The Silkmen secured a valuable 4-2 victory on the road against Marine last night, the goals courtesy of four separate scorers, Sam Heathcote, Josh Kay, Elliot Osborne and James Gale!
John Rooney made just one alteration to the starting XI from Saturday’s home defeat to Chorley with Kacper Pasiek taking the place of Luis Lacey.
It was a lightning fast start to the game, with chances at both ends inside the opening three minutes with Rogan Ravenhill and Fraser Barnsley both called in to action to prevent a change in scoreline for their respective sides.
There was brief concern for James Gale, who remained on the deck following an early opportunity which came his way, though was able to continue shortly after.
After momentarily worrying the bench, Gale then worried Barnsley as his low drive was deflected just wide at his near post, with the home goalkeeper scrambling to cover his front stick.
Luke Duffy was next to try his luck from the edge of the area, though fired narrowly wide of the target. With all of the afore mentioned taking place inside the opening ten minutes it was a lively start from Macc, who were clearly keen to break the deadlock first.
Gale was once again forced to the floor following a hefty challenge, though wasn’t to be intimidated by the physical presence of the Marine back line as he wasted no time getting back on his feet and continuing to be a thorn in the Mariners’s side.
Despite heavy pressure on Barnsley’s goal in the opening phase, it was Marine who struck first, as Charlie Jolley slotted home from close range, latching on to a low cross from the left allowing for a simple finish to peg Macc back after an encouraging start in the first fifteen minutes.
An enforced early substitution followed Marine’s opener as Jack Hazlehurst was unable to continue and had to be replaced by Adam Thomas.
Marine’s lead didn’t last for long as Captain for the night Sam Heathcote restored parity just five minutes later as he headed home James Edmondson’s corner to get us back on level terms and with a steely determination to turn the game on it’s head.
It wasn’t without a predictable response from the home side though as Ravenhill stood firm to prevent Fin Sinclair-Smith from re-taking the lead in spectacular fashion.
Isaac Buckley-Ricketts came closest to completing the turnaround as he nipped in to intercept a short pass-back though upon attempting to beat Barnsley at full stretch, caught the keeper accidentally, who subsequently required lengthy treatment following a suspected concussion, though was able to continue after a prolonged period on his back.
There was no let up from Macc from that point onwards as James Edmondson tested the reflexes of Barnsley twice in quick succession, firstly from a free kick and secondly from an effort from distance, both of which required attention from the Marine number one to prevent the Silkmen taking what would be a deserved lead at that stage.
James Gale very nearly headed Macc in front shortly before half time, as his looping effort landed on top of the net before Luke Duffy was also denied by Barnsley at his near post.
Several more chances ensued before the break courtesy of Edmondson, Duffy, Matheson and Kay, though none of which could find a way through during the regulation time nor the nine additional minutes at the end of the half before the teams headed to the dressing rooms with little to separate them.
Gale came the closest of everyone after the interval to making the difference as he improvised to try and steer Sam Heathcote’s initial long-range effort towards goal before finding his way through the Marine defence with a mazy solo run, but slotted just the wrong side of the far post, an effort which seemed destined for the bottom corner.
It wasn’t without a reaction from the hosts as Ravenhill was on hand to cover two Leigh Whelan efforts from range before racing off his line and sticking out a crucial boot to produce a well-timed challenge on George Newell, who was in the process of attempting to round the Silkmen shot-stopper.
Josh Kay was the one to eventually find a way to unlock the Marine defence, as he raced clear of the back-line at pace, enticing Barnsley off his line before calmly dinking over the onrushing ‘keeper and in to the far corner to give the Silkmen the lead just before the hour mark.
Marine were then reduced to ten for the remaining twenty minutes when Adam Anson was shown a second yellow card having upended Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, creating further trouble for the home side, already one behind with the momentum swinging in the Silkmen’s favour.
Macc took full advantage of the extra man as Elliot Osborne found himself in acres of space not long after, allowing him to pick his spot and let fly, which took a slight deflection on the way through, supporting a strike which had more than enough on it already to fly past Barnsley in to the top corner to give the Silkmen breathing space with just over ten minutes to play.
Lewis Fensome entered the fray almost immediately after Osborne’s wonder-strike, taking Kacper Pasiek’s place at left back for the closing stages.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Macc though with the game drawing to a close as the deficit was halved five minutes before time through substitute James Potter who beat Ravenhill with a low drive to his right.
Three minutes were added at the end of the regulation 90, which it seemed would require a backs to the wall system from the Silkmen to see the game out as Carlos Dos Santos replaced James Edmondson midway through the stoppage time, but instead went on the offensive as James Gale applied heavy pressure on the Marine defence, resulting in a mix-up at the back which Gale capitalised on and walked the ball over the line to secure all three points.
The Silkmen move up to 5th in the Enterprise National League North with back-to-back away games to come in the next seven days against Curzon Ashton and AFC Telford United. Having now completed back-to-back victories on the road against Darlington and Marine, Macc head in to these full of confidence as they look to secure themselves a play-off place before the end of the season.
Attendance: 1,337
MOTM: Sam Heathcote
