Telford analysis & positive season turnaround stats
The lowdown on Macc's 3-0 loss to our play-off rivals
It wasn’t just the 3-0 defeat to Telford on Tuesday that has caused concern amongst some Silkmen supporters, but moreover the manner of it. Macclesfield were outclassed from start to finish by their play-off rivals, conceding a cheap goal from a corner after two minutes and a soft penalty in injury time when Paul Dawson was adjudged to have impeded striker Adan George.
Tired legs after playing back-to-back on Saturdays and Tuesdays since the turn of the year, or simply a bad day at the office? Possibly a combination of both. Either way, the players and coaches have been magnificent during Macclesfield’s climb up the table from 15th to 6th.
Despite Tuesday’s setback, we’re still in a strong position to secure a play-off spot with ten league games remaining. In terms of the maths, see my previous analysis on the race for the National League North play-offs and the likely points total needed to secure 7th place or higher in the table.
Following Tuesday’s results, I think Macclesfield will need between 72 and 74 points to get over the line. We currently have 61 points from 36 games, so possibly require four more victories from our final ten matches. Doable on paper, although as Brian Clough once uttered: “Football is played on grass” and the Silkmen’s run-in is tougher than most of the other chasing play-off pack.
Scroll further down for reasons to be optimistic!
There are lots of reasons for Silkmen fans to remain positive, and if you scroll further down this article you will find some interesting stats and analysis which compare our dramatic improvement in form from the 20 league games up to 26 December (including our Boxing Day loss to Buxton), and from our subsequent 15 league games from 30th December (starting with the 2-0 loss vs Chester) until 14 March (prior to our defeat to Telford - I’d crunched the data prior to Tuesday night, for context!).
Telford analysis - what went wrong?
Firstly, it’s worth making the point that we lost to a very good side who have been on a similar form trajectory to Macclesfield FC, adapting from a slow start having gained promotion from Step 3 last season.
Not dissimilar to league leaders AFC Fylde, Telford have a clear possession-based style and their team is littered with talented young footballers who are likely to attract interest from National League clubs (and possibly above!) in the summer.
18-year-old goalkeeper Josh Gracey has impressed on a season-long loan from Wolves. I really like the look of cultured centre back Oliver Cawthorne who scored Telford’s opener against us. Cawthorne joined Telford having played for clubs in Venezuela and Panama, and his actual nationality is Venezuelan due to his parents originally working there as journalists. Box-to-box midfielder Thakgalo Leshabela was a real handful - he started at Leicester U21’s before playing in South Africa and returning to the English non-league pyramid. Whilst full-back Ammar Dyer, who provided a perfect through ball for Telford’s second, is comfortable on the ball and attracting admiring glances from teams higher up.
Upfront Telford have the dangerous Remi Walker (ex-Birmingham City youth) who has bagged 14 league goals, including scoring at the Leasing.com stadium when Macclesfield and The Bucks drew 1-1 earlier in the season. Top scorer Matt Stenson (16 goals) has been sidelined with a toe injury, but in Adan George Telford have found an able deputy. Released by Halifax in the summer and beset by injuries, George has recently returned to full fitness and is a dangerous marksman. His two goals against the Silkmen (one via the penalty spot) takes his tally to 9 goals from 13 starts.
The point I’m making is that Telford are getting better and better, and Bucks manager Kevin Wilkin has made some very shrewd acquisitions. While their form has been patchy of late, Telford will be a serious threat IF they make the play-offs and losing to them is no disgrace.
Poor goals conceded
Macclesfield never recovered from going a goal behind after two minutes - a corner floated in which somehow evaded all Silkmen players and was turned in at close range by Cawthorne. Abysmal defending, poor marking. However, the corner itself was entirely preventable.
Kacper Pasiek embarked on a foray forward, but his underhit pass intended for James Gale was intercepted. Telford then cleverly switched play to the right channel to fill the void that Pasiek had left behind. Pasiek wasn’t quick enough to get back, nor could he prevent the inswinging cross that followed which Rogan Ravenhill couldn’t gather cleanly under pressure. Ravenhill then received lengthy treatment before the subsequent corner was taken. Everything from our attacking build-up to how we defended the eventual corner leading to the first goal was just sloppy.
Telford’s second goal was good play rather than poor defending from the Silkmen. But it did highlight how we struggle with speed and movement. A perfect pass from Dyer was placed inside Cameron Borthwick-Jackson into the path of George who made no mistake.
Our response in the second half was disappointingly flat. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts missed a huge chance to halve the defecit and we never really looked like getting back into it until Telford capped a fine performance to make it 3-0 from the spot.
The Silkmen needed reinforcements following the sale of D’Mani Mellor and Josh Kay’s latest suspension after his red card against Chorley. At least new arrivals Anjola Popoola (on loan from Accrington) and Theo Chapman (signed from Scarborough) got 20 minutes to familiarise themselves with their new teammates.
Match stats
Possession: Telford 49%, Macc 51%
Total shots: Telford 8, Macc 12
Shots on target: Telford 5, Macclesfield 5
Corners: Telford 4, Macclesfield 3
There’s no getting away from this being a disappointing performance from the Silkmen, but I do think there has been an over-reaction from some as to how ‘bad’ we played. This wasn’t of AFC Flyde proportions - Telford were simply more clinical and managed the second half relatively comfortably as we huffed and puffed.
The big penalty decisions didn’t go our way, and on another day Buckley-Ricketts may have scored two goals.
Player ratings
Ravenhill 6.5 - Fairly, or otherwise, I feel like I’m scrutinising his every move, but some of his erratic performances have warranted that and Tuesday was another example. Could he have done better to gather the cross cleanly to prevent the corner which led to Telford’s opener? He was under pressure… But do you expect your ‘keeper to be stronger in claiming the corner once it was floated in? Possibly…. but our defenders should have dealt with it, the penalty box was crowded, and Ravenhill had just been clattered and needed treatment.
In the second half he made a fine smothering save after Menayese gifted Telford possession, showing agility and bravery to come off his line. But… it was Ravenhill’s poor clearance which put Menayese under pressure in the first place which resulted in Rollin’s eventual error. Ravenhill is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you’re going to get.
Matheson 8 - our best player, and one of the few to emerge with any credit from a difficult evening. Going forward he was our most likely threat - he whipped in four crosses, one of which almost saw Buckley-Ricketts turn in Gale’s flick to draw us level. In total, Matheson made 2 ‘key passes’ which led to a goalscoring opportunity. Defensively Matheson was also sound - winning 6 out of 10 ground duels, in addition to making 2 interceptions and 1 clearance.
Heathcote 7.5 - good numbers from Sam who did his best to hold the defence together. He won 9 out 12 ground and aerial duels and recovered the ball 15 times. His passing accuracy was also high at 81%. He did touch the ball (68 times) more than any other Silkmen player, which perhaps tells its own story as we struggled to find any penetration in midfield. Was pushed up front as an emergency striker late in the second half.
Borthwick-Jackson 6 - limped off after 55 minutes after going down of his own accord with no one near him, which is a major concern given his fine form. It looked like a muscle injury which makes him a major doubt for Saturday’s fixture against Hereford. He lost George for Telford’s second goal, but his defensive numbers were good apart from that - 5 out of 6 aerial duels won and 88% passing accuracy.
Pasiek 6 - subbed at half-time for Lacey as manager John Rooney tried to shore up the left side which had a difficult first half. Pasiek’s loose pass to Gale turned possession over which eventually led to Telford’s first goal. It set the tone for the remainder of the half as his passing accuracy was only 56%. He only won 2 of his 8 ground duels, so can’t really have any arguments with Rooney’s decision. We did look more solid down the left when Lacey came on.
Edmondson 6.5 - struggled to impose himself against a very polished Telford midfield and didn’t have any attempts on goal. Was decent on the ball - 4 out of 4 successful dribbles, 73% passing accuracy with 2 key passes. But less effective without it - just 5 out of 16 ground and aerial duels won. James was also dribbled past on 3 occasions, highlighting that he struggled to deal with Telford’s speed and movement at times.
Osborne 5 - ‘Ozzy’ has been excellent since coming in from Altrincham, but he had a ‘mare’ against Telford. He’s normally so composed in possession but his overall passing accuracy was 67%, and just 43% accuracy for passes played in Telford’s half, whilst just 3 of his 10 attempted long balls found a Macclesfield shirt which is an area he usually excels in.
Osborne wasn’t given the time and space in the engine room that he is normally accustomed to. He was dribbled past twice and made 2 errors which directly led to Telford shots. Replaced by debutant Popoola on 70 mins who went upfront.
Dawson 6.5 - tried in vain to get us back into the game and was clearly frustrated at the end. The captain attempted four shots, all from distance, of which 3 were on target without really troubling the keeper. Off the ball he made 3 tackles but surprisingly won only 4 of 19 contested ground duels.
With the ball our captain wasn’t as effective as he normally is - 66% passing accuracy and only 2 out of 8 accurate long balls. A frustrating evening was capped by him conceding a penalty in injury time for a foul on George - there seemed minimal contact, but Dawson’s attempts to grab George round the shoulder to check his run obviously made the referee’s mind up.
Duffy 7.5 - Will be disappointed by his defending on the front post for Telford’s corner which led to them scoring. Along with Matheson though he was our brightest threat. Was unlucky not to win a penalty on ten minutes - it looked like the defender tugged his shirt from my vantage point? Could Duffy have stayed on his feet? Yes, I think he could and probably should of as the contact on him wasn’t strong. He was in a goalscoring position, 12 yards out, allbeit on his left foot.
In the second half he laid on a brilliant chance for Buckley-Ricketts to make it 2-1 which was spurned. Good numbers from Duffs overall - 2 key passes, 4 out of 5 accurate long balls and 81% passing accuracy in Telford’s half.
Gale 5.5 - put in two hard shifts away at Darlington and Marine, and I thought he looked weary against Curzon on Saturday. But following Mellor’s departure he’s having to do more work and was largely isolated against Telford. His flick from Matheson’s cross almost produced an equaliser, but other than that was ineffective. Just 1 out of 21 ground and aerial duels won suggests mentally and physically Gale is running on empty. Needs a rest, hopefully the loan signing of Popoola can take away some of the burden on him upfront currently.
Buckley-Ricketts 6 - almost equalised but couldn’t turn in Gale’s flick at full-stretch. Missed a guilt-edged chance when put through by Duffy. The keeper was quickly off his line to close the distance, but Buckley-Ricketts’ shot was straight at him. Didn’t carry the same threat as Duffy on the opposite flank, or provide enough steel to alleviate some of the pressure on Pasiek in the first half.
Subs:
Lacey 6.5 - was an improvement for Pasiek on at half-time. Made 5 defensive contributions (1 tackle, 1 interception and 3 clearances), though won only 1 of 7 ground duels. Was tidier on the ball than Pasiek - 72% passing accuracy compared to 56%.
Menayese 5.5 - on for the injured Borthwick-Jackson. Almost gifted Telford a goal when conceding possession in a dangerous area, only for Ravenhill to make a fine save. Interesting to note that he made 29 passes when coming on after 55 minutes - that’s only 3 less than Dawson made in the entire game! I think Rollin having more of the ball highlights how ineffective we were in midfield, even when we were trying to chase the game!
Popoola 6 - did ok, and almost found himself one-on-one with the keeper but was adjudged to have committed a foul. Looks to have decent mobility and strength, knows the National League North well, could be a decent signing.
Chapman 6.5 - had one lofted effort after replacing Buckley-Ricketts on 70 minutes. Kept the ball well (5 out of 5 passes completed) and made one pass which led to a shot. A promising debut for the winger signed from Scarborough.
Now for some good news…
Inspired by supporter Rob Vernon who commented on Macclesfield’s excellent form and increased goalscoring threat since the start of 2026 on the Macc FC Fans Facebook page, I decided to run some comparisons on how we have improved before and after 26 December. Or more specifically, with and without star striker Danny Elliott.
For the avoidance of doubt, I’m in no way implying that we are more effective without Elliott. But certainly John Rooney has had to adapt and change our style of play from a rigid 4-2-3-1 formation, to a more fluid 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1 set-up. Imagine how potent we’d be if Elliott was fit right now!
Our attacking and defensive numbers for the 20 league games, up to and including Buxton on 26 December, compared to our 15 league games from Chester on 30 December to Curzon Ashton on 14 March.
Up to Buxton (26 December)
20 league games
27 goals scored = 1.35 goals per game
Our expected goals (xG) figure was 27.86. So we scored as many goals as we were expected to based on the quality of chances created
Danny Elliott was our top scorer with 11, contributing 40% of our league goals
10 different goalscorers
Average number of shots per game: 11.6
Average number of shots on target per game: 4.4
Average number of shots in the box per game: 6.75
30 goals conceded = 1.5 goals per game
Our goals conceded xG figure was 24.56 - 6 more goals than we were expected to concede based on the quality of the chances we gave up
Up to Curzon (14 March)
15 league games
38 goals scored = 2.53 goals per game, an increase of 87% on our first 20 league games
Our expected goals (xG) figure was 28.29. So we scored 10 more goals than we were expected to, but our finishing was of a much higher quality
10 different goalscorers: Mellor 8, Gale 7, Duffy 6, Dawson 4, Edmondson 3, Buckley-Ricketts 3, Kay 2, Pasiek, Osborne and Heathcote (1 each), with 2 OGs
Average number of shots per game: 13.7 - an increase of 18%
Average number of shots on target per game: 5.8 - an increase of 31%
Average number of shots in the box per game: 8.46 - an increase of 25%
23 goals conceded = 1.5 goals per game
Our goals conceded xG figure was 18.63, 5 more goals than we were expected to concede based on the quality of the chances we gave up (think the lobs conceded vs Leamington, Fylde and Scarborough as a case in point!)
So despite a much bigger emphasis being placed on attacking, or defensive numbers (although not great!) have hardly changed
Keep the faith
I’m a typical glass-half-empty person. And even though I’m still sulking following our loss to Telford, I wanted to publish these numbers because I think they show how well the team has done and that we’re still in with a great chance of making the play-offs, even though we’ll face some nervy moments en-route.
It is, however, crucial that we get back-on-track against a resurgent (but still relegation haunted) Hereford on Saturday. Losing three games back-to-back at home seems almost unthinkable, but the pressure is undoubtedly on the Silkmen.
The players need us more than ever, so let’s do everything we can to give them a lift.