Ahead of Merthyr Town’s 340-mile round trip to the Leasing.com Stadium tonight, we take a look back at The Martyrs’ seven previous visits to Macclesfield.
All of these came under the guise of Merthyr Tydfil, as they made the gargantuan trek to face Macclesfield Town.
The first of these came on 3rd November 1973, when the two sides met for the very first time to contest an FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round tie at the Moss Rose.
Billy Haydock’s side had already disposed of Ashton United, Leek Town and Stalybridge Celtic in previous rounds, and the Northern Premier League side were confident of reaching the Proper rounds against their southern counterparts.
Yet, in front of 2,222 spectators, the two sides could not be separated as they played out a goalless draw to send the tie to a replay at Penydarren Park four days later.
Despite the fact that former Blackburn Rovers striker Alan Bradshaw found the back of the net for The Silkmen that evening, the hosts progressed to the next round courtesy of a 2 – 1 win.
The second time that Merthyr made the jaunt to Macclesfield was on 12th December 1989, and it proved to be a real pre-Christmas cracker!
Peter Wragg’s side had already taken maximum points from The Martyrs at Penydarren Park in the reverse fixture held the previous September – with a Steve Burr brace and Phil Wilson strike helping The Silkmen claim a 3 – 2 victory.
The Welshman must have been sick of the sight of Burr that season, as he went on to claim another two emphatic strikes as Wragg’s side once again claimed a 3 – 2 win after John Timmons had opened the scoring.
John Timmons opened the scoring for The Silkmen back in December 1989.
The 1990/91 season didn’t exactly start in a blaze of glory for the Silkmen stars, as they remained winless at home for their opening contests.
The latter of these represented Merthyr’s third visit to the Moss Rose, and The Martyrs would return to South Wales celebrating a 1 – 0 victory.
It would have been a very different trip home after Merthyr’s fourth visit to Macclesfield however, and this occurred on 15th February 1992.
John Askey opened the scoring that day by poking the ball home in the 20th minute, and our lead was doubled with 15 minutes on the clock when experienced defender Terry Boyle inadvertently put the ball into his own net to effectively end the game as a contest.
Seven minutes later, midfield maestro Steve Hanlon ended a flowing Silkmen move by rifling the ball past the Merthyr ‘keeper to complete an inspired victory for Wraggy’s side.
Steve Hanlon completed a fine victory for The Silkmen back in February 1992.
The 1992/93 season proved to be a long and arduous one for many Silkmen fans, and unbeknown to us all at the time, it was also Wraggy’s final one.
Merthyr compounded the pressure on Wragg on 16th January 1993, as they ran out 1 – 0 victors in their penultimate visit to the Moss Rose.
By the time that Merthyr made their sixth and final trip to the Moss Rose on 16th October 1993, Wragg had departed with his legacy assured forevermore.
Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland midfielder Sammy McIlroy had been appointed Manager ahead of the new season, and he was to mastermind one of the greatest footballing fairytales ever told during his seven-year tenure.
That said, he couldn’t prevent The Martyrs claiming a 2 – 1 victory in front of the Silkmen faithful despite the fact that Phil Power was to find the back of the net in the 62nd minute.
All this means that The Silkmen’s complete record when entertaining Merthyr is as follows –
Played: 7
Won: 2
Drawn: 2
Lost: 3
Goals For: 7
Goals Against: 6
How will The Silkmen fare when we face Merthyr for a seventh time this evening?
Be there to watch all the drama unfold by securing your ticket HERE.
