Smash and grab! 10-men Silkmen seal play-off place
Macc come from 1-0 down to defeat play-off rivals Merthyr
What an eventful afternoon! Macclesfield FC came from behind to defeat fellow play-off rivals Merthyr Town 2-1 with a late winner from James Edmondson to stun the home faithful at a wind-swept Penydarren Park.
The Silkmen’s unlikely rally was all the more dramatic due to them having to play with ten-men following Sam Heathcote’s non-sensical dismissal on the stroke of half-time following two yellow cards.
Merthyr took the lead on 66 minutes with a fine 25-yard strike from Tom Handley - a player who Macclesfield supporters will be sick of the sight of given Handley scored a hat-trick for the Martyrs in their 3-1 victory over the Silkmen back in September.
Out-of-sorts and (in truth) out of excuses for an abject display given they travelled down to South Wales on Friday night, Macclesfield were staring down the barrel of successive league defeats. Something needed to change, and to his credit manager John Rooney and his coaching staff found the answers.
Rooney’s tactical masterstroke
A poorly Luke Duffy, only well enough to take his place on the bench having commuted to Merthyr separately from the rest of the squad, was introduced as a 64th minute substitute for James Gale. It helped to turn the game on its head, even if the home side did take the lead almost immediately afterwards.
Rooney switched Isaac Buckley-Ricketts from out wide to a central striking position, supported by Duffy and Josh Kay on the flanks. IBR’s movement occupied Merthyr’s defenders for the first time, but it needed a textbook pass from Duffy to pick out Kay’s run from the right channel. Kay took it in his stride and finished cooly to draw Macc level just three minutes after going behind.
We could have settled for the draw, but the resilient Silkmen had other ideas. A flowing move from back to front, involving Edmondson and substitute Anjola Popoola, saw the latter square the ball for Edo, who found the bottom corner with an accurate finish to make it 2-1 to send the travelling away contingent into raptures.
In total, the Silkmen enjoyed just 31% possession, had only five efforts on goal and scored with their only two shots on target. Pretty it wasn’t, but effective it was in the end…
Player ratings
Ravenhill 7.5 - Much maligned (unfairly) at times, Ravenhill produced a mature and calm display to hold his nerve when those around him were unravelling during the first half. Five saves in total, nothing spectacular, but his handling was sound aside from him spilling one Merthyr cross which could have been costly. Was proactive in coming for crosses and decisive when punching clear corners.
Fensome 8 - Preferred to Matheson at right back and was a rock, particularly when we went down to ten men following Heathcote’s red card. Got stuck in and anticipated danger well - eight defensive contributions in total, including 7 vital clearances. Also made a vital interception to give the ball to Duffy who threaded the ball to Kay who made it 1-1.
Heathcote 5 - Sent off after receiving two yellow cards, the second when he dragged back Twamley when the Merthyr forward was still 20 yards from goal. An avoidable sending off which could have cost us dear. He’ll receive a one game suspension, I believe.
Menayese 7.5 - In for the injured Borthwick-Jackson, Menayese played an important part in us shutting shop. Five clearances, one vital blocked shot to thwart Twamley in the first half and one interception. Kept possession well too (85% passing accuracy) and notably helped us to regain the ball in the build-up to Kay’s equaliser.
Pasiek 7 - Struggled notably in the first half when a lot of Merthyr’s attacks came down his side. To his credit, the Preston loanee improved after the break and justified Rooney’s faith for leaving him on the pitch. Five interceptions, three clearances and one tackle from Kacper who competed well after we went down to ten men and always tried to get us up the pitch.
Dawson 6.5 - Not his normally influential self with the ball, but the captain dug in well defensively. He won 10 out of 16 ground and aerial duels. Went close with a snapshot in the opening minute which cleared the crossbar which ordinarily he’d score from. Was in the right place at the right time to hack clear after Ravenhill had spilled a right wing cross late on.
Osborne 6 - I don’t think his form has been as strong recently and he, Dawson & Edmondson struggled to get hold of the midfield as Merthyr dominated the first half. However, he showed decent composure on the ball (72% passing accuracy). Made one tackle and interception from the middle of the park, winning half of his ground duels. I did think he could have done more to close down Handley for Merthyr’s goal.
Edmondson 7.5 - Brilliantly composed finish for the winner after starting the counter attack himself. Not great in possession, but put a real shift in out of it. Four interceptions, three clearances and 14 recoveries - Edmondson was excellent in picking up loose balls to check Merthyr’s momentum.
Kay 7 - Excellent run and shot to draw us level at a vital time - just three minutes after we fell behind. Not everything came off for Josh, as evidenced by his 36% passing accuracy in the opposition’s half. But he never stopped trying - three attempted shots and one key pass that led to Dawson’s early chance, before he eventually got his reward with a wonderful equaliser.
Buckley-Ricketts 6 - Largely anonymous as an attacking threat (0 attempted dribbles) but at least he did a decent job of retaining possession when he had it (75% passing accuracy). His movement did give Merthyr problems when he played as a central striker after Gale was substituted, highlighting what we’ve been missing following the loss of D’Mani Mellor.
Gale 6 - A difficult game for him as we struggled to get anything going in the final third. Just 12 touches for Gale, but I’m not sure he helped himself either by winning only one of his seven contested ground and aerial duels.
Substitutes:
Duffy 7 - Peach of a pass for Kay’s equaliser. Gave us an influential 30 minutes despite suffering from a virus all week.
Popoola - On for Buckley-Ricketts with six minutes remaining and was instrumental with the assist for Edmondson’s winner - a composed and accurate pass perfectly into Edmondson’s path.
Lacey - Replaced Kay who had run himself into the ground in injury time
Dos Santos - Came on for Edmondson deep in stoppage time
Did you know?
The come-from-behind win at Merthyr means that Macc have now rescued 25 points from losing positions this season, almost a third of our overall points total!
Play-offs guaranteed
Victory at Merthyr takes Macclesfield to 76 points and guarantees us a play-off place with still four league games remaining - a remarkable achievement from everyone concerned, and even moreso when you consider that the Silkmen were languishing in 15th place in the table, six points adrift of seventh place at the start of 2026.
Rooney’s men are almost certain to finish at least fourth, unless Macclesfield lose all of their remaining league games and Merthyr win their remaining three games, AND, overturn a current goal difference swing of eight goals. Given the Welsh side have only won three of their last 16 league fixtures (losing 11 of them!), this scenario seems unlikely.
Can we overtake Kidderminster and finish third?
Yes. We’ve played a game less and currently sit two points behind Kidderminster. However, our game in hand is against South Shields on Tuesday night who can overhaul Fylde and go top of the league if they beat the Silkmen. What a high-stakes battle Tuesday promises to be!
Remaining fixtures
Macclesfield: South Shields (a), Spennymoor (h), Southport (h), Radcliffe (a)
Kidderminster: Radcliffe (a), Leamington (a), South Shields (h)
Realistically, I think Macc will need to secure a minimum of 84 points to seal third place - three wins, or two wins and two draws. It’s probably likely that Kidderminster take maximum points from Radcliffe and Leamington, putting them on 84 pts going into a tantalising final day game against promotion-chasing South Shields at home!
Providing the Silkmen can take it to the wire against a Radcliffe side on the beach, we’re in with a shout of claiming third, even if we lose at South Shields. But that scenario would leave us probably needing to win our final three games.
Spennymoor still have an outside chance of reaching the play-offs (but their negative goal difference should put paid to that). Southport are in mid-table but have been one of the form sides in the NLN although they surprisingly lost against relegated Leamington yesterday. Whilst Radcliffe are bottom of the form table with just 1 point from their last six, whereas in contrast the Silkmen are top after winning 5 out of 6. Kidderminster have rebounded from back-to-back defeats with three successive wins.
You really couldn’t call who takes third place and, more importantly, which team will ultimately triumph in the play-offs as we stand.
See you soon, Kidderminster?
As a reminder, the team that finishes third will be rewarded with a home game in the play-off semi-final and with one less game to play. This is how the National League North play-off format will pan out.
Eliminator A (5th v 6th) - Tue 28 April
Eliminator B (4th v 7th) - Wed 29 April
Semi-final - 2nd v Eliminator A winner - Sat 2 May
Semi final - 3rd v Eliminator B winner - Sat 2 May
Promotion Final - Sat 9 May, with the team who finished highest in the league gaining home advantage.
A final word on the ‘invincible’ Fylde and South Shields
There seems to be a prevailing opinion that IF AFC Fylde don’t win the league and finish second, they are likely to go up via the play-offs. Following Fylde’s loss to Chester yesterday and South Shields demolishing Radcliffe, the race for the National League North title and automatic promotion is well and truly back on.
If you’re a Silkmen fan you’ll want Fylde to go up automatically after they have easily beaten us 5-1 and 4-1 this season. In reality, neither Fylde or South Shields are in good form right now. Fylde have lost three of their last six, all away from home (including four of their last 5 away) yet remain very strong at home (17 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses) which would make them favourites for the play-offs if they end up there.
Meanwhile, Shields have only won three out of their last eight, but like Fylde have an enviable home record (16 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses). One of these sides is going to have to pick themselves up after the heartache of missing out on the league title.
There’s no reason then why the Silkmen can’t take advantage in what is the lottery of the play-offs! Keep the faith!