The Silkmen began their 2026/27 Enterprise National League North season with victory on the road at Marine AFC on Saturday afternoon.
John Rooney named an unchanged side from the one that completed our pre-season campaign in a similarly successful style seven days ago against FC United of Manchester at the Leasing.com Stadium.
Becoming re-accustomed to the intensity of competitive, league football was evident in the opening stages for both sides with neither willing to give the other an inch in the initial phase. The hosts edged the possession statistics in the opening ten minutes, with Jon Ustabasi required for defensive duties to block a free-kick in the centre of a three man wall early on.
Appeals for a Silkmen penalty followed soon after with Adan George’s cross appearing to strike the hand of Dec Drysdale as he leapt to block the delivery, though referee Bilal Moosa wasn’t willing to entertain the calls.
Drysdale was in preventative action shortly after, blocking George once more, though this time going for goal, only for Luke Duffy’s rebound to be denied in a similar fashion before the hosts launched a counter attack, led by Jordan Hodkin who attempted to lob Christian Dibble, who had ventured beyond his box to meet the clearance, though was beaten to the ball by Hodkin, though did enough to prevent the striker from hitting the target from range.
A break ensued not long after with Luke Duffy briefly requiring treatment on a scorching August afternoon in Crosby. After the restart, both sides found it difficult once more to break in to their usual strides, resulting in frustration boiling over as Jon Ustabasi and Isaac Abankwah came to blows before the break and were each shown a yellow card for their off the ball involvement with one another.
With both teams looking to catch the other one out in order to make the difference, Dibble attempted to kickstart a quick counter attack, though almost too quickly for Adan George who made ground rapidly, though was unable to meet a first time cross from the left.
Fin Shrimpton came closest to breaking the deadlock before the interval, bending a curling effort on to the underside of the crossbar, which bounced down on to the line, begging to be stuck away from a matter of centimetres, though Marine rushed to clear at a vital stage of the afternoon.
Three minutes were added before the half way point, within which neither side were able to capitalise on any further chances to inch ahead, resulting in the first half ending all square with work to do for both Macc and Marine.
No changes were made at the break with the action getting underway in a lively fashion, mostly via the Macc flanks, who made it difficult for Marine to get back up to speed after a breather, requiring a clearance from Lincoln McFayden’s low cut-back cross.
Conor McAleny was a focal point for the hosts throughout the afternoon, trying his luck from range on more than one occasion, though was largely unsuccessful upon attempting to hit the target, particularly in the early stages of the second half.
Marine Captain Dec Drysdale was booked for a clumsy challenge on Fin Shrimpton just before the hour mark, with the man in the middle pulling the strings and Marine struggling to stop him.
George Wilson was also cautioned for a late challenge for a foul in the process of a Marine attack, for which played was allowed to continue before Moosa returned to book the central midfielder after the passage of play had come to an end.
It was Wilson’s midfield partner who got Macc off and running with just over fifteen minutes to play, who’d been a thorn in Marine sides all afternoon, troubling the back-line throughout and this time, found a way through, initially seeing his attempt from a corner blocked before lashing home the rebound in to the roof of the net.
Elliot Osborne was replaced by Luis Lacey in the aftermath of Shrimpton’s opener, proving to be the only change made by Rooney all afternoon.
The Silkmen almost grabbed a second before the afternoon came to a close, as Cameron Borthwick-Jackson stuck a foot out to divert George Wilson’s dragged effort back towards the target, which saw Marine ‘keeper Jack Barrett scrambling across his line to cover the impromptu effort which flew narrowly wide of the far post with just less than ten minutes to go.
Five minutes before time, Marine Manager Bobby Grant was given his marching orders by referee Moosa having impeded Ammar Dyer as he attempted to take a throw next to the Marine dugout on a very narrow touchline.
Four minutes were added, within which Macc would make sure of their first available three points with some fantastic game management, keeping Marine at bay to send the Silkmen faithful home happy.
Attendance: 2,145
MOTM: Fin Shrimpton
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