With the start of the 2026/27 Enterprise National League North season just over a week away, we take a deeper dive in to our final five fixtures of the campaign.
BUXTON (A) – MONDAY 29TH MARCH – TARMAC SILVERLANDS STADIUM – 3PM
Featured in our previous instalment given our festive fixtures are largely mirrored over Easter, as per last season, with our short trip to Buxton the latter of the two games over the holy weekend, with Telford visiting the Leasing.com Stadium on Good Friday. The Silkmen currently hold the bragging rights, owing to Paul Dawson’s brace, followed by second half strikes from Elliot Osborne and Luke Duffy last time we passed the Cat & Fiddle.
The clashes between the two sides always treat us to high intensity match ups, with both teams giving their all to come out on top. Buxton will want to mirror their Boxing Day success from last season, whilst Macc will seek revenge having been beaten whilst already vulnerable following the passing of Ethan McLeod. Similarly, the Silkmen will want to do the double away from home with Buxton looking to re-take control on familiar territory.
Buxton will be out fifth from final opponents on Easter Monday at what is always a crucial stage of the season with every team in the league vying for position with both Macc and the Bucks likely to be in and around the promotion challenge at the end of March, the game will have every bit as much riding on it as previously and poses to be a notable date in the diary.
HEDNESFORD TOWN (H) – SATURDAY 3RD APRIL – LEASING.COM STADIUM – 3PM
New entrants to the Enterprise National League North, Hednesford, who also featured in our previous feature as our first opponent in 2027, will also be our penultimate visitors to the Leasing.com Stadium.
The Pitmen are an old foe of Macclesfield Town, having not played one another in a competitive sense since 1997. Both sides enjoyed success against one another three years before the millennium, with Hednesford winning our last league encounter, though the Silkmen succeeded in the semi-final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup and went on to beat Bilston in the final.
The Pitmen will also be the only team in the Enterprise National League North that we don’t face in 2026, with both meetings coming after the turn of the year and will therefore be a much anticipated fixture when the trip to Keys Park rolls round on Saturday 2nd January. The second meeting just over three months apart will likely be decisive at the business end of the season with home advantage for the Silkmen towards the end of the campaign.
SOUTH SHIELDS (A) – SATURDAY 10TH APRIL – 1ST CLOUD ARENA – 3PM
The Mariners are a more familiar opponent to the Silkmen having met three times in the 2025/26 campaign, twice in the league and once in the Isuzu FA Trophy. with the Silkmen edging the encounters on aggregate 2-1, securing 1-0 wins both at home and away against the side from the North East, courtesy of an early Danny Elliott strike at the Leasing.com Stadium and Luke Duffy’s makeshift strike in the Trophy up in South Tyneside.
As one half of a two horse race for the title last season, Shields looked destined for promotion to the National League, making their intentions clear with a statement 4-1 victory in our second visit to the North East at a similar stage of last season, with Paul Dawson’s response at 2-0 down proving only to be a consolation, though were still pipped to automatic promotion by powerhouses AFC Fylde.
The Mariners looked set to then face Macc for a fourth time in the National League North play-off final, though it would be Kidderminster Harriers who progressed to the final challenged them for the last place up for grabs in the top flight of non-league football, snatching promotion away from Shields once more, forcing them to settle for another season in the National League North.
Both meetings with South Shields fall at a similar time to last season with both teams inevitably fighting for promotion in the latter of the two at the 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday 10th April.
CHORLEY (A) – SATURDAY 17TH APRIL – VICTORY PARK – 3PM
Chorley is another opponent Macc have history with, though were one of just three teams that took maximum points from our league encounters, firstly at Victory Park in September last year on what was comfortably the soggiest Saturday of the season, stealing a last minute winner to dampen Macc spirits further, finishing 3-2, before repeating the same feat at the Leasing.com Stadium with Mark Ellis’ equaliser and Mike Calveley’s last-gasp strike separating the sides.
Prior to last season, Macc held a healthy record against the Magpies, last meeting in the 1990’s, the last league visit to Victory Park as Macclesfield Town ended in a 0-0 draw, but the last trip to Chorley in all competitions had a slightly more exciting ending, with the Silkmen securing a place in the 1996 FA Trophy final at Wembley. Neil Sorvel ensured the trip to Wembley with a two goal cushion, before history repeated itself at the home of football against Northwich Victoria, producing incredible scenes of celebration as the Silkmen lifted the trophy.
John Rooney will be seeking revenge when the sides next meet on Saturday 5th December at the Leasing.com Stadium, and will of course be looking to complete the double just as the Magpies recorded last season on our next visit to Victory Park and our final trip of the 2026/27 season on Saturday 17th April.
KING’S LYNN TOWN (H) – SATURDAY 24TH APRIL – LEASING.COM STADIUM – 3PM
King’s Lynn Town were a new opponent for the Silkmen last season following our promotion to the National League North, from which Macc gained four points from, including a 1-1 draw away from home along with a 4-0 win at the Leasing.com Stadium.
Our initial trip to Norfolk was cut short at the last minute having made the eight hour round trip, only for the game to be called off 35 minutes before kick-off due to a waterlogged pitch. The Silkmen headed South East for a second time just over two weeks later on a cold Wednesday evening in December, when the late Ethan McLeod rescued a valuable equaliser for Macc just after the break.
The return fixture was a more straight forward affair for the Silkmen, producing a fantastic performance and an emphatic 4-0 scoreline with goals from Luke Duffy, D’Mani Mellor, James Gale and an own goal. Our intended visit to the Walks Stadium is scheduled for Saturday 28th November before the season concludes here at the Leasing.com Stadium against the Linnets on Saturday 24th April, which we hope will conclude in a similar fashion and be a celebratory occasion for all associated with Macclesfield FC.
