Silkmen kicked off 2024 in style as a John Rooney hat trick sealed a five goal thriller against Warrington Rylands.
Rooney opened the scoring in the 13th minute after Luke Duffy played a fantastic cross into the box. It took a few ricochets before looping into the net, and Rooney wheeled away to celebrate.
The Macclesfield midfielder added another just nine minutes later with a fabulous free kick. He struck it with venom from just outside the box and caught the goalkeeper out at his near post.
The Silkmen looked comfortable in the game and could have scored more in the first half, but the hosts struck back 10 minutes before the interval through a James Neild header.
Despite the goal, Macclesfield continued to push forward and had chances to restore their lead before half time, but went into the break with a slender advantage.
The Silkmen were made to rue their missed chances in the first half when Adama Sidibeh found the equaliser for Rylands, just seven minutes into the second half.
But this didn’t dampen the spirits of the players, as they regrouped later in the second half. Babatunde Owolabi made his debut in the 60th minute and made a big difference when he came on.
Macclesfield pressed on and finally got their just reward in the 71st minute when Rooney completed his hat trick with a sublime finish.
Owolabi set the goal up with a nice lay off to Rooney just inside the box, and the man of the match topped his brilliant performance off in style with a classy finish, giving the goalkeeper no chance.
Rylands inevitability came on strong again and pushed to level the scores, but unlike the reverse fixture, The Silkmen managed to hang on and take all three points.
The victory sees Macclesfield move into fourth, and close the gap to Rylands to just three points, with Lancaster coming to The Leasing.com stadium on Saturday.
MACCLESFIELD: Berry, Pemberton, Lee, Fensome, Heathcote (69), Dawson, Kengni (60), Mendy, Drummond (72), Rooney, Duffy
Subs: Hurst (72), Niasse (69), Murphy, Curran, Owolabi (60)
By Kallum Bates
