Clegg steers slick Silkmen into semis
MACCLESFIELD boss Michael Clegg began his Isuzu FA Trophy journey with Macclesfield successfully on Saturday, leading the Silkmen to the semi-finals in just his second game in charge.
A comfortable 3-0 victory over Coalville Town was the product of an early own-goal and second-half conversions from John Rooney and Kane Drummond.
Tom Clare returned to the squad after it was announced last Thursday that he would be signing back for the Silks until the end of the season. He remained an unused substitute.
Paul Dawson was named among the starting XI for the first time in three weeks following a suspension due to accumulated yellow cards.
Clegg, when asked about his thoughts on securing a spot in the semi-finals, stated: “It’s what dreams are made of.”
“I do think we were poor to start with,” he admitted. “We were really sloppy, we got given a goal but we did take over after that.
“We could have had a few more, we probably should’ve gone 3-0 up but I’m absolutely delighted.
“A massive thanks to the fans, they were like our 12th man, I know it’s a cliché and I’m not one to be like that but they were absolutely superb and I’m just made-up for everyone involved.
“Obviously for the previous gaffers who have got them to this point, it’s easy for me to step in now in such a big game, but they’ve done so well to get them here.
“For everyone connected to the club, it’s been a great day.”
The Silkmen did struggle to capitalise on their chances created in the first half and only benefited from Eliot Putman’s own-goal after six minutes.
However the turning point came with half-anhour to go after Rooney added a second in style, with this being followed by Drummond’s lowdriven strike from outside the area to add a third.
“[The second goal] was massive and that’s what I said to the lads at halftime,” said Clegg.
“I could only give them credit with prep for [Coalville] to play a certain way so we’d been pretty religious with that this week in planning for that.
“But then they set-up completely different and played different to how we thought they would and it took us 20 minutes to get used to it.
“But I think once we got the defensive line a bit higher and [Paul] Dawson and [Laurent] Mendy sat on Tim Berridge’s toes and then their number 8 who was trying to get in behind, we dealt with it really well.
“Their in-game management was really good, I’m just really pleased with us, I thought we were absolutely electric when we won the ball back.
“John Rooney was absolutely brilliant, Kane Drummond was good, there were loads of good performances.
“I thought big Sam [Heathcote] was great at the back and I could go on all day about that.”
Heathcote returned to the starting XI amid the absence of Lewis Fensome who was ruled out on Saturday following a shoulder injury.
The ex-Runcorn Linnets man has been pivotal this season for the Silkmen from both defence and attack, and spoke following Saturday’s success.
“I think it took us about 20 minutes or so to get into the game, the gap was probably too big but we managed to sort that out on the pitch,” said Heathcote.
“We got a bit more compact and a bit more solid, we kept the ball and there were opportunities to play
and I thought the lads going forward caused them all sorts of problems.
“It was great to get the win and keep the dream alive of going to Wembley.
“It’s magical because it means a lot to the boys and it means a lot to everyone’s families, I know a lot of people who have played there and it’d mean the world for me to get there.
“We’re just one game off and in a one-off game anyone can win so hopefully that’s us.”
Clegg has mentioned in recent weeks that the trophy run has been one of the many factors attracting him to Macclesfield, with his motivation to get to the final being evident.
“When it comes down to Wembley you dream, and everyone should dream because what a fairy tale that would be if we could get there”, said the Silkmen boss.
“We will do everything we can, we’ll plan, we’ll prep, we’ll watch whoever we get drawn against and we’ll make sure we’re in a good place.
“For us, whether it be Wembley or the play-offs, every game is just massive and whilst I’m in charge of this football club I think the aim is to win every football match and that’s what we’re going to try and do.”
After games have been postponed and rescheduled, Macc now find
themselves with between two and four games in hand of the four sides above them, making their schedule busy over the coming weeks.
“That’s what the lads want, I think the lads want games, we’ve got a great squad, you’ve seen the bench today. We brought [Sam Perry] on with halfan-hour to go and then bringing on Luke Duffy on and Dan Sweeny with 20 minutes to go.
“We’ve got Alex Curran to come back as well, Bohan [Dixon] was cup-tied today so it’s going to be tough to pick a 16 next week.”
Clegg has been a huge advocate of the importance of the supporters in helping the team cross the
line, and could be spotted celebrating with the Star Lane End after the fulltime whistle.
“We would love for them to travel in numbers, we need them.
“It’s so good to see them behind the goal, they’re absolutely up and down and going to spend time with them after the game has been good to get a feel for the club.
“Obviously the [Atherton] Collieries game got postponed so I got to know a lot of them that day and I think we need to use them as a catalyst to push us forward.
“The home crowds are fantastic, we’d love for them to all start travelling away, it gives the lads a massive lift and we know how important football is to this club, we know how important it is to try and get them back where they want to be.
“We are going to try our best to do that every week.”