Macclesfield FC 2-3 Manchester City U21s – John Rooney: “In the second half, we were a match for them, if not more.”
With a disappointing first half at the Leasing.Com Stadium, manager John Rooney felt his side were ‘outstanding’ in their second half response, which saw the Silks come agonisingly close to a last-minute equaliser after late goals from Luke Duffy and D’Mani Mellor.
Rooney said:
“I think we probably should have got something out of the game, we had some chances late on as well, and their (City’s) third goal was a free kick, he goes through and brings D’Mani (Mellor) down and scores the third.
“They had a good team, with some young lads who are going to have top careers, and it is high-level stuff that they are playing, but in the second half, we were a match for them, if not more.
“There’s stuff we need to get better at, obviously, but for the last pre-season game, there were plenty of positives to take away from it.”
With a disappointing first 45 minutes in SK11, the Silks went into the sheds 2-0 down after goals from Justin Oboavwoduo and Reigan Heskey. The Macclesfield manager was forced into a tactical shift at the break, which he believes reaped some reward.
The Silkmen manager said:
“(In the) First half, we were a little bit all over the place, a bit naive at times, and in our shape, we were a little bit wide open when we were on transition and when we lost possession of the ball, they cut right through us.
“That’s something we changed at half-time, we spoke to the lads about it, and going into the 4-5-1 (formation). I thought the lads listened perfectly and the game plan in the second half paid off.
“The subs who came on today impacted the game massively and that’s going to be a big thing for us in the season.
“We want them to go and get after teams; we’re going to do that in our league, and we’re not going to come up against opposition who dominate the ball like that. But how the lads took it on in the second half was outstanding.”
With pre-season for the Silkmen showing some inequality in performance between the first and second half, the former midfielder said that the focus will shift to putting in consistent performances across the 90 minutes.
He added:
“I think it happened a lot last year where we weren’t great for 45 (minutes) and then for the next 45 (minutes), we would be unstoppable at times. So, it’s putting that into place where we can go and do that for 90 minutes.
“We have the players to do that, we have the fitness levels to do that, and I thought in the last 30 minutes we looked strong, we looked fit, plenty of energy and pace and probably should have got another two or three goals.”
Having concluded their pre-season campaign, attention switches to the start of the season as a newly promoted side in the Enterprise National League North. The Macclesfield boss said he is ready, and the lads are looking forward to the challenges ahead.
Rooney said:
“I’m ready. Pre-season feels like it’s been a long slog, but I was saying, I wish it was day one (of the new season) today.
“You see League One and League Two matches starting today, and it’s getting real, so I think now we are all looking forward to it.
“We’ve had a good second half there against a top team, so the lads are in good spirits now. At half-time they weren’t, but after the game it looks like a totally different changing room and we are ready to go.”
John Rooney’s side start their campaign in the Enterprise National League North on Saturday, August 9, where the Silks host Worksop Town at the Leasing.com Stadium kicking off at 3pm.
