Taking the Mick - stats, player ratings & takeaways after Macc's 6-1 win

Silkmen gain sweet revenge over Mickleover

Before I provide some belated analysis over Macc’s 6-1 demolition of Mickleover at the weekend, I thought I’d flip things around and lead with the key match stats, which are quite compelling as to how well the Silkmen played beyond the scoreline itself (See key takeaways later in this article).

Macclesfield 6 Mickleover Sports 1 – match stats

• Efforts on target: Macc 11, Mick 3

(Elliott x3, Meyanese x2, Fensome, Mellor, Rooney x2, Mellor, Dawson)

• Efforts off target: Macc 6, Mick 0

(Elliott, Rooney x2, Duffy, Mendy, Heathcote)

• Corners: Macc 9, Mick 3

• 18-yard entries: (either inside the 18-yard box or level with / beyond) Macc 52, Mick 19

Goal watch

• 1-0, Meyanese 36 mins, assisted by Rooney

Rooney’s lofted corner finds Meyanese, who leaps the highest at the backpost to guide a towering header in off the woodwork.

• 1-1, Dales 48 mins. Belting equalizer from Mickleover captain, Andy Dales.

Some crisp one-touch build-up play on the left wing finds Dales, who looks up and hits an unstoppable looping effort over Dearnley from 25 yards who was only fractionally off his line.

• 2-1, Rooney 63 mins, assisted by Elliott

Macc capitalise on a horrendous backpass by a Mickelover defender which fails to reach the intended target of their keeper. Elliott is quickly onto the loose ball, but checks and waits for support, before laying it into the path of Rooney whose first-time shot squirms through the keeper’s hands and into the net.

• 3-1, Elliott 66 mins, assisted by Etaluku

Storming 40-yard run by Etaluku down the right. He plays a lovely ball inside to Elliott, who controls the ball beautifully with his right foot to create space, before unleashing an accurate shot with his left into the corner of the goal from 20 yards. Outstanding finish.

• 4-1, Rooney penalty 83 mins, assisted by Johnson

Johnson gets the assist for drawing the foul in the box, but he was picked out by a glorious slide-rule pass from Dawson which set up the attack. Rooney converted the penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way for his second goal of the afternoon.

• 5-1, Mellor 90 mins, assisted by Rooney

Mellor gets on the scoresheet in the second minute of injury time, scoring a cushioned volley from two-yards out after a delicious drifted cross from Rooney picked him out perfectly at the back stick.

6-1, Dawson 90 mins, assisted by De Girolamo

A high corner from Rooney is headed across goal by Heathcote, which is subsequently headed back in the opposite direction by De Girolamo into Dawson, whose volley with the outside of his boot is turned into the net from six yards out.

Player ratings

In the end, this was a swashbuckling, sweet revenge victory for Macclesfield over the team who handed them their first league defeat of the season after 17 games unbeaten in November. Following Guiseley’s third successive loss, and Ashton also coming a cropper, the Silkmen now stand 20 points clear on 76 points (Guiseley have a game in hand) at the top of the NPL, and on the cusp of promotion with 11 matches remaining.

Dearnley 7 – will be disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet given Macc’s dominance, however he was beaten by a blockbuster of a strike for Mickleover’s shock equaliser which he could have done little about. Did save Mickleover’s two other efforts on target, parrying a shot away in the first half and catching a deflected drive after the break.

Pemberton 7.5 – much more like it after an uncharacteristically indifferent performance away at Hebburn. Tried to support Macc’s attacks at every opportunity and got into some advanced positions, most notably when drifting in behind from a crossfield pass from Rooney but unfortunately he couldn’t take the ball in his stride.

Fensome 9 – his mark might seem high given the scarcity of Mickleover’s forays into the final third, however Fensome was exemplary. Up against a seasoned EFL veteran striker in O’Grady with a bigger physical presence, Lewis dominated him all afternoon, beating him to headers in the air and giving his opponent no change whatsoever. Almost scored with a header of his own which was well tipped away by the Mickleover’s keeper. Currently keeping Dawson out of the side, which says everything about Fensome’s form at present.

Meyanese 8.5 – threatened a goal from a set-piece away at Gainsborough and Hebburn, and this time he delivered, scoring a crucial opener to set Macc on their way when the action had gone flat. Rollin is very agile and has a good leap on him, so this goal could be the first of many he scores in a Silkmen shirt. Came with the reputation of being a pacey, no-nonsense defender – I’m not sure he’s as quick as some suggest, however he certainly takes no prisoners in both boxes! A strong addition.

Kengni 8 – got the nod over Brandon Lee as Savage elected for a more attack-minded line-up. Had some scintillating runs, particularly in the first half, where he quickly turned defence into attack. Was unceremoniously wiped out during one of them, resulting in a deserved yellow card for the Mickleover full-back.

Mendy 7.5 – quietly effective in both his defensive and attacking duties. Showed excellent awareness and discipline to help out Pemberton by winning possession after Mickelover briefly had a one-on-one following a counter from a Silkmen corner. At times, I think he could be more aggressive in the middle of the park and use his physical attributes to do some of the more ‘dirtier’ work.

Rooney 9.5 – two goals and an assist – not a bad afternoon for Macc’s Rolls Royce! And he might have had a hat-trick but for a rare rush of blood when he ballooned Etaluku’s cutback over the bar from 12 yards out. Provided a peach of a ball for Mellor’s goal and Macc’s fifth. Switched to the ‘number ten / attacking midfielder’ role when Dawson was introduced alongside Mendy in the second half.

Etaluku 9 – well done, young man. His most complete performance in a Silkmen shirt and a glimpse of his potential. Credited with one assist for Elliott’s goal – where he showed excellent pace but also lovely composure to get his head up and pick out Macc’s top scorer. Unlucky not to have another two assists on top, but for Mellor and Rooney spurning excellent opportunities from Etaluku’s marauding runs down the right. From the very first minute he was a constant thorn in Mickleover’s side, even muscling in past an opposition defender to knick the ball off him on the goalline to set up another attack when he had no right to get there. Fantastic display. Replaced by Johnson after 78 minutes.

Mellor 7.5 – claimed his 16^th goal of the season having peeled away from a defender to covert Rooney’s inviting centre. Ought to have had another, but couldn’t direct his header from Etaluku’s cross beyond the despairing dive of the goalkeeper’s outstretched hand. Not dissimilar to Danny Elliott’s miss at Prescot before Christmas when Mellor went near post rather than directing his effort back across goal from where the keeper had scurried from. Relatively quiet in the first half but more effective after half-time. Switched to left midfield after Dawson came on and Rooney slotted into the ‘ten’ role.

Duffy 7 – probed a lot in the first half without being able to breakdown Mickleover’s stubborn resistance. Robbed a Mickleover player in possession to set up a chance for Elliott and had one curling effort over the bar. Replaced by Dawson on 67 mins.

Elliott 8.5 – showed his class once more to make it 28 goals for the season, 22 in the Northern Premier League. Scored a superbly taken goal to make it 3-1 having earlier played a perfect pass into Rooney who restored Macc’s league. Had another two decent strikes on target, showing much better accuracy in front of goal in contrast to his previous home performance against Basford.

Subs:

Dawson 8.5 – only on the field for 28 minutes, but showed his quality from the outset. Gifted on the ball – found Etaluku with a curling pass into the channel, followed by a defence-splitting pass to Justin Johnson who was subsequently hauled down for Macc’s penalty. At both ends he produced a timely glancing header to clear a dangerous free-kick and netted our sixth goal with a cool, stabbing volley. An impressive all-round midfield cameo.

De Girolamo 7.5 – made his debut on 74 minutes after signing on loan from Buxton earlier in the week, replacing Elliott. He’ll face tougher tests than Mickleover’s rearguard but made an excellent first impression, registering an assist for Dawson’s and Macclesfield’s final goal.

Johnson no rating – introduced for Etaluku on 78 minutes and picked up where Sean had left off in tormenting Mickleover’s defence. Won the penalty after drawing the foul after receiving Dawson’s through ball. A real threat, less direct than Etaluku today but showed a greater variety of tricks. Going to be a fascinating battle to see who can make the right wing berth their own. It’s currently Etaluku’s shirt to lose, but this was also a welcome reminder of how much JJ also has to offer.

Lee no rating – replaced the industrious Kengni after 83 minutes.

Heathcote no rating – rescued a point with a fine goal at Hebburn and almost repeated the trick with an outrageous side-footed volley which went narrowly over the bar from 25 yards against Mickleover! Also played his part in the build-up to Macclesfield’s sixth goal from Rooney’s corner. A valuable squad member.

5 main takeaways

Two goals from set pieces

When was the last time the Silkmen scored a goal from a set-piece? Off the top of my head, not since Alex Curran’s free-kick against Curzon in the FA Trophy in November – 15 games ago. Before then, Justin Johnson converted after a flick on from a corner in our 3-2 win at Matlock on 29 October.

Savage was quick to heap praise on coach Peter Band in his post-match interview for ‘Bandy’s’ diligent work as the orchestrator of our set-pieces, which have seen Macc more effective in both boxes in recent weeks. The recent signing of Rollin Meyanese has undoubtedly helped. The powerful centre half is a real menace from corners and scored his first Silkmen goal against Mickleover.

Macc’s sixth and final goal also came from a corner, and there seemed to be a clear tactical emphasis on targeting the back post (this time it was Sam Heathcote who got on the end of it) with a lofted ball from John Rooney. In fact, I don’t recall seeing anyone hit a corner as high into the air as Rooney did on Saturday. But when you’ve got the likes of Meyanese, Mendy, Dawson and Elliott in the box, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t score more goals of this nature.

Mendy and Dawson – friends reunited

It was interesting to see Laurent Mendy and Paul Dawson reunited together, albeit for half an hour, and in central midfield rather than at centre half where they began the season in the Silkmen’s remodelled defence. Robbie Savage sees Mendy’s immediate future as a holding midfielder and believes captain Dawson’s best position is at centre back.

But I wonder if the pair’s cameo together in the engine room has given the gaffer food for thought, with one eye on next season? Mendy and Dawson represented an ideal balance as a midfield paring. We had the energy and athleticism of Mendy, complimented by the grit, passing masterclass and goal threat of Dawson. It’s a hell of a combination!

This enabled John Rooney to push up into an attacking midfield position with D’Mani Mellor drifting out wide. As we make the step up to the National League North, one wonders how the evergreen Rooney will cope in what is the twilight of his career. He is a brilliant asset at non-league level and integral to the Silkmen’s side, but might Rooney (and the team) benefit from him playing further forward to unleash his creative genius, protected by additional midfield ‘legs’ in behind him?

Rooney registered his eighth and ninth goals of the season against Mickleover, his first since opening the scoring in the similar 6-0 rout over Blyth Spartans.

The Silkmen were ruthlessly efficient in the second half

Such was the Silkmen’s effervescent second half dominance in which they scored five goals, our rather indifferent first half display has quickly been forgotten. And rightly so given how Savage’s players turned on the style after overcoming the shock of Mickleover’s equalizer.

The stats I recorded make for interesting reading, if you like this sort of thing. Looking at our 18-yard box entries, Macc had more (29) in the first half compared to the second (23), but struggled to turn their supremacy into clear-cut chances. Sean Etaluku frequently sent crosses into the box, but a lack of movement and anticipation from the Silkmen’s attackers saw them fail to result in danger.

However, the Silkmen were much more potent after the interval and turned their dominance into end product - registering 8 of their 11 overall efforts on target in the second half alone and scoring with 5 of them.

Is Fensome transitioning from valued squad member to undroppable defender?

We may have won 6-1, but it wouldn’t be fair not to mention the recent outstanding form of Lewis Fensome who has been magnificent at the back for Macclesfield. The versatile defender has started our last seven games, at times covering for the suspended Paul Dawson and Tre Pemberton at centre half and right back respectively.

But during this period Fensome has been singled out by Robbie Savage as the Silkmen’s best defender after grabbing his opportunity with both hands - but more so due to his brilliant reading of the game, well-timed tackles, dominant headers and tenacious runs forward. So much so that Savage has rewarded Fensome by keeping him in the side and placing the available Dawson again on the bench. As fantastic as captain Dawson is, few would argue that Fensome isn’t deserving of his starting place.

Signed from Lancaster three years ago, I wondered if Lewis’s time with Macclesfield may be coming to an end earlier in the season. Yet he seems to be maturing before our very eyes as a reliable and improving defender as we advance up the leagues. Credit to the player and the coaches.

Diego shows a glimpse of what he can offer

He was only on the field for 21 minutes as a second-half substitute, but new loan signing Diego De Girolamo immediately showed what he’s all about and the attributes he can bring to Macclesfield’s attack.

Within 30 seconds of his introduction, the striker received the ball with his back to goal, held off a defender before turning and playing a pass to a teammate to show excellent control, poise and awareness. De Girolamo also appears to have a good striker’s instinct in a positional sense, peeling away to the back post to nod across goal to claim an assist for Dawson’s goal deep in injury time. A promising debut.