Shortly afterwards, Corey O’Keeffe had a glorious chance to level the game with a half volley inside the area, but he sliced his shot high and wide of the goal.
Smart link up play between Oli Finney and Charlie Kirk then resulted in the latter unleashing a powerful drive at goal,which was well saved by Mitchell.
Crewe doubled
their lead in the 35th minute after Kirk’s lobbed pass found Walker in acres of space on the Macc left hand side, and he smashed the ball past Mitchell to extend their advantage.
The second half started with Kelleher throwing himself in front of Ng’s shot which took it just wide of Mitchell’s right stick as the Railwaymen went on the hunt for a third.
Crewe’s pushed forward and they nearly got their third when Walker rolled his man before curling a shot that slammed against the post.
Macc had a chance to get back into the game after the hour mark when Horsfall’s looping header fell just wide of the post.
Will Jaaskelainen pulled off a stunning save late on after O’Keeffe was on the end of Whitehead’s whipped cross. Macc showed signs of life in the latter stages as they started to hit more balls into the box but ultimately, Head Coach Mark Kennedy will be disappointed his side didn’t ask more questions of the Crewe backline.
MACC:
Mitchell, Kelleher, Gnahoua (Ironside 64’), Tollitt (McCourt 56’), Archibald, Kirby, Horsfall, O’Keeffe, Whitehead (Stephens 85’), Tracey, Cameron. Subs: Blyth, Wilson, Fitzpatrick.
ATTENDANCE:
fans)
5413 ( 515 away