The Silkmen secured an overdue three points at home in the Enterprise National League North on Saturday afternoon thanks to a Danny Whitehead goal and Justin Johnson double against a determined Curzon Ashton side.
Just one change was made from the side that historically progressed to the First Round Proper of the Emirates FA Cup last weekend, with Danny Whitehead taking the place of Luke Duffy in the number ten role.
It was a frantic start to the game, which quickly set the tone for the rest of the afternoon as an end to end affair, with no clear dominance or obvious favourite from the off.
After a couple of half chances for both sides, Justin Johnson was the man to open the scoring after 15 minutes, firing across goal to give the Silkmen the lead. Our advantage was short lived though as former Macc man Alex Curran restored parity just four minutes later, forcing the ball home after failing to clear our lines.
The pendulum swung once more in our favour as Danny Whitehead tucked away a low effort on the turn which found the far corner of Hawkins’ goal.
Once again, celebrations were cut short as Charlie Weston stunned the Silkmen faithful in to silence just a minute later with a beautiful left footed strike, beating Dearnley all ends up.
It was level at the break after a stop start end to the half after five minutes of additional time owing to various delays, largely due to injury stoppages. Both sides had cancelled each other out in terms of both goals and possession in the early stages, though the game remained there for the taking in the second period.
It was a similar story to the first 45 in that it could’ve gone either way with further opportunities at both ends, keeping Dearnley and Hawkins equally busy, but weren’t overly tested until the latter stages.
Danny Whitehead appeared to pick up a knock midway through the half with John Rooney opting to replace him as a precaution with Isaac Buckley-Ricketts.
Brandon Lee was next to make way for the Silkmen as he continues his return to full fitness, which saw a like-for-like replacement in the form of Luis Lacey take to the field, before James Edmondson was also withdrawn for Luke Duffy as Macc looked to alternative options to make the difference before the final whistle.
The decider eventually came in extraordinary fashion, with Justin Johnson shifting the ball on to his favoured right foot and unleashing a rocket from the edge of the area, which flew past a helpless Hawkins into the far top corner, reinstating Macc’s lead for the second time late on.
Lewis Fensome was Macc’s final departure of the afternoon, as he pulled up midway through seven minutes of added time, and was swapped with Regan Griffiths as the Silkmen looked to hold on to all three points.
There was very nearly another twist in the tale deep in to stoppage time when the visitors bundled the ball over the line a minute over the minimum of seven indicated, but was ruled out for offside to the relief of all in blue at the Leasing.com Stadium.
As the clock ticked over to the 100th minute, referee Richard Holmes signalled the end of the contest, confirming an overdue first home league win for the Silkmen since August.
Macc move up to twelfth in the league, and travel to Leamington for their next Enterprise National League North fixture on Tuesday evening.
We look forward to seeing the Silkmen faithful in Warwickshire. Tickets remain available HERE
Attendance: 2,908
MOTM: Justin Johnson
