Two fantastic team goals finished by Laurent Mendy and Luke Duffy ensured The Silkmen’s place in the next round of the FA Cup against local rivals Buxton FC.
Macclesfield started on the back foot and could have easily gone a goal down within the first two minutes when Tom Elliott rattled Conor O’Keefe’s crossbar to send a warning to The Silkmen.
Mark Duffy’s men responded after a shaky first ten minutes and began to play their own game, taking the possession away from their opponents and taking care when on the ball.
The momentum seemed to shift suddenly as it was now Macclesfield who looked the more likely to open the scoring.
And that is exactly what they did in the 30th minute. After 20 minutes of pressure and pushing Buxton’s backs against the wall, The Silkmen took a well-deserved lead through Laurent Mendy.
A feature of the game was Brandon Lee’s strong runs down the left-hand side and he had threatened even before the opener, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him setting Mendy up with a fantastic run and cross into his path.
Mendy then had the simple task of putting the ball past the scrambling Max Dearnley, who had no chance to prevent The Silkmen going into a one-nil lead.
The hosts pushed on and finished the half strongly. The scoreline should have made better reading if it hadn’t been for the missed chances of Mendy who had a couple of great opportunities to increase the lead just before the interval.
Buxton came out rejuvenated at the start of the second half and forced Macclesfield to sit deep and withstand a period of pressure. The Bucks had a few decent chances early on in the second half but could capitalise.
And soon the same pattern of play returned, with The Silkmen controlling the ball and keeping Buxton at an arm’s length. Although Macc seemed comfortable, the second goal was always necessary, and it came with 13 minutes left to play through Luke Duffy.
It was yet again a brilliant team goal which resulted in an unselfish assist for Tom Peers, who could have easily tried his luck, but decided to square the ball across the box to Duffy, who stroked the ball home to settle the game
The Silkmen now head through to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup and move ever closer to the first round proper.
It’s a return to the Leasing.com stadium next Saturday for Macclesfield in the league as they take on Stafford Rangers, who are currently struggling in the Northern Premier League.
By Kallum Bates
