Radcliffe recap - the significance of a superb win

2-1 victory the catalyst for Palace shock

In the euphoria of our record-breaking FA Cup shock over Crystal Palace, arguably the catalyst for that result – a 2-1 league win over Radcliffe on the Tuesday prior, has been buried under the pile of snow shifted by a handful of amazing volunteers that helped get the game on in front of just 2.578 spectators.

Goals from the rejuvenated Isaac Buckley-Ricketts and a belter from Paul Dawson inside the first 20 minutes set Macc on their way. The final result should have been more comprehensive, even in spite of Max Dearnley’s first half penalty save and a late consolation from former Silkman Tyler James.

How significant was the win over Radcliffe, and how much did this boost the players’ confidence and provide momentum ahead of Palace by giving everyone such a huge lift going into it?

Tuesday’s victory was such a massive result, for me our best performance of the season, achieved against a bogey team who were flying high in the National League North. And all this on the back of two poor, toothless performances against Buxton and Chester (in particular), plus the added inconvenience of the Silkmen being without injured top scorer Danny Elliott.

Manager John Rooney, who had threatened members of the squad with being shown the door if they didn’t start producing, triggered the perfect response and was rewarded for a brave team selection and shift in tactical approach. We’ll delve into the specifics of that shortly.

Before we do, let’s take a look at how well Radcliffe had been doing coming into this fixture and why they were favourites to leave Cheshire with another three points.

Radcliffe

• They sat 5^th in the league, 6pts behind Kidderminster in 4^th but with 2 games in hand

• With a win they would have gone 9pts clear of 8^thplaced Buxton in the play-off race

• Radcliffe’s previous 4 results were: Flyde h 3-3 (coming from 3-0 down), Curzon W3-0 a, Leamington W2-1 h, Scarborough W3-0 a

• Radcliffe’s record against the top 7 record is very good, and they have dished out five goal hammerings away from home to teams that are currently flying: Fylde h 3-3, Merthyr a W5-0, Kidderminster a W5-1, Scarborough a W3-1, Darlington h W3-1

• Radcliffe came into this having scored 49 goals – the fourth highest in the NLN. And their defence (32 goals conceded) was the 6^th best,

• Radcliffe had taken the lead 16 times and only conceded an equaliser on 4 occasions, underlining how important it was for us to get our noses in front

• In the NLN so far this season, 74% of teams that are winning at half-time go on to win the game, highlighting just how significant it is to start games on the front foot in this league! Credit for this stat goes to Morgan Lyons’ excellent xExplained Substack site which provides in-depth analysis on the NLN - check it out!

A shift in tactics from Rooney

John Rooney was bold and brave in taking the game to Radcliffe, switching from our customary 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1formation, to a more attack-minded 4-3-3. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts and Luke Duffy were constant attacking threats from out wide with D’Mani Mellor deputising at centre forward in place of the injured Danny Elliott.

An energetic midfield three comprised Paul Dawson, James Edmondson and the naturally left-sided Carlos Dos Santos who added a new dimension to our defensive and attacking play. Whilst at the back, Rooney rewarded Luke Matheson’s impressive cameo off the bench at Chester with a start at right back in place of Lewis Fensome. Matheson had an excellent game, and as good as Fensome was against Palace, Luke can consider himself a tad unfortunate to have found himself back on the bench.

Rooney’s tactics went beyond just freshening up personnel. Clearly, the directive was to get the ball forward quickly and attack Radcliffe with purpose - our attacking numbers really bear that out.

• Macclesfield made 252 passes against Radcliffe, in contrast to the 502 passes we made against Chester (of which 51% were made by our defenders!) and 371 passes against Buxton

• Unlike Chester, there was less responsibility on our defenders to build from the back, Rollin Menayese only made 15 passes vs 66 at Chester, Heathcote 23 vs 62, and Lacey 24 vs 77. That didn’t make our back four less effective, in fact as a collective they defended robustly against the persistent, direct threat of Radcliffe with Sam Heathcote in particular having an outstanding evening (see Player Ratings below)

• The Silkmen had more shots (16) and more shots inside the box (10) against Radcliffe than they typically do. In fact, you have to go back to our 3-1 victory against Peterborough Sports at the beginning of November to see a more dominant attacking performance from us (22 shots, 11 inside the box) in the league.

• Macclesfield’s expected goals (xG) stat of 1.54 vs 2.25 from Radcliffe is really misleading. We carved out (and missed!) some clear-cut chances which we should have done much better from.

• We had 46% vs 54% possession v Radcliffe. Only four other teams have had more of the ball against the Silkmen this season - Southport away, South Shields home in the league, Fylde away and Crystal Palace. When having less possession our stats read won 4 and lost 1!

Buckley-Ricketts blazed over from Matheson’s cutback, Mellor headed wide from Duffy’s cross then scooped an effort over the bar in the second half when well placed, and Duffy himself hit the post when played through on goal one-on-one. Speaking of Dawson, his 25-yard wonder hit with very little backlift carried an expected goal stat of just 0.04.

Radcliffe were largely outshone in terms of creative attacking output, so why did they have an xG tally of 2.25? There are a few reasons. They missed a penalty which automatically carries an xG of 0.76 and Tyler James’ consolation saw him fire into a gaping goal from close range after Dearnley had fumbled the centre which equated to an xG of 0.29. David Ball also failed to get a clean connection when through on goal in the first half (xG 0.36) which saw his tame effort easily saved.

So, according to the football data ‘experts’ Radcliffe’s opportunities carried an increased likelihood of resulting in goals in comparison to Macclesfield’s.

Macclesfield stood up to Radcliffe’s physical threat all over the park

We were fantastic going forward, but we also defended superbly against a physical and direct Radcliffe side. You might be surprised to learn that Macclesfield won 64% of aerial duels against Radcliffe (28 of 44), and only fractionally less ground duels (48 vs 51).

In terms of aerial duels, Dawson won 6 out of 9, Heathcote 4 out of 5, Menayese 2 out of 3 and even Luke Matheson won 2 out of 2. We were brave, strong and competitive all over the pitch, from front to back. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts won 11 of the 24 duels he contested – excellent stats for a wide player not known for his defensive prowess. Luke Duffy also won 9 of his 15 duels, and D’Mani Mellor won 6 out of his 11 aerial battles.

Furthermore, Macc made more defensive clearances (27 vs 19), more interceptions (19 vs 12) and defended more crosses (17 vs 13). We also robbed Radcliffe in possession 10 times versus the six times we turned over the ball, again highlighting just how tenacious the Silkmen were.

Rooney’s men were determined and committed all over the park, which in turn earned us the right to play the quality football Macclesfield ultimately produced in the final third.

The rejuvenated Buckley-Ricketts

Isaac Buckley-Ricketts’ second goal against Palace will go down in history as one of the most significant ever in the Silkmen’s history. But it was his revitalised display against Radcliffe which set the tone for his sensational FA Cup contribution.

Rumoured to have been made surplus to requirements by Rooney after a series of lacklustre displays, IBR was handed another chance due to an injury sustained by Juston Johnson. And boy did Isaac seize the initiative by delivering the type of performance everyone knows he is capable of following his summer move from Curzon Ashton.

It wasn’t just IBR’s goal that was impressive against Radcliffe – his whole performance was off the chart. 8 out of 10 successful dribbles underline just how well he carried the fight to Radcliffe by running at their defenders and being a constant thorn in their side. 4 efforts on goal. 80% (16/20) accurate passes in Radcliffe’s half, with three key passes leading to goalscoring opportunities.

Defensively Isaac was also outstanding. 5 defensive contributions comprising interceptions, clearances and blocked shots, 11 of 24 aerial and ground duels won and 6 defensive recoveries. A superhuman effort from the winger who has now set the bar on what he is capable of producing when firing on all cylinders.

Player ratings

Dearnley 8 – Made a crucial penalty save on the stroke of half-time by guessing right which resulted in a comfortable stop in the end. Handling was sound, until right at the end when he spilled a cross which led to Radcliffe pulling one back.

Matheson 7.5 – Good going forward and defensively. Did just enough to put Taylor off when well positioned inside the penalty area and was denied an assist after an excellent run and cross only for Buckley-Ricketts to blaze over.

Heathcote 9 – A tower of strength. Vital clearance off the line inside two minutes, lead the line commandingly and showed strong dominance in the air and concentration in thwarting Radcliffe’s danger in the box from Jordan Hulme.

Menayese 7.5 – Less dominant than Heathcote but did the basics well.

Lacey 6.5 - Was in the right place at the right time to prevent Radcliffe’s David Ball from tapping home the rebound after Dearnley had saved Gardner’s penalty. Had a tough evening up against the dangerous winger Afuye and was dribbled past on 5 occasions.

Edmondson 7.5 – good on and off the ball, but loses a mark for the trip which led to Radcliffe’s penalty even though the offence occurred outside the box! Showed excellent maturity and battling qualities to get stuck in to help Macc win the midfield battle.

Dawson 9.5 – an outstanding goal and all-round display. Was immense in the centre of the park, dominating Radcliffe in the air and outclassing them on the deck with some defence splitting passes. A real captain’s performance.

Dos Santos 8.5 – is left midfield the youngster’s best position? A surprise but welcome inclusion. Involved in the build-up to both goals, looked to play positively on every occasion when on the ball. Crisp passing, excellent control in tight spaces helped create half a yard which was vital in helping us retain possession and kickstart our attacks.

Duffy 8 – like Buckley-Ricketts he really took the game to Radcliffe by successfully completing 5 of his 6 dribbles. Produced an excellent cross for Mellor in the first half and possibly could have done better when hitting the post when clean through after the break.

Buckley-Ricketts 9.5 – where did that performance come from? Lively throughout, a constant menace that Radcliffe couldn’t handle as he ran at their defenders with pace and power. Rewarded for his persistence with a vital goal and defensively resolute also. An all-round outstanding contribution.

Mellor 7 – could have done better with the two goalscoring opportunities he had. Worked very hard as always and defensively put a real shift in.

Subs:

Borthwick-Jackson for Lacey (70 mins) 7 – impressive, tidy debut from the new signing

Whitehead for Dos Santos (78) – Danny was denied by an excellent save from his stinging shot

Fensome for Matheson (84) – Disciplined in the final stages

Stone for Edmondson (86) – our other debutant was lively up top for the brief time he was on