TNS 1 Macc 1 – in-depth match report & 5 things we learned
The Silkmen’s pre-season preparations gain momentum
Macc remained unbeaten in pre-season with a creditable draw away at Welsh champions The New Saints (TNS) on the home side’s 4G pitch at the weekend. TNS, who rested several players ahead of their Champions League second round qualifier against Ferencvaros tonight (23 July), went ahead on the half-hour mark but were pegged back by Alex Curran’s equaliser for the Silkmen on the stroke of the interval.
Macc handed a debut to new signing Scott Holding, who took his place in defence alongside Lewis Fensome and a Trialist who wore the number 3 shirt – thought to be youngster Carlos Dos Santos from Macc’s BTEC programme (pictured below).
Our second trialist wore the number 8 shirt and is believed to be Brandon Newell – back for his latest stint at the Leasing.com stadium after leaving crisis club Prescot Cables earlier in the week. Danny Whitehead anchored the midfield alongside Trialist no.8, with Justin Johnson and Neil Kengni occupying the wings. Alex Curran made a welcome first pre-season appearance, supporting forwards Luke Duffy and Kielen Adams.
Our third trialist (shirt no.14) was named on the bench – more on him later. The Silkmen were without four players who are considered first team regulars: Tre Pemberton, Laurent Mendy, Paul Dawson and Danny Elliott, plus head coach Robbie Savage who is apparently on holiday.
As in their other pre-season friendlies against Blackburn and Stalybridge, Macc began shakily and almost fell behind after three minutes. Lewis Fensome, who was at the heart of everything good (and occasionally bad!) the Silkmen produced, was caught out of position having wandered forward. TNS exploited the gaping hole left behind and played a defence splitting ball to create a one-on-one situation, but thankfully Max Dearnley saved the resultant shot with his legs.
Macc’s new keeper had begun confidently and impressed again when claiming a high, teasing cross before quickly releasing the ball out wide with a long punt down field. In contrast, Trialist no.3 endured a difficult start. Static and slack in possession, he was told repeatedly to ‘attack the space’ by the Silkmen’s dugout led by assistant manager Peter Band.
Our first opening came on eight minutes. Kielen Adams showed good persistence to cause panic in the opposition box, culminating in a half-hearted appeal for a penalty when the ball appeared to strike the arm of a TNS defender which was dismissed by the referee. Instead, Macc were awarded a corner which was swung in and subsequently side-footed wide by Trialist no.8.
The Silkmen were growing into the game and flying winger Justin Johnson (playing on the right flank today) was a constant thorn in TNS’s side. ‘JJ’ was well supported by Lewis Fensome who tenaciously won possession and set Johnson on his way to work his magic. Quick off the mark, JJ turned and left a defender for dead until he was unceremoniously scythed down on halfway. More good play from Macc saw Trialist no.8 find Adams in an advanced position, he laid it off to Johnson who was fouled once again. The subsequent free-kick from Luke Duffy was floated straight into the TNS keeper’s hands.
Macc almost fell behind on 20 minutes, but had newcomer Scott Holding to thank for some outstanding last-ditch defending. A diagonal ball bypassed Fensome and sent the TNS attacker clear into the penalty area. His cutback was side-footed towards goal, only for Holding to throw his body in the way at full stretch to deflect the shot for a corner.
The Silkmen came close to taking the lead themselves with a rasping 25-yard drive from Johnson that was spectacularly tipped over by the TNS goalkeeper after the ball found its way to JJ following a Macc corner. Macc were winning the midfield battle thanks to some tidy work by Trialist no.8, combined with the energy of Danny Whitehead, who had an excellent 45 minutes acting as a protective shield in front of the defence and driving forward to set up the Silkmen’s attacks.
However, it was TNS who took the lead on 32 minutes in disappointing fashion from Macclesfield’s perspective. From back to front the Welsh side were allowed to string together 13 largely unchallenged passes, culminating in them skipping past Trialist no.3 and crossing to an unmarked TNS player who tapped in from two yards out. TNS 1 Macc 0.
For all the combative play of Fensome, Holding, Whitehead and Trialist no.8, other Macc players needed to up their workrates, notably Luke Duffy and Kielen Adams. TNS could have it made 2-0 on 38 minutes after their forward escaped the attention of Fensome and drilled a right-footed shot wide of Max Dearnley’s post.
Macc responded well with some enterprising football. Trialist no.3, who was beginning to settle down after a testing afternoon so far, made a well-timed tackle to turnover possession. He found Trialist no.8 who set Danny Whitehead steaming down the left wing after a neat give-and-go. Danny’s centre met the onrushing Justin Johnson who tamely shot first time which was easily gathered by the TNS keeper. This was great play by Macc though and seconds later we were rewarded with a lovely worked equalizer.
Lewis Fensome’s determination found Duffy, who threaded an inch perfect through ball in-between the TNS backline to Curran who calmly slotted home from 8 yards sending the keeper the wrong way. TNS 1 Macc 1.
Half-time TNS 1 Macc 1
Second half
As anticipated, Peter Band made a number of changes at the break to freshen the squad up. Off came Whitehead, Adams, Curran, Trialist no.8 and Dearnley, replaced by Whitehouse, Clare, keeper Scott, Trialist no.14 and Rooney.
A quick word on Trialist no.14 (pictured below). He bore a resemblance to young attacking midfielder Cameron Rooney (no relation to John) who is currently on Morecambe’s books. Eagle-eyed observers will also note that Cameron Rooney was definitely the fourth trialist who came off the bench in Macc’s opening friendly against Blackburn.
TNS began the second half brightly. A lofted ball into Macc’s penalty area, a tactic their defender adopted on numerous occasions, sailed over Holding’s head into the path of the attacker who lashed the ball dangerously across the face of goal but no one was there for the Welsh side to convert. The half-time changes seemed to disrupt Macc who could only muster a deflected effort 20 yards out from Luke Duffy which was calmly gathered by the TNS keeper.
On 55 minutes another long ball down the middle led to a TNS forward turning Holding and getting away a shot, but Tom Scott was equal to it and saved with his legs. More dangerous play saw TNS advance down Macc’s right flank which saw Scott push the cross-come shot away to safety.
The home side were having a dominant spell, however it was Macc who sprung into action and spurned the second half’s best chance. Excellent play by Trialist no.14 released Neil Kengni in acres of space on the left, Kengni burst forward and had time to pick his spot but could only find the side netting in what was a big let off for the Welshmen.
TNS resumed control and twice could have done better to capitalise on some sloppy play by Macc. Kielen Adams, who re-entered the fray, failed to control the ball which enabled TNS to work an opening but the increasingly busy Tom Scott made a smart save low to his left to parry the ball away. Then a loose ball playing out from the back from Scott Holding gifted the home side possession leading to the midfielder dragging his shot well wide.
Macc had not been at the races after the break, however encouragingly they finished the game on top and created several promising situations. A lovely sweeping ball by John Rooney, who oozed class when he came on, found Kengni whose long, diagonal ball was a fraction overhit for Tom Clare and Kielen Adams who found themselves 2 vs 2.
Dogged play from Fensome and Elliott Whitehouse caught the eye, and a left wing cross into the box saw Adams attempt an audacious overhead kick which cleared the crossbar. This was much better from the Silkmen now. Adams, once more finding space on the left wing, floated in a teasing ball which evaded everyone in the TNS box. But at the other end Kielen, who appears a little short of optimum match fitness, allowed a TNS midfielder to ghost past him untracked and hit a low drive off target.
With a minute to go, Macc could have snatched a winner following a fabulous move which would have deservedly won any game. Elliott Whitehouse snapped at the heels of a TNS player to rob the ball and feed Adams on the left. Adams’ chipped ball into the box was intelligently laid off by the chest of Tom Clare, perfectly into the path of the onrushing Trialist no.14 whose snap-shot was well saved by the TNS keeper. When they moved through the gears, Macc demonstrated that their counter attacking could be a potent weapon this season.
Full-time: TNS 1 Macc 1
Five things we learned
1. In Max Dearnley and Tom Scott, Macc appear to have recruited two very capable keepers. Dearnley, who is expected to start the season as no.1, is a giant presence between the sticks who is confident in the air as well as passing the ball on the deck. In contrast, Scott appears less comfortable on the deck but his positional sense looks sound evidenced by him making a string of saves to thwart TNS in the second half.
2. New centre back signing Scott Holding comes with glowing references and is expected to prove an excellent addition to a Macclesfield defence which has been light on numbers in the continued absence of Sam Heathcote and Brandon Lee – both of who seem set to miss the start of the season.
We saw a glimpse of Holding’s strengths and weaknesses against TNS. The positives are that Scott appears to be a committed and commanding defender who loves a tackle, highlighted none more so when he threw his body in the way to make a tremendous block to deny TNS taking the lead. Not 21 until September, he has plenty of time to learn his trade.
On the flip side, Holding didn’t seem comfortable playing out from the back and gave the ball away cheaply on a few occasions which fortunately went unpunished. It will be interesting to see whether new manager Robbie Savage persists with playing three at the back, or reverts to a more traditional back four and lets Holding compete with Lewis Fensome for a starting berth alongside Laurent Mendy.
3. Despite having a plethora of options in midfield, Macc still appear to want more options in the middle of the park based on the trialists they have afforded opportunities to so far in pre-season.
As we stand, Paul Dawson, Danny Whitehead, Elliott Whitehouse, Alex Curran and John Rooney will compete for a starting place in Macc’s engine room. But if Robbie Savage is looking to transition from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-2-3-1, 3-4-1-2, 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 line-up, this might explain why he’s looking at additional midfield options to play in the holding role or as a ‘number 10’. One also wonders whether Savage sees Paul Dawson as a midfield anchor or as a sweeper in a back three, where he’s been deployed in pre-season thus far.
On Saturday, Trialist no. 8 (more of a box-to-box midfielder believed to be Brandon Newell) and Trialist number no.14 (an attacking mid who is possibly Cameron Rooney) were given 45 minutes. It will be intriguing to see if they are involved against Rochdale tonight.
4. Pre-season is a time for experimenting with different personnel and formations, but Macc need to find stability to shore up a defence that has looked shaky so far. Robbie Savage has been roadtesting a back three with a mandate for them to play out from defence, however in doing so some have looked more comfortable than others.
On Saturday, the Silkmen started with Lewis Fensome, Scott Holding and Trialist no.3. Fensome did play well, particularly when pressing TNS into mistakes so he could feed simple balls into Justin Johnson. But when coming forward he did leave space in behind which wasn’t covered. Newcomer Holding has some solid defensive attributes, but it remains to be seen whether he can adapt to a more cultured possession-based style. Might he better in a back four alongside experienced operator Laurent Mendy?
Savage will also need to determine where Tre Pemberton’s best position is. The former Stoke man surprisingly started on the right of a three-man defence in the pre-season opener against Blackburn and excelled in doing so – comfortable on the ground, adept at reading danger, good in the air with an impressive turn of pace. But most consider Tre’s best position to be either a conventional right back or a wing back.
And speaking of wing backs, Macc have been exploited by long balls down the channels which have dragged our centre halves out of position. With Brandon Lee and Sam Heathcote still recovering from injuries, it remains to be seen whether Neil Kenghi and Paul Dawson will be asked to take on more defensive duties due to Macc running a more condensed squad this season.
5. Possibly saving the best until last, but what a first-half display by the scintillating Justin Johnson! The pacey winger, who was named in the National League North team of the season for 2023/24, will surely cause havoc amongst Northern Premier League defenders this season. Although comfortable with both feet, Johnson played on the right flank against TNS and looked more dangerous compared to when playing on the left in his previous pre-season outings.
JJ is lightening fast off the mark, and left TNS defenders stood still as he effortlessly drifted past them. Johnson’s dribbling skills and directness are going to be huge assets to Macc’s attacking prowess. We also know that he has an eye for goal and a propensity for the spectacular, which he almost showcased against TNS with a blockbuster 25-yard shot which produced a tremendous tip over from the opposition goalkeeper.
The only nagging doubt is where to play Johnson to get the best out of him? On the right or on the left? In a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 formation? So far, he has filled in at wing back due to Macc being short on numbers defensively, but undoubtedly Johnson talents must be unleashed in the final third to get the best out of him which the Silkmen’s coaching staff will be well aware of.