The Silkmen News likes to have the ‘last word’ on Macclesfield FC’s performances, which is why I’m over a week late in bringing you this analysis ;-). Just when I think of putting my feet up, I watch the match highlights back and marry them with statistical data which reveals emerging trends.
This edition of the newsletter will examine the following themes, so I’ll let you take a view as to whether you want to read on!
· What was ‘wrong’ with our 0-0 draw at Spalding
· Why might Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have been dropped for Brackley
· Would we have beaten Brackley, but for their red card (s)
· Is Jonathan Ustabasi about to kick-on
· Are we failing to recognise Adan George’s qualities
Spalding – a point gained, or two dropped?
I was less than complimentary about our draw away at Spalding, but like anything else, it has to be assessed in overall context. By the end of the 90 minutes the Silkmen were under the cosh, rather than ‘hanging on’, so perhaps emerging with a 0-0 was a ‘good’ point, especially as we followed this up with a home win against Brackley.
The biggest frustration of Macclesfield’s play against the Tulips was our lack of cutting edge in the final third and inability to make their keeper work, despite our various attempts on goal and dominance in possession:
· 17 shots (11 of them inside the box)
· 2 shots on target (a Sam Heathcote header from a corner, and a low drive just inside the area from Elliot Osborne)
· 62% possession
· 523 attempted passes (that’s a huge amount!)
And yet, other than a deflected Fin Shrimpton effort which produced a spectacular sprawling save from Spalding number one, Peter Crook, Macc never looked like scoring. Duffy, Ustabasi, Elliott, Dyer and Osborne all tried their luck in the second half, but only Osborne warmed Crook’s hands.
Afterwards, manager John Rooney lamented his players’ decision making which was a fair assessment of his and supporters’ frustrations. We shot when we should have passed, or retained possession until a better option could support an attack, or sometimes our execution in the final third was simply poor.
The best example of the worst outcome was in the first half when Adan George failed to find an unmarked Jonathan Ustabasi in the six yard box with a simple square pass. George inexplicably overhit it and the chance went begging. I will provide an Adan George ‘love-in’ later on in this article though.
It was Spalding who spurned the game’s two best opportunities which came in the final 20 minutes when the home side stopped paying Macclesfield so much respect. Substitute Cybulski, a centre forward powerhouse, glanced a header inches wide with Dibble beaten, while nippy buzzsaw Jack Roberts blasted over the bar from 12 yards out following a Silkmen defensive catastrophe (see below).
Before then, the Silkmen were fairly comfortable without appearing overly threatening. 523 passes reminded me of the infuriating team we watched before the new year, welded to a 4-2-3-1 formation which lacked creativity and saw us lose tamely away to Chester.
There was far too much sideways and back passing against Spalding and our most potent attacking threats were starved of the ball, and when they did finally receive it, they snatched at their chances. Out of Macclesfield’s 523 passes, 298 (57%) were attempted by our back 5 (goalkeeper and four defenders). And that’s just passes, rather than simply counting touches of the ball (which will be higher).
Borthwick-Jackson and Heathcote made just shy of 200 passes between them! Compare that to George (12), Duffy (26) and Ustabasi (21) and Elliott (4, who replaced George off the bench in the 69th minute).
Ammar Dyer and Lincoln McFayden, who have impressed as attacking full-backs early into their Silkmen careers, were virtually non-existent in the opposition’s half. We simply didn’t ask enough questions of Spalding and so a draw was a fair result.
Was Borthwick-Jackson unlucky to be dropped for Tom Wilson?
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson has been a calming influence at the back since joining us in January, with his ability to read the game and make some timely defensive interceptions particularly impressive.
CBJ is also comfortable with the ball at his feet, but maybe that’s part of the problem?
Against Spalding, he attempted a whopping 109 passes with an accuracy of 94%, in total having 136 touches of the ball. That might sound impressive on paper, but these stats possibly also highlight CBJ was more of a hindrance than a help towards our attacking impetus.
He was far too pedestrian in getting us up the field, both in terms of thought and movement, preferring to play ‘safe’ passes to Heathcote and Dibble. It was a similar story in the opening day away victory against Marine – solid defensive contribution and high pass completion, whilst also slowing us down and appearing vulnerable against pace.
It’s not just CBJ’s turgid build-up that frustrates me, his lack of mobility (which has yet to be fully exposed this season) is also a concern.
It nearly cost us on two occasions at Spalding. Substitute striker Cybulski almost scored with a header.
In the still above, CBJ has a good starting position to mark the striker as the left wing cross is about to come in (which Dyer failed to cut out).
But look what happens in the next still below.
Cybulski, who didn’t appear the most sprightly of chaps, checked his run and left Borthwick-Jackson flat-footed and sat on his backside as he ended up with a free header on goal. CBJ also got outfoxed by a similarly immobile Jordan Hulme versus Radcliffe,
The second CBJ example I’m going to highlight is much harsher. Here, a sloppy pass from Lincoln McFayden is played behind him and suddenly Spalding are in down the right wing.
But having watched the footage back several times McFayden’s pass, whilst wayward, was hardly struck at a rate of knots – CBJ simply wasn’t nimble enough to react, or to close down Spalding when they got free.
Fortunately, Jack Roberts blazed over when well placed to spare our blushes. McFayden would have carried the can, but CBJ’s lack of speed is alarming.
Rooney elected to drop (or rest, whatever the cap fits!) CBJ and hand summer signing Tom Wilson a debut at centre back alongside Sam Heathcote against Brackley. Wilson is more of a ‘no-nonsense’ defender, by no means uncomfortable on the deck, but not a player who likes to hold onto the ball either.
Did Wilson’s directness benefit us?
I think that might be a stretch to suggest this, but there was certainly less faffing about at the back compared to Spalding. Versus Brackley, Wison (44) and Heathcote (60) attempted 104 passes (compared to 189 from CBJ and Heathcote at Spalding).
Wilson had a strong game – 13 defensive contributions, 22 ball recoveries, 5 out of 8 aerial duels won, with an 86% pass accuracy are impressive numbers. And lets remember, it was Wilson’s long ball down the left wing which was initially collected by Luke Duffy who then found Lincoln McFayden who was scythed down which led to Brackley’s first red card.
Did we get lucky against Brackley?
Suggesting we were ‘lucky’ to beat Brackley feels insulting towards Rooney and the players, but there’s no doubt that Macclesfield got the rub of the green in this fixture. Just as we did (to an extent) when Radcliffe lost both their centre backs to injury in the first half.
Playing against 10 men (and subsequently 9!) is never straightforward, Brackley were a National League side last season who gave an excellent account of themselves in the first half. So much so, that they deservedly took the lead after a concerted spell of pressure.
Macc started brightly – George, Ustabasi and Shrimpton had decent efforts on goal, but from the 23rd minute onwards we didn’t have a goalscoring attempt until Danny Elliott struck the post five minutes after half-time.
After 30 minutes, Brackley gained a foothold in the game, started to dominate the midfield and physically we struggled to contain them. The visitor’s had a spell of 7 efforts in 15 minutes at the end of the first half, eventually taking the lead with Williams’ hooked effort.
It was a poor goal for Macc to concede which Sam Heathcote may not want to watch back. The Silkmen centre back is competing alongside Brackley striker Campbell to defend against the cross into the box.
Contact between them seems minimal, perhaps a tangling of feet if I’m being charitable to Sam, but even that seems inconclusive on the footage.
Heathcote goes down on the deck like a sack of spuds, the referee allows play to continue and Williams has the run on Dyer and holds him off to finish cooly past Dibble. Heathcote surely has to be stronger in that situation!
In a dramatic end to the half, Brackley’s Coates is given his marching orders just over a minute later. Was it a red card?
I wasn’t certain watching it in ‘real-time’, but replays conclusively revealed that Coates’ tackle was high, dangerous in connecting with McFayden’s ankle which left Macclesfield’s defender requiring lengthy treatment before he hobbled off the pitch, barely able to put any weight on his foot.
The sending off had a significant bearing on the outcome of the game. The 10 men (subsequently reduced to 9 in the 83rd minute) only had one effort in the second half. In contrast, 11 of Macclesfield’s 15 shots (9 on target, 10 inside the box) came when we had our man advantage.
Prior to the sending off, Brackley were bossing us all over the pitch. The away side won 59% of all ground and aerial duels (56% ground, 61% aerial), they dispossessed Macclesfield on 6 occasions (versus 3 for Brackley) and caught the Silkmen offside 6 times.
Brackley’s holding midfielders, Kai Lissimore (76% passing accuracy) and goalscorer Ewan Williams (77% passing accuracy) were better in possession compared to George Wilson, Elliot Osborne (first half, before he switched to right back in the second), and Fin Shrimpton. Combined, Lissimore and Williams won 18 of their 28 duels and made more defensive contributions than Macclesfield’s midfielders, the latter stat is unsurprising given their backs were against the wall.
The Silkmen did well to keep their heads and eventually find a way to unlock the door, and for that John Rooney’s men deserve praise. Our goals from our perspective (but not from Brackley’s!) were excellent. A peach of a pass from George Wilson and a brilliantly executed finish by Jonathan Ustabasi for the equaliser.
And then a piece of brilliance from Luke Duffy to rob substitute Morris in possession and fire home, albeit Duffy’s strike took a wicked deflection to wrongfoot the keeper and make it 2-1!
10 points, three wins out of four, fourth in the league table is an excellent start. But the element of fortune that we’ve received so far can’t continue.
Is Ustabasi set to go on a run?
Like many, I’ve been slightly underwhelmed by the start to Jonathan Ustabasi’s Silkmen career. He arrived with a (deserved) reputation as a National League North ‘cheat code’ after tearing up this division for AFC Fylde.
We’re only four games in though and Rooney’s return to a 4-2-3-1 formation where we have struggled to gel in midfield has stifled the impact of our attacking players, so it’s important to cut Ustabasi some slack.
I’m learning about Ustabasi’s strengths and weaknesses with every game. He may not be the conventional, get-to-the-byline winger and cross it in type player I thought he was. His pace and directness means he is capable of that undoubtedly, however, he seems more of an ‘inside forward’ drifting in from both wings. An observation, not a criticism, and I’d be surprised if Ustabasi doesn’t have a major impact in our goals and assists column this season.
And there are signs that he’s starting to find his feet. Against Brackley he had his most efforts on goal so far – 3 shots (all on target). He showed excellent control to bring the ball down from Duffy’s deep cross only to be denied by a close range save, which George Wilson then skied the rebound following up.
The pair redeemed themselves moments later. A delightful crossfield pass from Wilson saw ‘Basi lose his man and produce a deft, cushioned volley to make it 1-1. It was a brilliantly executed finish to put Macclesfield in the ascendency.
What I like about Ustabasi is that he’s getting in some excellent goalscoring positions – I highlighted earlier that Adan George spurned a golden chance to play ‘Basi in at Spalding when he’d taken up a central striking position in the box. He’s got a good eye for goal.
On the flip side, Ustabasi’s passing accuracy can be wayward, he’s not attacking opposing full-backs often enough (just 7 attempted dribbles in 4 games (5 successful), and only 3 accurate crosses from 13 delivered).
So there’s room for improvement, but hopefully the goal against Brackley will have done him the world of good.
Stick with George
Adan George has two problems: he’s not Danny Elliott and he is Adan George. I don’t mean to sound flippant, but when a team hasn’t been firing on all cylinders in the final third a striker who has yet to find the net will always come under scrutiny.
And it’s not simply a case of George missing chances, he’s barely laid a glove on Marine’s, Radcliffe’s and Spalding’s defenders in three largely anonymous outings so far. However, I did think there were clear signs of improvement in his overall game against Brackley, whilst I’d still like to see Adan more involved.
· 7 minutes – strike on goal from Duffy’s pass is deflected and parried by Brackley’s keeper
· 19 minutes – Good strength and power from George to get away from Tomlinson on half way, the central defender (later sent off) has no option but to haul him down to earn his first booking
· 50 minutes – Excellent burst of pace from George to get in front of a Brackley defender to claim a ball he was second favourite to win, then show good awareness to find Elliott who hit the post
· 62 minutes - Used his chest with a neat lay-off for Duffy in the build-up to the Ustabasi saved shot / glaring Wilson miss
You might think I’m clutching at straws in my assessment of George’s ‘improvement’. As per the role he largely performed for Telford – he might be a better impact sub than a starter. But while Danny Elliott is slowly edging towards full fitness, we need Adan to push on.
I think he can and will, hopefully starting with a goal at Darlington at the weekend!
Good analysis Ben. The bank holiday weekend will see the last two games of Dawson's suspension, will he go straight back in the team.