The Silkmen secured their place in the Fourth Round of the Isuzu FA Trophy following a 1-0 win against South Shields at the 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday afternoon.
John Rooney rung the changes amidst a hectic festive schedule in all four competitions in which the Silkmen continue to compete in. Seven different names made the starting XI from Wednesday’s stalemate with Kings Lynn Town in Norfolk, to ensure legs were freshened and readied for a whole host of awaiting games over the next six maxed out weeks.
South Shields started strongly as the fresh faces were forced to quickly get to grips with the pace of the game, though were able to settle after a largely defensive first five or so minutes.
Isaac Buckley-Ricketts was provided with Macc’s first opportunity inside ten minutes having beat his man for pace to latch on to a well-weighted through ball, and was able to poke the ball beyond the onrushing Tom Watson, though the winger’s rushed attempt didn’t have enough on it to trickle over the line and was instead dealt with at the death to prevent the game’s opening goal.
Max Dearnley was alive to the danger presented by Cedwyn Scott as he gathered a low drive from the Mariners man in his first taste of the action.
Buckley-Ricketts, lively on the opposite wing to the equally tricky Justin Johnson was gifted a golden opportunity by the latter to open the scoring, though couldn’t keep his effort on target with the goal gaping on fifteen minutes.
South Shields were forced in to an early change just before the half hour mark as Dillon Morse was unable to continue having taken a knock, and was replaced by Evan Blaney.
Luke Duffy and Ethan McLeod took turns to test Watson before the half was out, though neither were able to beat the Mariners number one at that stage.
Rollin Menayese was his usual intimidating, but calculated presence at the back for the Silkmen and on 38 minutes produced two goal-line clearances in quick succession and subsequently required treatment for his brave efforts to keep the score at 0-0 as the half drew to a close.
Luke Duffy was able to make the break through on the brink of the interval, as he met Justin Johnson’s cut back from the right wing, and although scuffing his initial attempt on a bobbly surface, inadvertently sent Watson sprawling, allowing him to place in to a near empty net at the second time of asking.
The Silkmen held a slender but convincing lead at the half way stage, and appeared confident in ensuring the victory would be theirs from that point onwards.
Wide man Johnson almost made a further impression on the game the other side of the break, requiring Watson to make an asserted stop at his front post to prevent the winger from doubling the Silkmen’s lead.
Paul Dawson, making his second appearance in a week following his suspension, sporting the armband as make shift centre-halve, recovered the ball in a timely manner as last man before immediately searching for Josh Kay with a ball over the top which he latched on to, and provided a powerful half-volley, forcing Watson to parry away.
Rollin Menayese found himself tangled with his opposite man off the ball and was cautioned for the incident, as was his Mariners counterpart.
Two changes were made at the hour mark by John Rooney as Ethan McLeod and Josh Kay made way for Danny Elliott and D’Mani Mellor respectively as the minutes were shared out amongst the travelling squad.\]
Elliott was immediately in the thick of the action, calling Watson in to action within three minutes of his introduction, but couldn’t make the most of a half chance from the edge of the area.
A further substitution was made just five minutes after the first two as Regan Griffiths appeared unable to continue having picked up a knock, though was replaced more as a precaution by James Edmondson.
Elliott was again a focal point for the Silkmen since being added as an attacking threat for the latter stages of the contest, this time firing just wide of Watson’s far post.
D’Mani Mellor was cautioned for an illegal attempt to win the ball back before fellow attacking substitute Danny Elliott struck the post with another left-footed attempt via a deflection, earning the Silkmen a corner, though was dealt with by the hosts.
A further two changes were made fifteen and ten minutes from time with Lewis Fensome taking the place of Luke Matheson after his encouraging return to the side from injury, and the experienced Danny Whitehead replaced Luke Duffy as Macc looked to see the game out as the clock ran down.
Johnson and Buckley-Ricketts remained full of energy in the closing stages, causing the Mariners defence headaches from both wings, though Johnson couldn’t convert the latter’s cut-back, as they attempted to repeated the same feat as in the first half, though with the same result as the number 22 failed to hit the target,
Six minutes were added at the end of the closely-fought cup tie, though the Silkmen ensured the scoreline remained the same in each of those added minutes to confirm their name would be in Monday night’s Fourth Round draw, live on TalkSPORT2. at 5pm.
Attendance: 754
MOTM: Luke Duffy
