The Silkmen were narrowly beaten at the death by Chorley at a sodden Victory Park on Saturday afternoon.
Four changes were made to the Macc side that secured their place in the Third Round Qualifying of the Emirates FA Cup last Saturday, with Rollin Menayese returning from suspension and Luke Duffy from injury whilst James Edmondson missed out through a knock being the notable rotations.
it was a frantic start to the afternoon as Josh Kay was shown a yellow card within the first minute, having been deemed to commit a high foot related offence.
Chorley made the more aggressively attacking start to the occasion, earning themselves a couple of corners within the first few minutes, immediately putting the Silkmen under the cosh.
It was moments later when the hosts were awarded a penalty with Lewis Fensome judged to have handled the ball inside the 18 yard box following a floated delivery from the left flank. Craig Hewitt was on hand to convert from the spot and give the Magpies an early lead.
Macc were keen to restore parity immediately after, predominantly via Danny Elliott who found himself in on goal, rounded goalkeeper Matt Urwin and slotted home in to an empty net, only to see the flag raised for offside.
Elliott repeated the same feat just six minutes later, getting in behind the Chorley defence with a well timed run via a seemingly intentional deflection before blasting past Urwin at the near post, only to again be controversially denied by the referee’s whistle and the linesman’s flag, sparking confusion with the Silkmen side and faithful, equally bemused as to why the strike had been chalked off.
Crucially maintaining concentration at the other end, Max Dearnley majestically prevented Tom Carr from doubling the home side’s lead. Keen once more to prevent the Silkmen from falling further behind, Rollin Menayese was then booked for an alleged shirt pull as Chorley looked to break at pace.
Josh Kay, who despite receiving an early caution, was eager to turn the game on it’s head, delivering a dangerous low ball in to the corridor of uncertainty, which narrowly evaded an onrushing Danny Elliott, birthday boy D’Mani Mellor and Sean Etaluku.
Two minutes were added before the interval, where the Silkmen found themselves a goal adrift with work to do.
Sam Heathcote was the first to be cautioned after the restart, having brought down Hewitt near the byline with Chorley desperate to extend their lead.
It was the Silkmen though who struck next, with Sean Etaluku cutting inside in trademark fashion before looping a curling effort over Urwin and in to the far top corner, levelling proceedings with 52 minutes on the clock.
Just six minutes on and Chorley were again awarded another penalty with Danny Whitehead the accused on this occasion. Hewitt converted the spot kick to double his and the Magpies tally on the hour mark.
Danny Elliott was once again the focal point for the Silkmen, coming close once more to restoring parity, though was denied by Urwin at point blank range and then saw his attempted rebound cleared before Macc’s number 10 could follow in.
Justin Johnson was introduced to the action on 65 minutes, replacing Luke Duffy on his return to the side. Similarly, Ethan McLeod entered the fray five minutes on, as Danny Whitehead made way.
Sean Etaluku came the closest yet to drawing level, again cutting inside from the right wing before letting fly but his effort cannoned back off the inside of the post, with all those in blue on and off the pitch off their seats ready to celebrate, only to be left in bewilderment as to how Macc weren’t yet back on level terms.
Luis Lacey was next and third to leave the field for the Silkmen, with Club Captain Paul Dawson added to the mix for the closing stages as the rain began to fall even heavier than it had previously in the afternoon, with Victory Park gradually becoming a soggy state.
After several attempts and a hard fought battle through the saturated surface, Justin Johnson created half a yard of space for himself inside the penalty area before firing goalwards, and was initially denied by Urwin but his powerful effort squirmed under a stricken Urwin and spun almost in slow motion towards the boggy goalmouth, before Danny Elliott smashed home on the line to ensure the Silkmen secured a second with four minutes left.
Substitute Johnson proved effective once more and almost clinched a winner for Macc as we entered additional time, but again the weather played its part as despite having beaten Urwin, there wasn’t quite enough on the effort to carry it over the line, with Chorley splashing through their own six yard box to scramble the ball clear.
Four minutes were added on and it looked as though Macc had the momentum to go and get a winner, but with the poor conditions only worsening and the game there to be won, it could’ve gone either way at the end with Chorley far from resigned to a draw too, and so it proved with another waterlogged goalmouth scramble ensuing inside the Silkmen six yard box this time. Harvey Smith was quickest to react to the untrue bounce of the ball and poke home in to the roof of the net with effectively the last kick of the game.
The Silkmen felt hard done by after a chaotic afternoon, battling against some contentious decisions and horrendous conditions, eventually finding themselves on the end of a cruel and narrow defeat come the full time whistle.
Attendance: 1,550 (349 Macc)
