The cup final before a cup final?
The Silkmen face Slough in FA Cup R2
Slough Town stand before Macclesfield FC in the second round of the FA Cup in a dress rehearsal for a potentially lucrative tie against one of the big boys in round three.
It’s a huge carrot for two unlikely dance partners and one they could scarcely have believed. Slough, the lowest ranked team left in the competition, have home advantage against the Silkmen, the third lowest ranked club, in what promises to be a battle royale in a season defining moment for both.
Slough, currently 21st in the National League South, face Macclesfield who occupy 11th in the National League North. Quite remarkably, Monday’s FA Cup R2 draw paired together four of the remaining five Step two clubs. In addition to Slough vs Macc, NLS sides Chelmsford and Weston Super Mare face-off, whilst NLN play-off contenders Buxton will travel to League Two Cheltenham Town.
No foregone conclusion against the Rebels
Drawing lowly Slough has been met with euphoria by many Silkmen supporters who regard this as the best chance we may ever get to reach the dizzy heights of the FA Cup third round. Only the added bonus of playing at the Leasing.com stadium instead of having to travel to Slough’s Arbour Park stadium with a capacity of just 2,000 would have made it sweeter.
At face value, it’s another charitable tie for John Rooney’s men on the back of defeating Atherton LR, Nantwich, Stamford and Totton at the weekend.
But dismiss the ‘Rebels’ at your peril. After defeating the Silkmen’s bitter rivals Altrincham at home in the first round proper, withstanding a fightback to triumph 2-1, Slough will more than fancy their chances of breaking Macclesfield’s hearts.
Alty aside, Slough’s journey to the FA Cup second round has been relatively comfortable. Step 3 Welling and Step 4 Bedford Sports were seen off, with only fellow NLS side Enfield posing them problems in the fourth qualifying rounds as Slough came from 2-1 down to prevail 3-2.
The Rebels have made it through to round two for their ninth time in their history, but not since 2018 when they lost 1-0 at home to Gillingham. Slough do have impressive FA Cup pedigree though in recent seasons, evidenced by them drawing 1-1 at home to Grimsby in the first round in 2023, before losing the replay 7-2, but only after battling back from 2-0 down to level the tie.
The Rebels’ recent league form is woeful however - three consecutive losses which include a brace of hammerings (5-1 and 4-1). As the Silkmen have earned three promotions in four seasons since reforming, Slough have languished in the National League South with 16th, 10th, 18th and 13th placed finishes respectively. At present, they sit in the NLS relegation zone having accumulated only 12 points from 13 games.
It may ultimately come down to which squad is in better physical shape and free from injuries / suspensions ahead of the tie which will be played on the weekend of 6 December.
Both Macclesfield and Slough face a punishing run of fixtures in the build-up. The Silkmen face nine league and cup fixtures against Peterborough Sports tonight, AFC Telford, Hereford, Prescot Cables (FA Trophy), Congleton (Cheshire Cup), King’s Lynn, AFC Fylde, Scarborough and the re-arranged game against Bedford on Tuesday 2 December.
Meanwhile the Rebels will play eight games, but possibly significantly, their final match before the Silkmen will take place on Monday 3 December away at Chelmsford giving them an additional 24 hours recovery time on us.
Beam us up, Totty
Nine-goals, five of them in a crazy opening 27 minutes, as the pendulum swung back-and-forth between Macclesfield and Totton in the FA Cup first round at the weekend. Thankfully (and deservedly) we prevailed thanks to Danny Elliott’s hat-trick, some half-time tinkering from John Rooney and a strong second half performance which saw the Silkmen dominate en-route to an eventually comfortable 6-3 scoreline.
Match stats
Shots-on-target: Macc 13, Totton 6
Shots-off-target: Macc 9, Totton 0
Corners: Macc 7, Totton 2
Goal-watch
1-0 Macc
Danny Elliott, 6 minutes – Heathcote’s ball down the right channel is collected by Kay who finds ample time and space to float a delicious centre into the box which Elliott despatches unmarked with a glancing header into the bottom corner of the net.
1-1
Our lead lasts 3 minutes as Totton equalize. A right wing cross is nodded home by Lee who got in-between Menayese and Heathcote as the Silkmen fail to stop the supply or deal with the aerial threat
2-1 Macc
Danny Elliott, 14 minutes. More delicious play by Kay as he slots in a peach of a through ball which Elliott latches onto. Danny’s first effort is saved, but the rebound falls kindly to him and he slots home with his left foot from 10 yards.
2-2
Totton draw level just three minutes later again. There is a hint of offside as the ball is played out to the right wing, but the out-of-position Lacey’s appeals are rejected by the assistant referee. The cross into the back stick catches Fensome ball-watching and Rendell reacts quicker to stab the ball home.
2-3 Totton
27 minutes. The visitor’s take a shock lead following a tremendous strike from Rendell again after more poor defending from Macclesfield. A long clearance from the Totton keeper leads to Menayese getting underneath it and missing his header, Lacey is outmuscled and the ball drops to Rendell who smashes an unstoppable volley which sails over Dearnley’s head and into the net from 25 yards.
3-3
Danny Elliott, 36 minutes. Danny records his hat-trick to finish a magnificent Silkmen move. Kay’s ball is fizzed into Mellor’s feet who does well to control it and find Dawson, who threads a beautifully weighted pass into Elliott’s path who times his run to perfection to drill home from 12 yards.
4-3 Macc
The perfect start to the second half as Dawson’s half-volley from 20 yards squirms under the Totton keeper’s body to see us back in front a minute after the restart.
5-3 Macc
64 minutes. A corner is slung into the box, a Totton defender connects first but their glancing header falls to Heathcote at the back post. Heathcote’s sliding centre is steered home at speed by Menayese who does well to keep his shot down as our two centre halves combine.
6-3 Macc
79 minutes. Game well and truly over. Heathcote’s long punt to the left wing finds substitute Duffy who contests the ball with a Totton defender. It breaks to Fensome steaming in from the right who advances to the edge of the box and fires a low, hard shot into the far corner of the goal from a tight angle. Great finish.
Player ratings
Dearnley 6 – picked the ball out of his net on three occasions, but not at fault on any and very little to do outside of that.
Fensome 8.5 – scored a cracking goal and was a real threat down the right, similar to how he played against Curzon a fortnight ago. Was denied from close range in the first half and his cross-come-shot almost sailed into the net. Loses half a mark for ball-watching on Totton’s second equalizer.
Lacey 5 – Luis is a good player with an excellent left foot, but sadly he’s not a natural defender who is comfortable at left-back. Failed to stop the cross for Totton’s first, claimed offside and was positionally caught out for their second, and the got into a tangle and was outmuscled in the build-up to Totton’s third. Hooked for Brandon Lee at half-time. An afternoon to forget.
Menayese 6.5 – defensively not great. Could have done better on Totton’s opener and was the main culprit for the visitor’s third. Improved after half-time and produced a tidy finish for our fifth goal.
Heathcote 7.5 – never looked totally assured defensively as both he and Menayese struggled to cope with the first and second balls aerially in the first half. But let’s acknowledge Sam’s contribution with the ball – he was involved in the build-up to three goals, including an excellent assist for Menayese’s finish.
Dawson 9 – was slightly off colour in the first half but gradually got a grip of the midfield and was instrumental in Macc running riot after the break. His assist for Elliott’s third goal was sublime, and the timing of his strike to make it 4-3 was pivotal to the eventual outcome. Still not 100%, still giving his all, still producing top performances.
Edmondson 7.5 – like Dawson there was a spell in the first half where he struggled, but the birthday boy stuck to his task and his tenacity running with and without the ball helped us to win the midfield contest.
Mellor 8 – played wide right with Kay occupying the centre. Typically industrious display in attack and in defence. Showed excellent control and a cool lay-off in the build-up to Elliott’s crucial equalizer in the first-half. Almost scored with an excellent curling effort that was well-saved.
Kay 9.5 – outstanding, what a signing he’s been and thank goodness we have him on loan until the end of the season. His speed of thought and play is excellent – purposeful, direct and positive. His weight of pass, accuracy and movement is top drawer at this level. He also works hard and is constantly on the move. Two cracking assists.
JJ 7.5 – ran his socks off going forward and tracking back. Didn’t get much change out of Totton, but went close when his effort hit the side-netting early in the second half.
Elliott 9.5 – his latest hat-trick, now taking his Silkmen tally to an astonishing 52 goals in 66 appearances. All he does is score goals ;-). Three excellent finishes – glancing header, concentration to convert the rebound for his second, and a perfect run and precise finish for his hat-trick. Misses out on a perfect 10 for missing an open net having robbed the keeper in the first-half but narrowly firing wide.
Subs:
Lee 8 – replaced Lacey at half-time and made a huge difference in nullifying Totton down the right. Quick to get his foot in and snuff out any danger, tenacious and always eager to force the visitor’s onto the back foot and support our own attacks. Perhaps playing two games a week is too much for him given his fragile injury record in recent times, but there’s no doubt that he should be starting based on his capabilities.
Additional subs (no ratings):
Duffy for Kay – Duffs had a hand in Fensome’s sixth goal
Woltman for Johnson – Only on for 10 minutes but was bright in possession and quick. Promising cameo
Griffiths for Dawson – entered the fray on 88 minutes, replacing Dawson
Buckley-Rickets – also came on 88 minutes for Danny Elliott