The Silkmen secured another valuable 4-2 victory on derby day away at Buxton on Good Friday, the goals came courtesy of Paul Dawson, Elliot Osborne and Luke Duffy
John Rooney named an unchanged side following Tuesday’s evening’s win away at Hereford, with a place on the bench for Josh Kay, returning from suspension.
Luke Duffy was the first to be a part of the notable action in our changed black kit for the day, though saw the first Macc effort of the afternoon deflected behind for a corner.
Having been unable to capitalise on the set piece, it was the home side who took an early lead as Cian Coleman curled home from the edge of the area in their first real attack of the afternoon seven minutes in.
The hosts’ delight was short lived though as Isaac Buckley-Ricketts was tripped in the area and awarded a penalty by referee Tolu Sangowawa. Captain Paul Dawson stepped up and calmly rolled the ball home down the middle to restore parity just five minutes after falling behind.
Rogan Ravenhill was alert to the danger as the Bucks looked to re-take the lead moments later, though our number 26 was equal to Johnny Johnston’s effort, playing furthest forward for the home side.
Calls for a dismissal were waved away just before the half hour mark, as Luke Brennan went flying in heavily on Paul Dawson, which was overlooked by Sangowawa, who opted instead to caution Sam Heathcote for his protests.
It wouldn’t matter though as Dawson picked himself back up and rifled home from the edge of the area, beating Joe Young in the Buxton goal at his near post to turn the game on its head just after the 30 minute mark, securing his second brace in less than a week.
The Skipper remained in the thick of the action, though was on the receiving end of a yellow card next as he was punished by the man in the middle for a late challenge in the air.
The Silkmen almost extended their lead just before the end of regulation time at the end of the first half as James Gale was well denied by Young as he raced clean through on goal, with Duffy carving out the opportunity with a key ball in behind at full stretch.
Four minutes were added at the end of the half, though nothing decisive came to fruition within those leaving the Silkmen with a one goal lead at the interval.
James Edmondson was first to try his luck after the restart, though Young was equal to the Silkmen’s first attempt to double the lead following the break.
The hosts managed to pull level after a period of pressure, dominating the early stages of the second half and rewarded for their troubles as George Ward spun his man and volleyed beyond Ravenhill to bring us all square once more.
End to end action followed a brief pause in play after Ashton Mee was caught in the face by a flailing boot of a team mate, with Edmondson and Connor Kirby denied at each end with both sides looking to make the difference as the half progressed.
John Rooney opted to make his first two changes of the afternoon on 66 minutes as James Gale and James Edmondson were replaced by Anjola Popoola and Josh Kay respectively,
It was Elliot Osborne’s moment of brilliance which eventually swung the affair in the Macc’s favour, teeing himself up for a volley on the edge of the area before brilliantly lashing beyond Young in to the top corner, sending over 1,000 of the Silkmen faithful in to raptures on the far side of the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium.
Luke Duffy made sure of the points it seemed with fifteen minutes to play as his low drive across the face of goal was out of Young’s reach and nestled in the far bottom corner to further extend Macc’s lead.
Another two substitutions ensued after Duffy’s strike as Luis Lacey was replaced by Kacper Pasiek with just over ten minutes to play, before the latest goalscorer Duffy was also with drawn five minutes later and replaced by Theo Chapman for the closing stages.
Six minutes were added at the end of the afternoon, towards the end of which Dawson nearly completed his hat-trick as his low driven effort was pushed on to the post and away by Young before the final whistle signalled a fourth successive victory for the Silkmen on derby day.
Macc will look to make it five from five when they return home on Easter Monday to face Chester. Tickets are selling fast but remain available HERE
Attendance: 2,710
MOTM: Paul Dawson
