Manager John Rooney praised the character of his Silkmen side after they overturned a two-goal deficit to beat South Shields 4-3 and go top of the Enterprise National League North.
Macc won a seven-goal thriller at the Leasing.com Stadium on Saturday to secure an important victory, with four different players on the scoresheet for the Silkmen in East Cheshire.
Danny Elliott’s second-half winner proved decisive for the Silkmen, who had trailed 3-2 at half-time in an end-to-end opening 45 minutes, with Josh Kay and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on target for Macc, alongside goals from Paul Blackett, Jordan Jones and Cedwyn Scott for Mike Williamson’s Mariners.
Jon Ustabasi scored the equaliser three minutes after the break before Elliott’s match-winning strike, which sent the Silkmen to the summit of the sixth-tier.
Speaking after full-time, Rooney shared his delight at the second-half display from his Silkmen players.
Rooney told Silkmen TV: “We got them in at half time and gave them a few key messages and in the second-half, you couldn’t ask any more out of the lads.
“Their work rate off the ball, the shape they got into, and, you know, the way we hit them on the counter attack, I thought it was frightening at times. But the character they’re showing at the minute, every single one of them, the lads who came on off the bench to finish the game for us, made a difference when they came on, but in the second half, I couldn’t ask any more of them.
“We scored really good goals. Another one from a set piece. Josh Kay’s movement in the box, it was a great ball from Danny, running in behind and putting a great ball across. (Luke) Duffy puts a great delivery in which we’ve been asking him to get better at, and Cam Borthwick-Jackson with a great header.
Then Bashi (Jon Ustabasi), we spoke to Bashi at half-time about when we regained the ball, we needed to run in behind with your pace. He’s one of the fastest players at this level, he runs in behind, gets in the box, gets half a yard, gets a shot away, it took a deflection, but if you don’t shoot, you don’t score.
“I thought George Wilson was excellent when he came on, he was on the front foot, he was regaining the ball for us, nicks it back and we counter again, he puts a great weight of pass through to Danny earlier who goes through and finishes like Danny does.”
Attention now turns to next Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup Fourth-Round Qualifying tie against Anstey Nomads, with Rooney looking forward to another cup clash at home.
He added: “It’s the FA Cup and I spoke about it a lot last year. Anyone can beat anyone in the FA Cup, so the game is like any other game.
“It’s a game we’re looking forward to back at home. I’m pleased that we got a home draw, but you know what the FA Cup means to this Football Club, we had a good run in it last year, and I think the lads want to go and replicate that again.”
Watch John’s interview in full on Silkmen TV by clicking here!
