Darlington 1 Macc 2 - Gale glee & roaming Ravenhill
Silkmen back in the playoffs after huge win
Macc returned to winning ways with a vital away win at fellow play-off hopefuls Darlington, which saw John Rooney’s men climb back into the play-offs in sixth place following a brace from the PROLIFIC James Gale.
Last night’s pulsating encounter had just about everything – goals, controversial incidents, near misses, super saves and goalkeeping errors. But it was the Silkmen who ultimately prevailed in a hard-fought, white knuckle ride type spectacle which resembled a basketball game on occasions.
Luke Duffy’s penalty was saved by Darlo keeper Rory Watson after four minutes after Luke Matheson ‘won’ a penalty after stooping low in the box to win a header. The Darlington defender made contact, Matheson went down and the ref pointed to the spot. Duffs’ spot kick was decently hit, but not placed with sufficient force in the corner of the goal and Watson guessed right to palm it away. Play was kept alive via a game of head tennis. D’Mani Mellor won two headers, which eventually found Duffy whose looping header cleared the crossbar.
The Silkmen had another shout for a penalty on 11 minutes when Gale appeared to be tripped by full-back Scott Barrow on the edge of the area. But upon watching the replay, it seemed like Gale was the one who engineered contact and the referee came to the correct conclusion.
Macc were cutting through the home side easily as they took the game to Darlo in the early stages. Despite this, we also looked vulnerable at the back as Rooney elected to shuffle the defence once again. Out went Pasiek and Borthwick-Jackson, in came Luis Lacey at left-back whilst the Silkmen boss paired Dawson and Heathcote at centre half.
Defensive vulnerabilities and all hands to the pump
Did it work? Well…. yes, we won, but I don’t think we looked particularly comfortable at any point and Dawson himself could have cost us on 15 minutes following an error which Rogan Ravenhill seems to be picking up the tab for online.
Darlington broke forward, Osborne got a toe-in which only resulted in prodding the ball further towards Macclesfield’s goal. Ravenhill burst off his line, Dawson deduced (rightly) that he wasn’t going to get there, but then the Silkmen captain dallied instead of clearing his lines as Ravenhill (of his own making) was stranded in no man’s land. A Darlington player attempted a lob which fortunately cannoned off the crossbar and the Silkmen escaped.
The tide turned in the home side’s favour, and they almost scored directly from a corner on 22 minutes. Ravenhill helped the ball on its way, but couldn’t get a strong enough connection on it and nearly palmed the ball into his own net, only for Heathcote to bail him out and hook clear off the line. Another heart in the mouth moment.
I’m picking on Ravenhill, but only because I want to be balanced in highlighting his weaknesses to be able to also champion his positives. On 27 minutes Rogan made a superb stop to keep it 0-0. A left wing cross found Stanton who looked poised to score. Ravenhill guessed which way he was shooting, flung himself to his left and produced a brilliant save to smother the ball through a crowded penalty area. Good keepers make hard saves look easy and this was a good example of that. Ravenhill anticipated the danger, made his made up early and then executed the save with precision. Top drawer keeping from the young man!
Ten minutes later we took the lead. Lacey found Gale in space. The big man looked up and picked his spot with a low drive right into the bottom corner. Precision over power. Get in. 0-1.
Deep in first half-half injury time the Silkmen survived another scare. Cedric Main was picked out at the back post and his drilled effort sped inches past the post to end a back-and-forth 45 minutes.
Second half
Macclesfield were more comfortable after the break, only to concede a poor equaliser after 55 minutes. Lacey didn’t do enough to cut out a right wing cross, Ravenhill came out and didn’t get there, allowing Darlo striker Jack Maskell to beat him to it and stab the ball into the net. If you come that far off your line you better get there, Ravenhill didn’t, and both he and Macc paid the price.
Not only that, but Ravenhill’s over-eagerness meant that Heathcote (who was arguably better placed to deal with the danger) remained static and left the keeper to finish what he’d started. Egg on faces all round. 1-1.
The response from Rooney’s men was swift and decisive. Heathcote ventured forward and tried a low drive, not dissimilar to his defected goal against Scarborough at home. It was a scuffed effort which inadvertently fell to Mellor with his back to goal with the close attentions of a Darlington defender. D’Mani did brilliantly to flick the ball into the path of Gale, who instinctively applied a sweeping, first-time finish which raced into the bottom corner to make it 2-1. A clinical, confident striker’s finish from the big man. Did anyone tell you that he’s PROLIFIC?
We should have made it 3-1 moments later. Good work by Edmondson released Kay on the left, but Josh’s centre was just a fraction overhit and Gale on the stretch couldn’t turn the ball into the net on the back post. A let off for Darlington. And they had another one when substitute Borthwick-Jackson (on for Lacey) saw his header cleared off the line from a corner.
Just prior to that Rogan Ravenhill went on another wander. I don’t know if this lad has ants in his pants, or is taking the ‘sweeper keeper’ role to new extremes. A through ball saw Rogan come bounding off his line like a labrador pursuing a tennis ball, he didn’t get there and was never going to. Dawson was the covering defender who made a sliding tackle, the ball broke to Maskell who launched an effort towards the gaping goal but it veered just wide with Ravenhill stranded. Alarm. Bells. Ringing.
There was one final element of drama for Macc to negotiate, starting and ending with Ravenhill. Initially he made a poor clearance, Darlington picked up the loose ball and won a corner. But from there Rogan sealed us the points with a spectacular and outstanding save.
The corner was floated in, a Darlo player won the header in the six-yard box and the ball was heading towards the net in slow motion. Ravenhill flung himself across his line at full stretch to claw the ball away from danger, showing agility and bravery to get ahead of Main who was poised on the line to guide it home. A truly brilliant, match-winning save from the goalkeeper.
In injury time, Rogan again came flying off his line to deny Main once again who would have been clean through on goal. Another gamble by the goalie, but this was one that he got absolutely spot on.
Full-time: Darlington 1 Macclesfield 2. Huge win.
Match stats:
Possession: Darlington 58%, Macclesfield 42%
Shots: Darlington 17, Macclesfield 16
Shots on target: Darlington 4, Macclesfield 6
Corners: Darlington 5, Macclesfield 7
Player ratings:
Ravenhill 8 – this might seem high, but the mark is based on two tremendous saves he made in each half. Outside of that he was at fault for Darlington’s equaliser and showed questionable judgement when coming off his line. Rogan’s a talented keeper though, and for me, we need to stick with him as he’ll get better and better.
Matheson 8 – excellent. Was really solid defensively, won us a penalty which Duffy failed to convert. He also almost produced an excellent assist for Kay, who couldn’t quite turn Matheson’s excellent deep cross goalwards when at full stretch.
Heathcote 7.5 – I felt Sam needed a rest after Brentford, but he was very good last night. Made a vital clearance off the line when Ravenhill fumbled a corner and was generally dominant at the back in coping with some intense Darlington pressure. Three interceptions, three clearances, one blocked shot, and nine of 13 aerial duels won.
Lacey 7 – started off well and was involved in the build-up to Gale’s opener. Lost his way in the second half, picked up a stupid booking for a lunge on Maskell when the Darlington player was in his own half, and could have been tighter to stop the cross which led to the home side’s equaliser. Correct decision from Rooney to withdraw Lacey after 70 minutes.
Dawson 7 – mixed bag. Never looked truly comfortable at centre half and was guilty of some dubious decision making in the first half when failing to clear his lines, and generally him and Ravenhill were not on the same wavelength in terms of communication and understanding. Dawson was also dribbled past three times and found the slippery striker Cedric Main a challenge on occasions.
Osborne 7.5 – atoned for his own error when almost gifting Darlington the lead after three minutes following a poor back pass. Mopped up well in the middle of the park and played some clever balls in the final third which led to goalscoring opportunities, most notably for Mellor whose well-struck shot was saved in the second half.
Edmondson 7 – struggled to influence the game defensively or offensively as he typically does, but nevertheless he was effective in pockets. Four interceptions were key to keeping Darlington’s momentum in check, along with two clearances and one blocked shot. Macc hit a number of long balls last night, but James’ aim was surprisingly off – just 1 of 12 long balls found a Silkmen shirt.
Duffy 7 – missed a penalty and got a knock which meant he had to be withdrawn after 62 minutes. However, his workrate and battling qualities on the right of midfield saw us compete and earn the right to play in the first half. Has been a hugely important asset in our climb up the table so let’s hope he’s fit for Chorley on Saturday, or not on the sidelines for long.
Kay 7.5 – three shots, two on target, and was generally at the heart of our attacking play. But end product is lacking for all Kay’s talent, which some ignore. We’re talking fine margins. He almost steered in Matheson’s searching cross in the first half – a really difficult chance to convert. And in the second half, his cross to Gale was almost inch perfect but was fractionally too hard and the tap-in went begging. Terrific energy throughout.
Mellor 7 – actually gets the credit for the assist for Gale’s winner. Didn’t get much by way of service, but you know he’s always going to cover so much ground in doing everything he can to support the team.
Gale 9 – his most complete performance since joining from THEM. Two excellent finishes, but beyond that I think he led the line better than any previous game in terms of workrate, even if he did turn the ball over more than most. Five shots in total emphasised his threat throughout the evening to Darlington. Eight Silkmen appearances in the league, six goals and two assists in a limited number of minutes (just three starts). This lad is PROLIFC.
At 6’4 he’s not the target man you expect him to be, but boy does he know where the onion bag is at this level and he’s a very accomplished finisher. A really important signing and on a permanent basis too!
Subs:
Buckley-Ricketts 6.5 – replaced Duffy and contributed well defensively – five out of ten duels won.
Borthwick-Jackson 7 – on for Lacey and helped to steady the ship with 20 minutes remaining.
Dos Santos – no rating. On for Kay after 83 mins.
Fensome – no rating. Replaced Matheson on 89. Great to see him back from injury.