The Silkmen crashed out of the Emirates FA Cup yesterday, as Tendai Chitiza’s injury-time strike sent Coalville Town through to the next round in the cruelest of fashions.
Danny Whitaker’s side made all the running in the opening exchanges, as they looked to stamp their authority on the game right from the first whistle.
The first real chance of note came in the seventh minute when James Berry stormed through on goal, yet could only send his low drive agonisingly wide of the far post.
Three minutes later, Berry again proved to be the danger man – sending Hanson’s tantalising cross from the right just wide of the near post with home keeper Paul White stranded.
Slowly but surely, The Ravens began to settle into the tie and in the twelfth minute had a golden opportunity to open the scoring when they were awarded a penalty.
Ashley Chambers took responsibility for the home side – yet his effort was magnificently saved by Marcelo Pitaluga.
Five minutes later, a vociferous penalty appeal was witnessed at the other end of the pitch when Berry looked to have been impeded within the area.
Referee David Jones took a second or two to assess the merits of the appeal, before waving the protests away and allowing the game to continue.
With Neil Danns almost effortlessly orchestrating the midfield, Macc continued to look the most likely to make the breakthrough – with Alex Curran firing wide of the far post in the 37th minute.
The momentum that was enjoyed by Danny Whitaker’s side at the end of the first period wasn’t really replicated at the start of the second, with Luke Shaw going close for the hosts shortly after the restart.
The Silkmen’s first real chance of the half fell to Berry, who warmed White’s gloves with a rasping drive from the edge of the area in the 53rd minute.
With both sides committing more bodies forward, the game became stretched. It became obvious that neither side were prepared to settle for a draw and the tempo of the game accelerated to a level that saw chances at both ends.
Neil Kengni, James Berry and substitute Nicky Maynard all went close for the visitors, yet it was Coalville who started to dominate possession as the game edged towards its conclusion.
In the 86th minute, Pitaluga superbly denied Tendai Chitiza at the near post before Berry cut inside from the left and saw his powerful effort saved by White.
The decisive moment came right on the stroke of full-time when a deep cross into the box was nodded home by Chitiza at the far post.
Macc tried to respond instantly, yet it proved too little too late as the final whistle brought the curtain down on this year’s Emirates FA Cup run.
Macclesfield FC: Pitaluga, Hanson, Lee, Bell, Fryers (Clare ’90), Mendy, Kengni, Danns (Duffy ’66), Curran (Maynard ’66), Murphy, Berry.
Subs not used: Bunney, Pemberton, Grimshaw, Bower.
Att: 1070
