The Silkmen fell to defeat in their penultimate home game of the 2025/26 Enterprise National League North Season against Spennymoor Town on Saturday afternoon.
John Rooney made six changes to the side that were beaten by South Shields on Tuesday evening in the North East. Luke Matheson, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Kacper Pasiek and James Gale all returned to the starting eleven, whilst Harry McHugh and Theo Chapman both made their first starts for the Silkmen at the Leasing.com Stadium.
Luke Duffy was the man with the armband for the afternoon in the absence of Captain Paul Dawson and Vice Captain Lewis Fensome.
Spennymoor made an early breakthrough within the opening five minutes and the Silkmen’s backline were caught sleeping with a lofted cross from Talyor Hill, allowing Corey McKeown to take a touch and power it past Ravenhill.
The Silkmen applied the pressure as the game pressed on but struggled to find their rhythm. Chances fell to Josh Kay who fired wide and Edmondson who blasted it over the away end. A free kick in a dangerous position just outside the Spennymoor box was whipped in by James Edmondson but it was no test for the Spennymoor goalkeeper Brad James, who made the save look comfortable.
Despite the Silkmen’s attempts to find an equaliser, Spennymoor capitalised on loose play in midfield and continued to trouble the defence with incisive through balls. Efforts from Glen Taylor and Rob Ramshaw kept the pressure on Ravenhill who scrambled to defend a dangerous corner tipping it over the crossbar.
Matters were made worse when another corner for Spennymoor saw the Silkmen fail to clear their lines, and the opportunity fell to Ramshaw who smashed a spectacular volley into the top-left corner to double the visitors’ lead in the 35th minute.
The closing stages of a physical first half remained lively and the 45th minute saw Luke Duffy brought down in the box, prompting appeals for a penalty, waved away by referee Jonathan Mackery, who then indicated to fourth official Ben Cotton that a minimum of two minutes of additional time were to be added before the break with Spennymoor finishing the half firmly in control, whilst the Silkmen took to the dressing room to regroup.
The Silkmen looked sharper and livelier after the restart, no doubt spurred on by choice words in the dressing room. An attempt on goal by Luke Duffy in the 48th minute was blocked and fell to Theo Chapman, who blasted over.
By the 55th minute Rooney opted to make his first changes with a double substitution which saw Elliot Osborne and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts replace Theo Chapman and Harry McHugh respectively.
Buckley-Ricketts almost made an instant impact after coming off the bench, giving the Silkmen their best chance of the game when he rattled the crossbar on the 58th minute, which bounced back off James though managed to keep the ball out with the Silkmen coming agonisingly close to pulling one back.
There was a break in play for Kacper Pasiek to receive treatment for a second time, prompting a double substitution that saw him and James Edmondson replaced by Luis Lacey and Carlos Dos Santos respectively.
Despite the Silkmen’s improved performance after the break, Spennymoor didn’t let up and continued to test Ravenhill and the patience of the home ground. Lacey looked sharp off the bench and good link up play with Buckley-Ricketts put the pressure on in the final third.
Kay and Duffy were also a threat down the right but there was no way through for the Silkmen up against a steadfast Spennymoor backline. The final substitution for the Silkmen saw Lewis Fensome replace Rollin Menayese
It just wasn’t to be for the hosts and after four minutes of additional time, referee Mackery brought the game to an end, signalling successive defeats for the Silkmen, with a regroup required ahead of our final two games of the season.
Attendance: 3,452
MOTM: Luke Duffy
By Kathryn McCormick
