A brilliant brace from Alex Curran helped The Silkmen to a comfortable Saturday afternoon victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Ashton United.
Macclesfield started the game on the front foot and got the early goal courtesy of Paul Dawson, who pounced on a defensive mishap from an Ashton defender and slotted the ball past a stricken Luke Simpson to put The Silkmen a goal in front.
The home side continued to push the pace in the early goings and soon had a golden opportunity to double their lead.
Curran danced through the United defence and was fouled in the box before he could shoot. The referee pointed to the spot and awarded a penalty kick.
The attacker stepped up to take the penalty that he won and made no mistake to put Macclesfield two goals ahead after just 27 minutes.
The Silkmen should have wrapped the game up before the halftime interval and had countless chances to do so. Kengni and Dawson both had opportunities to make it three but failed to do so before the break.
Mark Duffy’s men started the second half as they ended the first, and soon had that all-important third goal through Luke Duffy.
Duffy rounded the goalkeeper and passed the ball into an empty net to score his first home goal for the club, and to put the game beyond the reach of their opponents.
The Silkmen soon had their fourth goal of the afternoon when Curran scored his second of the game with a wonderful solo effort.
He once again drifted past the Ashton defence, only this time he wasn’t fouled, and went on to supply a magnificent finish to give Macc a deserved scoreline.
The game seemed to calm down after the fourth goal and settled into a pattern of Macclesfield having possession and patiently looking to open the gaps in the United defence.
This patient approach paid off in the 80th minute when a wonderful team move ended in a spectacular finish from Neil Kengni.
Kengni received the ball from Curran on the right-hand side after countless passes beforehand, and expertly placed his shot into the top corner, giving Simpson no chance to stop the scoreline from becoming embarrassing for the away team.
Macc settled for five goals in the end, and take some much-needed momentum into next weekend’s clash with local rivals Buxton in the FA Cup.
Both sides clashed in preseason in what can now be considered a sparring match before the big contest next weekend.
The Silkmen were 3-0 winners in that preseason friendly but next weekend’s game is set to be a much more challenging encounter
By Kallum Bates
