A month-by-month review of the 2025/26 Enterprise National League North campaign.
DECEMBER
Emirates FA Cup fever hit Macclesfield in December with a Second Round tie away at Slough Town first up, victory would see the Silkmen progress to the Third Round with a potential Premier League tie at stake. TV cameras were in attendance at Arbour Park as TNT covered the all non-league clash, which went to extra time after Danny Elliott’s penalty was cancelled out by Makowski’s late leveller. Brandon Lee’s season would come to an end mid-way through the additional 30 minutes, suffering a graphic injury before James Edmondson and Regan Griffiths with two brilliant strikes would eventually make the difference to avoid a penalty shootout.
Competition holders Crystal Palace were to travel to the Leasing.com Stadium for the Third Round tie on Saturday 10th January, live on BBC One and TNT Sports, putting Macclesfield well and truly back on the map.
Following the Cup excitement, the Silkmen returned to their bread and butter that is the Enterprise National League North, facing Kings Lynn Town on the new date of Wednesday 10th December, which Macc gained a valuable point from. Ethan McLeod grabbed the equaliser not long after the break ahead of what was to be a travel-heavy festive period.
Joe Nicholson headed out on loan to Cheadle Town to gain some valuable playing time ahead of the Silkmen’s first trip to the North East of many over the course of the 2025/26 season, initially for our Isuzu FA Trophy Third Round tie against South Shields, Luke Duffy’s first goal of what proved to be many more across the campaign in all competitions, was enough to send Macc in to the Fourth Round, in which they would face Woking at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.
BTEC programme students Grady Valentine, Harry Woosey and Harry McGowan were also presented with loan moves to Glossop North End and Ashton Athletic respectively before a further our home league fixture against Kidderminster Harriers was re-arranged for Tuesday 3rd February, with four games initially scheduled on the same day due to Macc’s progression in all competitions. The Emirates FA Cup tie would take precedence, with the league, FA Trophy & Cheshire Cup fixtures moved accordingly.
Bedford Town would be the Silkmen’s final game before Christmas due to the evening’s tragic events. Macc headed home with three points following a late Danny Elliott winner, though devastatingly, one player wouldn’t complete his journey. Ethan McLeod lost his life in a road traffic collision that evening, unbeknownst to the squad at the time, stationary just yards behind in the traffic.
Ethan’s loss would have a profound impact on everyone at the Club, unable to adjust to reality with the events of that fateful night becoming overwhelmingly surreal. A period of mourning would span ten days, shared by the entire footballing community and beyond over what would usually be a time for joy, though for those closest to Ethan, the sense of loss couldn’t be more prominent.
Having understandably postponed the following Saturday’s game away at Alfreton Town, Macc would return solemnly to league action on Boxing Day at home to Buxton, where those with Ethan at heart, struggled to shake off what had been an incredibly tough experience for everyone to process, evident in a uncharacteristic performance and 2-0 loss to the Bucks.
Emotions continued to run high when we headed to Chester just before the turn of the year, again appearing far from our best, subsequently suffering a 2-0 defeat at the Deva Stadium.
Results in December:
Slough Town 1-3 Macclesfield FC
Kings Lynn Town 1-1 Macclesfield FC
South Shields 0-1 Macclesfield FC
Bedford Town 1-2 Macclesfield FC
Macclesfield FC 0-2 Buxton FC
Chester FC 2-0 Macclesfield FC
Players departed:
Jack Rogers
