In the build-up to Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup Third Round Qualifying tie against Scarborough Athletic, we are taking a look at our previous fixtures at this stage of the competition as Macclesfield FC.
Our first flashback comes from the 2023/24 season, as Mark Duffy’s Silkmen welcomed divisional rivals Warrington Rylands to the Leasing.com Stadium on a soggy afternoon in Cheshire.
It was an end-to-end affair to early on, as both sides looked to strike the first blow. Laurent Mendy had a good chance in the first couple of minutes, but his strike was deflected over the bar.
The Silkmen grew into the game and were having the better of the play before the visitors took the lead against the run of play. Adama Sidibeh was set through on goal and calmly slotted home to put the visitors in the lead in front of the Star Lane End.
Macclesfield were back on level terms just four minutes later when Alex Curran beat Luke Pilling after a fantastic first touch. It was a goal at a vital time as Macclesfield needed to get themselves back into the game and did so in double quick time.
The hosts continued their early dominance and were awarded a penalty late in the first half as Paul Dawson was brought down inside the box.
However, the scores would remain level at the break as Alex Curran was denied from 12 yards as Luke Pilling guessed correctly down to his left.
It was much of the same in the second half, as both teams looked to get the winner, and it took until the 67th minute for that all important goal. John Rooney received the ball from 25 yards out and unleashed an incredible strike to beat Pilling and find the top corner.
Macclesfield then pushed on for the next 10 minutes and looked for a third goal to seal the game, which never came.
Rylands did their utmost to get back into the game and force a replay with a draw, but their efforts were scuppered by a fantastic defensive performance from The Silkmen.
