Macclesfield bounced back from Saturday’s loss to Oxford with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Southport tonight, thanks to a deflected effort from substitute Luis Lacey on 74 minutes.
The three points were no more than John Rooney’s men deserved after they largely dominated the second half, responding well after being pegged back by a bizarre Mo Touray equaliser for the home side just after the restart following a howler from Max Dearnley.
Its been a summer of change for Southport. They’ve been acquired by new owners and appointed a new management team in ex-Silkmen bosses Neil Danns and Mark Duffy.
In welcoming the Silkmen to Haig Avenue tonight, the Port faced their third consecutive game against a newly promoted side, having beaten Bedford 3-1 on Saturday and losing 2-0 at Merthyr on the opening day in a match they should have taken something from. In contrast, Macclesfield were looking to bounce back after losing at Oxford City at the weekend.
Manager John Rooney made three changes to our starting line-up. Lewis Fensome replaced Luke Matheson at right back, Regan Griffiths for Danny Whitehead in central midfield, and Saturday’s goal scorer Isaac Buckley-Ricketts for Sean Etaluku on the wing in a revamped right side for Macc.
First half
The Silkmen had to withstand a fierce onslaught by the home side in the opening 10 minutes as they peppered Macc down our right flank and from distance from a series of long range efforts and corners.
And it was from one of them where The Silks received an almighty let off. Gnanhoua’s 25 yarder was tamely pushed out into open play by Dearnley and Danny Lloyd stroked home the rebound, but fortunately the offside flag (correctly) went up. Big let off!
Gradually Macc came into it. Nice link up play by Fensome and Buckley-Ricketts led to an opening for Elliott whose shot was blocked.
On 15 minutes Brandon Lee limped off to be replaced by recent signing Luis Lacey who settled well, getting in blocks and supporting Duffy down the left.
And it was from there Macc worked their magic to take the lead on 20 minutes. Menayese was decisive in coming out to win a defensive header, Mellor and Griffiths exchanged one touch passes to find Duffy, who released Elliott on the left wing whose perfect low centre was tapped in by Buckley-Ricketts for his second in two games. 0-1. Fantastic team goal.
And it might have been 0-2 moments later as Elliott got into an advanced position down the right after Buckley-Ricketts pressed the full-back into an error and won the ball, but Danny’s square ball was a fraction too long for the advancing Mellor to convert.
After a shaky start the Silkmen looked most likely to double their advantage. Duffy did brilliantly to pickpocket the full-back and cross for Elliott who might have done better with his glancing header which failed to hit the target. While on the stroke of half-time, Josef Yarney almost bundled his header over the line from a Silkmen corner only to be denied by a point blank save.
Second half
Rooney’s men looked to build on an encouraging end to the first half but found themselves level on 49 minutes in a goal out of nothing. Macc turned over possession (I couldn’t see who was at fault), Touray spotted Dearnley off his line and his speculative shot from distance squirmed in at the near post. It seemed like Max had got himself back into position and set to make a save, but Touray’s shot (which lacked power) slipped through his fingers possibly due to the blustery conditions is the kindest defence I can offer Macc’s no.1. 1-1. Soft in the extreme.
The shock of conceding such a cheap goal could have knocked the Silkmen’s confidence, but they kept their discipline and gradually exerted their authority. D’Mani Mellor almost restored our lead but his excellent free-kick on the edge of the box cannoned off the crossbar.
Thereafter, twice the industrious Mellor got into advanced positions but failed to make the right choices. His first effort saw him go for goal down the inside right channel which found the side netting when he arguably should have squared for Duffy. Then Mellor got into a great position down the left, but he lashed his cross against the face of goal when he could have taken it on.
Slowly but surely, Macc were turning the screw. Regan Griffiths’ corner was fizzed in and palmed away under pressure by the keeper. Play continued and the ball fell to Lacey in the left channel from a Luke Duffy short pass after Menayese had won back possession. Luis took a moment to consider his options before electing to pull the trigger, resulting in his shot taking a deflection to wrong foot the Port keeper to hand Macc a fortuitous but deserved lead.
And from that point the Silkmen never looked like allowing Southport back into it. There was a brief scare late on when Fensome’s poor header saw the ball come out to a Southport player centrally, but he could only blaze over.
To underline Macc’s second half supremacy we had 5 shots to Southport’s 1, and 7 corners to only 1 from the home side. With this cracking win, Rooney’s men climb to sixth and welcome bottom of the table Alfreton to the Leasing.com stadium at the weekend.
Match stats
Shots on target: Southport 6, Macc 4
Shots off target: Southport 5, Macc 9
Corners: Southport 9, Macc 10
Player ratings
Dearnley 6 - Got lucky with the disallowed goal after he pushed Southport’s shot meekly into the path of Lloyd and appeared to make a meal of Southport’s equaliser. Made some decent but expected saves from distance in the first half, but hasn’t looked as assured in the last 2 games.
Fensome 6.5 - Good to see him restored to the starting line-up, although Luke Matheson can consider himself unfortunate to be benched. Him and Buckley-Ricketts gave Southport too much space down the left initially, but grew in stature and supported each other well. Excellent crossfield ball to Dawson which saw the skipper’s centre almost lead to a goal before half-time, but a poor defensive header late on from Lewis could have been costly though.
Yarney 7 - Recovered after an indifferent start where he frequently turned over possession. Unlucky not to score at the end of the first half and was defensively sound after the restart, using the ball far more sensibly. A performance to build on.
Menayese 7.5 - Solid and error free. Made a vital interception in the first half to prevent a one- on-one and an excellent late block to prevent an opening for Southport. Did brilliantly to harry Southport’s left-back into an error in an unfamiliar right wing position following Macc’s corner, before calmly passing to Duffy who set up Lacey for the winner.
Lee no rating - Subbed after 15 minutes for Lacey. Let’s hope Brandon’s injury woes haven’t returned. Hard to tell what the issue was and hopefully he’ll be back soon.
Dawson 6.5 - an unusually quiet performance from the skipper who appeared to struggle with the pace of the game in the first half. He did fizz in a great cross which almost led to Silkmen goal and came more into it as the tempo dropped after the break.
Griffiths 6.5 - busy and willing to put his foot in. Needed to take care of the ball better on occasions instead of releasing it like a hot potato. But overall justified Rooney picking him ahead of Whitehead.
Buckley-Ricketts 8 - 2 in 2 for IBR who was rewarded for making some well-timed runs into the right areas. Was a little slack defensively early on, but stuck to his responsibilities diligently and was a fine support for Fensome. Great movement for the goal, pressed hard which very nearly resulted in a second goal for Macc immediately after the opener. Extremely bright and excellent workrate. Substituted on 72 minutes for Etaluku,.
Mellor 7.5 - his pace and directness frightened Southport. Involved in the build-up to our opening goal, and with some more composed decision-making could have made two assists in the second half. Struck the bar also with a cracking free-kick that deserved a goal.
Duffy 8.5 - covered every blade of grass. Knew when to pass, when to carry the ball forward to put Southport on the back foot and was astute at drawing fouls to take the pressure off us. Great ball to release Elliott in the build-up to the opener and got the assist for Lacey’s winner. Fantastic workrate and mature performance.
Elliott 8 - who says Danny doesn’t work hard? Brilliant assist for IBR and almost laid another on for Mellor. Like Duffy, Elliott was really professional in shielding the ball and knowing when to play and when to dig in.
Subs:
Lacey 7.5 - an assist at the weekend and bagged the winner tonight. Loved his attitude and he was bright and tenacious going forward and defending.
Etaluku 7 - on for IBR late on and was direct and energetic. His pace saw him beat a Southport player to the ball which almost sent Elliott clear on goal.
Whitehead no rating - replaced Duffs with five minutes to go
Matheson no rating - on for Elliott in injury time.
A positive sign for Macclesfield is that they can be below par and still earn a win. A confidence-boosting result, one that - I feel - Southport will come away from with disappointment. Can’t help but admire the quality with the likes of Dawson, Duffy, Mellor and Elliott.