Tigers close the gap after beating Silkmen
A10-MAN Macclesfield suffered defeat on the road to Worksop Town on Saturday, who now move within a point of the Silkmen after Jay Rollins’ strike secured the hosts a 1-0 victory.
John Rooney saw red with half-an-hour to go following a reckless challenge on winger Terry Hawkridge, meaning he’ll be suspended from Macc’s next three games against Stafford Rangers, Morpeth Town and Ashton United.
Manager Michael Clegg produced an unchanged side to the XI that swept aside Coalville Town in the FA Trophy, with newest recruit Danny Lafferty being named among the substitutes.
Lafferty joins the side from FC United of Manchester and has had previous spells at Bury, Atherton Collieries and Radcliffe.
Macc started quicker of the two sides after Rooney came close to turning home Kane Drummond’s low-driven cross, but the Silkmen number 10 couldn’t quite get enough on it.
Town then countered and did so with a great threat. A quick move was finished with Regan Hutchinson’s powerful strike onto the post from a tight angle, thus acting as a wake-up call for the Silks.
Worksop then came forward again, this time through Liam Hughes who directed Rollins’ cross just wide of Joe Hilton’s far post on the volley, with the Tigers beginning to dominate the game.
However Macc weren’t going to let that happen for long after a phase of admirable football allowed the Silkmen attack to knock the ball around the Worksop backline, but Rooney could only guide Neil Kengni’s cut-back into the hands of Sebastian Malkowski.
Another huge chance for the visitors followed, with a strong save from Malkowski falling into the path of Tunde Owolabi, who rattled the crossbar from eight yards out leaving the forward head-inhands.
Towards the end of the first period, the game had appeared to even out with both sides creating plenty of chances, yet none of which resulted in success.
Aleksandrs Starcenko was next to try, with the Latvian firing just wide of the target on two separate occasions and was followed by the half-time whistle.
Goalless at the interval, Worksop looked to roll the dice by bringing on defender Deegan Atherton for Hutchinson.
Paul Dawson was first to test Malkowski in the second period, but his signature shot from distance wasn’t enough to fool the Worksop ‘keeper.
However it didn’t take long for the hosts to respond, with the Tigers snatching the lead just eight minutes after the break.
Rollins headed the ball past Drew Baker and beat him for pace, before drilling the ball into the far left corner to break the deadlock in front of a set of ecstatic home fans behind the goal.
But circumstances went from bad to worse for Macc after Rooney was handed a straight red after a late challenge on Hawkridge, making any scope for a Silkmen comeback just that harder.
Clegg used this as an opportunity to make his first change of the day, introducing Luke Duffy out wide in place of Kengni.
However the Silks appeared to struggle to muster up any sort of real threat, with Clegg looking to change this by bringing on Dan Sweeney to replace Baker.
A final change for Macc then saw Brandon Lee make way for Lafferty who came on to make us debut in the closing minutes.
The hosts played out the five minutes of additional time at the end of the 90, ultimately securing their 1-0 victory over Macc.
But the Silks must now dust themselves off and look forward to Saturday 23rd March where they will host Morpeth Town in an attempt to solidify themselves into a playoff position.
WORKSOP: Malkowski, Hutchinson, Wilde, Wedgbury, Bencherif, Broadhead, Hawkridge, Starcenko, Redford, Hughes, Rollins
MACCLESFIELD: Hilton, Pemberton, Lee, Baker, Heathcote, Dawson, Kengni, Mendy, Owolabi, Rooney, Drummond
1,182 ●●MACCLESFIELD FC are pleased to have agreed terms for the signing of defender Danny Lafferty from FC United of Manchester subject to approval.
Lafferty has been an ever-present for FC United in their backline since joining from Bury back in November. He has experience at this level of football with previous spells at Atherton Collieries and Radcliffe.
Lafferty has a very strong relationship with manager Michael Clegg and will provide great depth to the defensive options.