21/02/18 Review: Tranmere Rovers vs Macclesfield Town

Tranmere Rovers 1-4 Macclesfield Town (National League Premier)

Prenton Park

Last night's game between Tranmere Rovers and Macclesfield Town needed little introduction and would sit up there with Chelsea vs Barca and Dumbarton vs Greenock Morton as being one of the games of the evening- especially if you are a non-league fan! Yes, this 2nd vs 1st battle had been brewing for a while and although Macc had beaten previously 2nd place Aldershot Town at the weekend, Rovers had been on fine form themselves and with 15 points from a possible 21 it looked like tonight's game would be a true battle between the top team in the division and their in-form hosts. Both sides may have recently suffered a shock pummelling at Mill Farm, which incidentally is where my last write-up came from in the National League, but aside from that both clubs have been more than happy with progress of late and it was time for me to finish work early, jump in my little red car and make the near 70 mile ride up to Birkenhead. What more could you ask for on a chilly Tuesday night?

Top of the table clash, here we go

I arrived at Prenton Park feeling a mixed sense of optimism and excitement and with 30 minutes to spare before kick-off I headed for a walk around the stadium. From the outside, this 16 thousand capacity stadium looks the real deal and as the fans piled in I made my way around to the Cowshed stand and into the concourse for a pre-match can of Foster's with the Silkmen faithful. The innards of Prenton Park's bar area was decent for an away terrace and had similarities to that of Meadow Lane in Nottingham, meaning there was plenty of option for the travelling few hundred Macc fans. I didn't explore the food stand, but when I eventually headed to my seat I couldn't help but sniff out one chap to my right who was scoffing a tray of fish and chips- decent scran is that! Inside the ground I stepped out to the old floodlit green rectangle which was surrounded by Tranmere's mass of blue seating standing tall and a few thousand fans all ready to cheer on the home side. Tranmere Rovers are one of those clubs who have at some point been there and seen it all, from mid 90's success in the second tier of English football in which they almost made it to the Premier League, to winning the Lancashire Combination League in 1914 and 1919. More recently, Rovers made it all the way to the 2000 Football League Cup Final and were it not for Leicester City's Centre-Back double-scoring Captain on the day the Merseysiders could have overcome the likes of Muzzy Izzet, Robbie Savage and super Emile Heskey. Since falling out of the Football League in 2015 Prenton Park has still managed to draw in good crowds, drawing the highest averages in the division since joining it and finishing 6th and 2nd in the process. The Silkmen, on the other hand, would be looking to return to the Football League following 6 years of lurking in the National League Premier.

Can we do it? This lot are certainly hoping so

Up until now my greatest away day as a Macc Town fan was probably a League Cup game in which we shocked Championship side Hull City with a 0-2 win at the KC Stadium, thanks to an Emile Sinclair double, and although I've seen us take wins from North Ferriby, Chester and even Winsford United, I also have sour memories from travelling with the Silkmen too. As previously mentioned, I saw our 6-0 pasting at the hands of AFC Fylde, but that was nothing compared to seeing my beloved Silkmen have the FA Trophy taken away in the Final against York City, or even worse than that the trip to Roots Hall to see our final League Two game following relegation. That 0-2 defeat from a gutless Macc side against Southend United will now sit at the opposite end of the spectrum to what would turn out to be an awesome away victory on this evening in the North-West.

Even Dulwich have made the trip up

I'd predicted a 1-1 draw today and that would have been a nice return of 4 points from 2 top of the table clashes within 4 days, but Askey and the lads had other ideas. "He's one of our own, he's one of our ooooown. Sir John Askey, he's one of our own" was the chant shouted loudest and proudest from the away contingency as we looked to show support for the Manager who has been heavily linked with a move to Grimsby Town in the past week or so. The Ref got the game started on time and as the crowd sounded from the Tranmere Kop we were all set for an exciting night. To say that we made a poor start is an understatement and when former Silkmen forward Connor Jennings hit the first strike over the bar in the 5th minute a few of us started to look at each other nervously, with that sense of "here we go again" brewing. Next up Andy Cook went through on goal and he forced a great one-on-one save from Shwan Jalal, at the cost of a Tranmere corner. Just before the half-hour mark Cook had the ball in the Silkmen net but his mockery towards the away fans soon turned into a glare at the lino, who had raised the flag to deny the big man. Speaking of big men, I found myself drifting towards a conversation in which an elderly couple had obviously made the discovery of footballing anomaly Steve McNulty. I love it when people first see the grey-haired, beer-bellied monster defender- who is notorious at this level for being a tough cookie for opposing attackers to break down.

0-0 as we approached the break

I remember clock-watching from the 30th minute or so and hoping that if we made it to half-time alive we could regroup and come out to try and take the game to them in the second-half. That could have worked out well for us, but Danny Whitaker clearly hadn't been following the script- the 37-year old midfielder took down an injury time pass into the Tranmere box before tapping home the game's opener in practically the last kick of the half. Tranmere 0-1 Macc. The next 15 minutes were spent back in the concourse singing "Oh, Danny, Danny!" and other chants, whilst feasting on canned lager. I got chatting to a few lads I'd seen at a couple of previous outings and before I knew it it was time to sup and get back out to see how the rest of the game would pan out. Tranmere started the second-half strongly again and with the added bonus of kicking towards their Kop, which appeared to be a big, albeit temporary, boost for Cook in particular. Having missed several chances during the first 45, the ex-Barrow man took his chance off of a right-wing delivery and he added a deft header which sank into the net to level things. Tranmere 1-1 Macc.

The half-time beer was gone and so was the lead

With the scales tipping yet again, this time back toward the hosts, the game was poised and with McNulty now pulling out 360 spins on the ball I thought anything could be possible. Elliott Durrell had been inconstant until now and although he looked threatening with the ball at his feet, he'd often been left alone out on the right in the first-half and it would be Macc's decision to bring him into the game that ultimately made the difference. In the 55th minute he was given the ball and allowed to burst towards Davies's net, which he did so to devastating effect before shooting into the net and restoring the Cheshire side's lead. Tranmere 1-2 Macc. Having now pulled ahead for the second time, Macc began what was a huge effort in 11 minutes of top quality football that culminated in 3 goals and of course a massive three points. Macc continued to go forward and when Liam Ridehalgh hand-balled in the box, we couldn't believe our eyes as Peter Wright pointed to the spot. Bald-headed beauty Danny Whitaker stepped-up and slotted the penalty home, meaning that the match (and League) was now ours to lose. Tranmere 1-3 Macc. Riding on a wave of mass confidence, the Silkmen continued to dominate and when Durrell got his chance to run at the Rovers defence he again punished them with a brilliant strike which showed many similarities to his first, apart from Davies couldn't even get a tip on this one as it flew past him to seal the game. Tranmere 1-4 Macc. In truth, Macc could have scored more and as "Norburn, what's the score? Norburn, Norburn, what's the score?" chants reached another former Silkmen player, Tranmere's only response was to have a shot from range which went out for a Macc throw-in. With no subs or tactical changes for the hosts, the visitors saw the game out with ease.

FT, 1-4. We're going up with a tenner in the bank!

With Aldershot and Wrexham drawing, Sutton's 3-2 win at Torquay meant that they hop into 2nd place and sit 5 points behind Macc at the summit. For Tranmere, the next outing will be a trip to 17th place Maidstone United, meanwhile the Moss Rose will host Macc vs Maidenhead United on Saturday. As I'll be working, my next Silkmen game will be away at Boreham Wood at the start of March, who may well be in 2nd place by then! See you there Silkmen Army!

20/01/18 Review: AFC Fylde vs Macclesfield Town

AFC Fylde 6-0 Macclesfield Town (National League Premier)

Mill Farm

You know how the top team isn't necessarily always the best team in a division? Well, today was certainly one of those days. Following on from my morning match in Stoke, I had high expectations of continuing my Saturday by seeing one of the National League's candidates for the title and current leaders, Macclesfield Town, pick up an away victory on their first visit to Mill Farm in Wesham, a small village just a stone throw in-land from Blackpool. AFC Fylde are of course the recently famed side whom the Silkmen were visiting today and with big dreams of reaching the Football League by 2022, the Coasters side, including the league's top-scorer Danny Rowe, are on a rise that has rivalled and surpassed the likes of fellow North-Westerners FC United and Salford City, seeing them go from playing the likes of Atherton Laburnum Rovers and Squires Gate in the 2008-09 edition of the North West Counties League to being drawn against local big boys and former Premier League outfit Wigan Athletic in this year's FA Cup proper.

I couldn't imagine Runcorn Linnets showing up here these days

True enough that there have been some very charitable donations along the way and the investment in this club has been staggering, but nevertheless AFC Fylde have done very well and have made a sound structural progression that doesn't involve having your own TV series and using the names of Paul Scholes and Gary Neville to try and bring new fans in. Since opening Mill Farm a couple of seasons ago, the Coasters have continued their rise and last season their 109 haul- including an outstanding 47 in 42 for Rowe- saw them win the National League North by 6 points and secure them a debut season in the Non-League's highest division. The debut season has been decent too and although the first-timers have lingered in mid-table for the majority, they have pulled out some cracking results including a 5-2 victory over Tranmere Rovers on New Years Day.

And today's visitors could prove to be another big scalp 

As a Macc fan I have been enjoying a thrilling season so far and with Cheshire's finest being at the top of the pile since Christmas, having not lost a league game since the end of October, and with new recruits in the form of Adam Dugdale, Callum Evans and League One striker Nate Blissett surely the sky was the limit for the rest of the campaign- and with confidence high, I predicted a 3-1 away win. So with the scene set, I arrived at Mill Farm with 30 minutes to spare and headed straight into the away area to see where I'd be basing myself for the match- it is rare for me to choose to stand behind the goal, but I thought I'd give it a go and live out the real "away fan experience" as opposed to sitting near the corner flag with the older fans like I usually do. As I entered the ground from said corner, I was impressed by the fancy main stand directly to my left but my first thoughts when I stood admiring the West Stand was if we'd see the modern seating area filled- the average attendance this season has been a couple of hundred higher than the Silkmen's and I expected the home fans to bring vast support today against the leaders. Amongst the 200 or so travelling fans I made my way into the food and drink area under the main stand and I thought I'd sample an infamously fair priced Non-League pre-match beer as I awaited the sides entering the field... or not! In what was the most disgusting part of the trip, even more so than the result, I was absolutely flabbergasted by the near £5 a pint price placed on the pint of lager I was served- thankfully I'd brought a packed lunch, or I'd have had to take out a loan for lunch. In fairness, I suppose the extortionate prices may well be for visiting fans to stop them getting too drunk and when one fan smacked a burger out of his mate's hand and on to the floor I could kind of understand why this may be the case. As some of our fans became more animalistic, the security team became more annoyed- with the events culminating in the world's most angry looking steward standing away from the incident and solidly scowling at everybody whilst muttering under her breath.

Genuine hatred, the staple diet for any away steward

Pre-match nonsense taken in, it was kick-off time and so I made my way over to the terracing ready to welcome the Silkmen boys. We'd decided to line-up with just one up front today and this had come as a bit of a surprise, with Nate Blissett's addition seemingly made to bolster our attacking options even though he started on the bench today. Perhaps he wasn't ready to play 90 minutes yet. Additionally, with the absence of an injured Jared Hodgkiss, we were playing our oldest defender, George Pilkington, at right-back and this also seemed to be a slightly tenuous decision by John Askey. Having said that, he's so often got our tactics spot on this season so I resisting questioning the choice until the game had started to play out. The 90's dance tracks died down on the tannoy system and the sides were read out, with the Fylde announcer calling out left-back David Fitzpatrick as the goalkeeper, and shortly after that we were up and running with the hosts kicking towards the South Terrace in the first-half. Both sides forged an early chance as Elliott Durrell hit well wide in the 2nd minute for Macc, before Jonny Smith tested Sam Ramsbottom right in front of me. This early chance for Fylde wasn't the last though and when the Coasters won a corner in the 6th minute they would soon see themselves celebrating the first of many goals as Lewis Montrose jumped highest in the 6-yard box and glanced the ball into the net ahead of a flailing Silkmen keeper. Fylde 1-0 Macc. Once the goal celebrations died down the Silkmen fans decided to get the noise levels going around the ground and in doing so they sparked a fairly lenghty exchange of humorous chants between the two sets of fans. Opening with "you're just a pub team with money, pub team with monnnney", we were then met by a response of "you're getting beat by a pub team, beat by a pubbbbb team", which raised a round of applause from the travelling brigade. Shortly after, we chimed in with "you know what you are, you know what you areeee. Pub team with money, you know what you are" which instantly turned into a home chorus of "top of the league, you're having a laugh!"

With an early goal, it was the hosts that were having a laugh though

The match continued with Macc looking poor in every department. The passing from usually capable Danny Whitehead was being cut out on a too familiar basis, Tyrone Marsh looked lonely up front on his own and AFC Fylde continued to play some good football of their own to really take the game to Macc and when Jack Muldoon cut in from the left-hand side to unleash a near 30-yard curler towards goal, all that could be done was watch and admire as the ball rippled the back of the net from a brilliant goal. Fylde 2-0 Macc. Somehow the Silkmen looked shell-shocked and with less than a third of the game gone I started to wonder how many we'd concede, rather than if we could get back into it. Coasters captain Sam Finley was next to try a long-range drive and as he hit a pretty straight forward 20-yarder towards Ramsbottom, who'd been playing in place of a recently returned from suspension Shwan Jalal, the ball unfortunately bobbled out of the keeper's arms and desperately into the net in one of those moments where you wish for the ground to open up. Fylde 3-0 Macc. With 10 minutes to go until half-time, the Macc fans kept up the spirit by chanting "we're gonna win 4-3" as Fylde kept up their dominance and looked to grab yet another before the break. Even the introduction of a second forward in the shape of Scott Wilson for Macc didn't really alter things and just before half-time Smith would go through on goal, round a down and out Ramsbottom, before tapping home another goal in what had been the perfect half for the Lancashire side. Fylde 4-0 Macc. From my humble opinion, it seemed as though the Macc players had been too focused on keeping usual threat Danny Rowe out of the game, but in doing so had completely lost focus on the other attacking players in the side and at half-time I hoped that a change of tactic (and goalkeeper!) would spark some sort of second-half revival. If we could leave with a 4-2 defeat at this point I'd have been happy on my drive home to Staffordshire.

Away days, who'd bother?

At 0-4 down, there's not much you can say positively about your team's display and after maintaining such a good run for the past few months I was one of many who was taking the opinion that it was always bound to happen at some point. When City lost to Liverpool the other weekend, I said the same thing. Regardless of this, I still couldn't hide my depressed face and feel of concern with still another 45 minutes left and so I popped back into the servery to grab another pint, which seemed to go down oh too well. Shortly after this I returned back out to the pitch and as I did so I noticed us making our second change of the day and as if to compound his day any more, it was the leaky keeper Ramsbottom who would be replaced by Iraqi veteran stopper Jalal. As the match kicked off for the sixth time already, the unusually noisy away support began the "we're gonna win 5-4" chants and I settled down in hope of a couple of goals for our troubles. With not a huge amount going on near our end, I started to think about the way clubs like Forest Green Rovers had developed and whether AFC Fylde would eclipse their efforts to become a League Two club. The clubs have a lot of similarities, with the main difference being the lack of vegan options here at Mill Farm. Back on the pitch and Jalal had already saved a couple of decent strikes and as Fylde continued to pepper the goal, it would eventually be down to cap'n Finley to add his side's fifth goal on the hour-mark. Fylde 5-0 Macc. The hosts just weren't letting up and even when the Silkmen had possession it didn't last for long, so it was understandable that when 36-year old temporary right-back had our first shot on goal, in the 68th minute, we got a little too excited that Jay Lynch had actually had his palms stung. The main bit of encouragement for me was in the last 20 minutes when new boy Nate Blissett took to the field and the 6 foot 5 inch target man seemed to at least show a bit of a change in the tone of the game as he gave Macc a bit of hope for things to come during his spell for the rest of the season. Unfortunately his efforts didn't help with the goals at the away end though, and AFC Fylde weren't done with scoring them neither as Andy Bond helped himself to a volley in the box in the final 10 minutes. Fylde 6-0 Macc. At the Ref's final blow of the whistle, Silkmen captain Danny Whitaker ran straight over to us in the away end to give a heartfelt apology and following that it was home time.

Still top of the league, but it didn't feel like it on the drive home!

28/08/17 Review: Chester vs Macclesfield Town

Chester 0-2 Macclesfield Town (Naional Premier League)

Swansway Chester Stadium

A Bank Holiday Monday afternoon jaunt to Chester is just what the doctor ordered in what would prove to be the first of two outings yesterday. Unlike everybody else on the planet who also seemed to be heading to Cheshire's county capital, I was not going for the zoo, the pleasant market-town vibes and delicious food, no no no, I am one of those weirdos who goes to some of the nicest places in the country to watch the football.

Still, at least I got to see this little fellar

As a Macc Town fan, it is a crime against the footballing gods that I'd never been to this derby day fixture before, but thankfully I was finally checking-in to see what all the fuss was about at the Swansway Chester Stadium, as it is known these days, to see how my beloved Silkmen would get on in what would be the first competitive fixture I'd seen them play since that heart-breaking afternoon at Wembley back in May. A lot has changed since then, as I'd seen from trips to Moss Rose in pre-season and also to another away day at Stockport County, and there was a new-look team trying to gel together under John Askey as the 2017/18 season got off to an indifferent start for the Silkmen. Following a great opening win at Wrexham, Macc then drew two and lost two before picking up their second 1-0 win of the season on Friday against over Dover, leaving them with 8 points from 6. Chester on the other hand, who host three Silkmen players from last season in the shape of Andy Halls, John McCombe and Kingsley James, as well as the Macc Captain from the 2015/16 in Paul Turnbull, had drawn their first three league matches before a defeat and a victory before today's game- meaning that before play they were just two points behind their rivals.

Should be a good one at Swansway Chester Stadium

I set off with plenty of time to allow for Bank Holiday traffic and it was a good job I did so! Almost an hour and a half it took me to get to the west of Chester from Stoke and I made it with just 20 minutes to spare. To save being held-up in horrendous post-match traffic, I parked up on the main road to the ground and joined many blue kitted fans, both from Chester and Macc, in heading down Bumper's Lane ready for kick-off. By the time I'd made the decision to go to the West Stand rather than behind the goal, it was time to take my seat and see the sides come out ready to do battle.

West Side iz dee best

The Macc fans sat around me were in their usual mixed-bag format, with young, old, entranced and barely bothered folk all taking up their views on the game. One man, just 10 seconds in to the match, already felt the need to say "it's a game of two halves" and that signalled the first of his generic football phrases throughout the afternoon. My first observation on the pitch was that Ryan Astles was an absolute giant and the ex-Rhyl and Northwich Victoria defender looked set to take the far inferior frame of Tyrone Marsh to the cleaners in terms of physical battles. The 23-year old partnered ex-Macc player John McCombe in the heart of the Chester defence and although they had the height, they could do nothing about the pace of the Silkmen attackers running rings around them from the off. With just 7 minutes on the clock, a cross came in from the right and like an unmasked version of The Flash, Mitch Hancox darted into the box and got his glancing header towards and into the goal. Chester 0-1 Macc. Needless to say that this amazing start led to shots being fired from the away end at last season's Macc captain Andy Halls, who now dons the shirt of their rivals. "Hallsy, what's the score? Hallsy, Hallsy, what's the score?" was the preferred opening chant that the former Stockport right-back had to endure as his ex-employers looked to build on their opener. The game seemed to be flying-by as a Macc fan and in the 30th minute the lead could've been doubled as Gime Touré rose high above everyone in the box to head the ball just a mere whisker over the bar. Chester had a couple of long-range efforts themselves but with the Macc fan proclaimed Kingsley "Silkmen Reject" James looking their best player, they didn't seem likely to get back into it before the break.

Half-Time, happy days for the away support

As there wasn't much to see or do during the break, the joys of being an away fan, I sat back and soaked in the shade whilst looking over at the many Chester fans who would seemingly rather be in my shoes at this stage- both from over-exposure to the sun and also to the waves of Macclesfield Town attacks. With over 2,000 here for this derby match, I was eager to see the second-half get underway and see if we would kill the game off or let the blues back in. So far, Danny Whit, Tyrone Marsh and goalscorer Mitch Hancox had impressed me for Macc, as well as Elliott Durrell out on the right. Chester's side hadn't done much to inspire me and although I was impressed with the very familiar James, I couldn't help but feel the side's problem was due to a lack of passing and build-up play. Most of the time I'd seen Macc defending it was in the form of headed clearances and apart from the odd goal-kick, I don't think Shwan Jalal had touched the ball really.

Macc would start the second-half shooting towards the visiting support

The second 45 started poorly from the visitors and I feared for the first 15 minutes or so that Chester would get themselves back into contention. James ran in from the left and forced a decent stop from Jalal in what was Chester's biggest chance so far. At the other end, Gime Touré was having a woeful time of it and his self-frustration led to him lunging in on a Chester player and becoming the first player to enter Peter Wright's book. Chester's early efforts to get back into it had also led to man-mountain Astles leaving his defensive duties to go up-front and try to provide some added brute force in attack. This didn't shake Macc's focus though and with Durrell now pulling the strings out on the right the Silkmen fans were asking when, not if, the second goal would come. In the 62nd minute Durrell swung in a corner and Kieran Kennedy stuck his head on it to open his goal-scoring account with his new club. Chester 0-2 Macc. In truth, the floodgates could've opened at this point and Tyrone Marsh had a trio of chances towards the back end of the game. His third, a header from a Danny Whitaker cross, rattled the crossbar.

A lovely afternoon to get your first goal, Kieran

As with the start of the second-half, the end of it saw Chester doing their best to try and grab a goal of their own. In the dying embers, that man again Kingsley James found himself baring down on the Macc goal and were it not for an on-rushing Jalal and a backtracking defence it could've been a tense end to the game as the eventual shot was overstretched and looped over the bar. The final memorable moment of the afternoon was as Chester teenager Tom Crawford came on to make his senior debut for his hometown club- a lovely moment for the lad and the applause belted out around the ground as the lad entered the field for the final few minutes. The Ref blew the final whistle shortly after a final Chester attack in the Macc box and therefore secured a derby day defeat for Chester. I would have liked to have stuck around after the match to visit the clubhouse and shop, but as I had a second game to get to I jumped straight in my car and head on my way to Manchester in search of yet more football.

22/07/17 Review: Stockport County vs Macclesfield Town

Stockport County 5-2 Macclesfield Town (Pre-season Friendly)

Edgeley Park

Now that pre-season is up and running, it was that time again when I'd meet up with my Silkmen bro Will to head out to a Macclesfield Town away day. In 2016/17 we had gone through to Leek and Nantwich to see Friendly victories and we were hopeful of seeing a good outing against local rivals Stockport County- I'd predicted a 2-1 victory for the away side today. We got the day up and running when Will arrived at 12ish by heading off to the train station and after the 30 minute journey packed with Stag and Hen parties going off to Manchester, we jumped off and hunted down the first of many pre-match pubs.

Another town, another ground

We went to a few very interesting pubs on our walk to Edgeley Park, to say the least. The Armoury was our first stop and we enjoyed the company of fellow Macc fans as well as a few County folk too- which I always love to see. Things took a turn for the worse in The Jolly Crofter, as we entered to some funny looks from locals who seemed somewhat offended by the red Macc top I was sporting. One man in a County top even took the effort to down his pint before grunting as he made a swift exit. We quickly supped up and left for our final pub before the match, this time at The Pineapple. To call this bar a rough-and-ready kind of place is an understatement and we soon realised that we were in a memorable part of the world. One local, who'd smashed two pints of John Smith's whilst we'd been there, kept telling us that the great thing about The Pineapple is that "you get what you get" and we weren't arguing. With a round costing me £2.60, yup, we really couldn't give a hoot about the crumbling walls, rusty freezer in the hallway or bucket under the sink in the toilets- we were there to drink.

Unlike the chap from The Jolly Crofter who couldn't bare our presence

With the clock now reading 2:45pm we thought it would be best to wander over to Edgeley Park in time for the big kick-off. I was feeling optimistic for the afternoon ahead after seeing the new look Macc side defeat a strong Bury outfit on Tuesday, but Stockport would provide a whole new type of challenge in what would prove to be a game of two halves. Edgeley Park is a massive 11,000 all-seater stadium that in my opinion is too good to be sitting in the realms of the sixth tier of English football. Having been County's home for over 100 years, Edgeley Park has been a significant point on the sporting map after hosting the once Division One side as well as being a temporary home for Sale Sharks Rugby Union Club and even the host ground for a Lacrosse World Cup in the 70's. Nowadays it is listed as a Stockport Council asset and gathers rather less in the way of attendance, but nevertheless it is still an amazing ground for this level and I was glad to be finally making the visit. The game itself got off to a good start for Macc as they looked to build early momentum in front of goal. Just 4 minutes into the match and we were cheering as former Dover Athletic forward Tyrone Marsh headed home past Ben Hinchliffe, a nice goal all-round after a great cross from Jared Hodgkiss who had been impressive in Tuesday's win. Stockport 0-1 Macc. This set the tone for a goal-filled afternoon and for the next few minutes the fans were treated to some end-to-end action that almost saw both sides score. Durrell, Marsh and Wilson were all looking threatening for the Silkmen and at the other end Stockport's two forwards, Oswell and Warburton, were looking likely to get amongst the goals- and it was the latter who would equalise on 12 minutes. Macc had gone close themselves as winger Elliott Durrell had a shot on target, but from a quickfire break County soon got the ball into the feet of Matt Warburton and he darted into the box before wrong-footing Shwan Jalal to hit home the equaliser. Stockport 1-1 Macc.

All action so far at Edgeley

With not even 20 minutes on the clock we had already witnessed a couple of decent goals, but the best was yet to come and the third goal was a particularly nice finish. On Tuesday night I had the privileged of seeing Scott Wilson hammer home a beautiful winning goal against League One Bury and when he picked up the ball from Courtney Richards he had just one thought. The midfield maestro took a touch to set himself up before curling a perfectly-placed hit into the corner of the goal. Stockport 1-2 Macc. The rest of the first-half continued to entertain us, with Macc going close through Wilson, Baba and Marsh again, whilst at the other end Oswell was looking dangerous. He was denied by a great Jalal save after thumping a close-range header towards the Iraq international keeper. At half-time it remained 2-1 to the visitors and we had been left happy with some of the attacking displays of the new lads.

Time for a celebratory Hot Dog

With no chance of a half-time beer in the ground, we settled with a hot dog and a brew before heading back in to have a natter with a couple of fans. As with us, the general consensus was that the new-look Silkmen squad looked fresh and full of attacking ideas- this would not last into the second 45!

Let the second-half commence

Five Subs came on for Macc and the much changed line-up would prove to be lacking in terms of belief and sharpness as Stockport turned on the style for a goal-glut of a second-half. Just 4 minutes in and County were cheering an equaliser as Jason Oswell got the touch from a well-worked corner. Stockport 2-2 Macc. As with the opening to the last half, this one was goal-filled too and as Ryan Lloyd almost restored Macc's lead at one end it was Warburton who added to his tally for the day at the other end with another nice finish- the number 10 was in fine-form and this would not be his last effort on target against a now lacklustre defence. Stockport 3-2 Macc. Now coming up to the hour-mark and Stockport were at it again. A corner was this time finished off again by Oswell as he joined Warburton on two goals for the day- more poor defending was not helped by the second-half goalkeeper Alex Gogic on this occasion. Stockport 4-2 Macc. And when the going is tough, quite often the morale goes completely down the pan and in this instance County were gifted the chance to extend their lead further as former Manchester City and Motherwell centre-back new boy Kieran Kennedy got himself in an unfortunate muddle that resulted in him bundling a man in blue to the ground and offering them a spot kick. The lethal Warburton dispatched for his hat-trick and that would be the end of the goals on this on this sunny afternoon. Stockport 5-2 Macc.

Macc's only hope was for a storm to call it off

I know that this particular entry has read as a fairly condemning second-half from a Macc Town point of view, but when all is said and done I actually look back at this outing as a positive one for the Silkmen. We started the game with a strong XI that lead at the break and with only four players remaining in the squad from last season, it was all-in-all a very useful match for John Askey to learn a bit more about our strengths and weaknesses. For County though, who finished just a point outside of the Playoffs last season, this one will have proved to be a confidence boost ahead of their season in the National League North. With over 1,100 here this afternoon, the people of Stockport will have left with a big grin on their faces and we were more than happy to join them out in the town afterwards- I mean, it was just a friendly after all?

Game over, back to the pubs

We ended up back in The Armoury with some die-hard Stockport fans and having exchanged some great stories Will even swapped phone numbers with one lad and I'm more than sure that our paths will cross again. Here's to the next one!

25/02/17 Review: Dulwich Hamlet vs Macclesfield Town

Dulwich Hamlet 2-2 Macclesfield Town (FA Trophy Quarter-Final)

Champion Hill

For a ground-hopping Macclesfield Town fan, an FA Trophy Quarter-Final away day at Champion Hill is basically unmissable. With this weekend being mine off from work, I was London-bound again in search of another great ground- and hopefully safe progression for the Silkmen into the Semi-Final. As I've done when making trips to Wembley and the Old Spotted Dog in the past, I made use of taking an opportunity to visit family in Southend so that I could make a proper weekend of it.

Made it with plenty of time to spare

Arriving in the South-East of London after driving through the dreaded traffic of our country's capital city, I was surprisingly chuffed to see a Sainsbury's located right next to ground- meaning that free parking and post-match snacks would be in store. With this being a big-tie for both sides, this match was one of the rare occasions that the Hamlet had to make tickets available before the fixture date. Knowing that they'd be popular, I purchased mine so that I could be guaranteed to join almost 3,000 others at the home of the Isthmian Premier side as their National League opponents came to see what all the fuss was about.

Hamlet vs Silkmen

Sitting in 9th place in the fifth and seventh steps on the English Leagues ladder respectively, this Quarter-Final fixture came about after the visitors had so far eliminated Altrincham, Sudbury and Forest Green Rovers, meanwhile Dulwich started their campaign back in October and since beating Lowestoft Town, they have gone on to sweep aside Chesham United, Winchester City, Royston Town, Whitehawk and most impressively Braintree Town. That famous 5-2 Replay win for Dulwich is what set-up today's match and as I entered the ground I could feel the anticipation of the home crowd for another "giant" killing against John Askey's men. Since the start of 2017, Dulwich have only lost one game- against strugglers Canvey Island- and in February they have won one League game as well as games in the London County's Cup, Alan Turvey Trophy and FA Trophy. Yup- they've been busy! In the meantime, the Silkmen have been making steady progress in the National Premier and with good back-to-back victories against Eastleigh and Braintree, they would be hoping to dump a second Isthmian side out of the competition.

Not if these lot have anything to say about it

Macc were lining-up with a strong starting eleven and from the kick-off you could tell that the away side weren't willing to let the home support and their underdog side get the better of them in the early knockings. By far looking the strongest side, Macc had an early corner which didn't test, but on eight minutes they made the most of a long-range free-kick. From my view it looked like it was 25 or so yards out and with a central position Luke Summerfield, on loan from Grimsby, pelted his drive goal-wards and surely enough it found the back of the Dulwich net. Hamlet 0-1 Macc. At this stage the home-side looked rattled and the Silkmen continued to press for a second. Summerfield hit a second free-kick into the wall on 12 minutes and Holroyd hit over from close-range on 17 minutes. The following goal-kick from Preston Edwards in the Hamlet goal went straight into the path of Summerfield and he reacted with a pinpoint chip that went into the goal again and seemingly give the away boys a big early advantage- and also causing one away fan to shout out "you're so shit, they didn't even put your name on your back!". Hamlet 0-2 Macc. With Macc threatening to run away with it against they're part-time opponents, Dulwich managed to sort themselves out and start to play a bit of football with just under half-an-hour played. The Hamlet number 11- sorry, didn't catch his name- looked to be the man pulling the strings for the hosts and with 25 minutes on the clock they won a corner. A mixture of determination from the side in pink and blue and a poor defensive clearance from the white-shirted Silkmen eventually meant that a third set-piece would be scored from in the game, as Quade Taylor prodded a goal in to send the majority of the crowd into cheers as the deficit was halved. Hamlet 1-2 Macc. From then on, it is fair to say that Dulwich Hamlet believed in themselves and they were well up for this game now. As the half went on, the home team came close again as one of the strikers had a dig, and they almost notched again from a corner just before half-time. The away gathering certainly looked ready for the break and we all hoped that Askey would give the lads a pick-up in time for a big battle in the second-half.

2-1 at HT, which was my pre-match prediction for the result

As the whistle blew I looked over to the away fans and spotted the Macclesfield Town announcer shouting loud and proud for the side- obviously enjoying his time off from Moss Rose and telling the Cheshire locals where they can purchase their pies. During half-time I spent the whole 15 minutes in a queue for the clubhouse, not necessarily for a drink either, but just to see what it was like as I continued my usual scout around the ground. As 14 of the 15 minutes passed, I finally made it to the end of the queue to enter the bar, only to then see a giant hoard of people waiting for a drink. I quickly exited and was just in time for the restart.

That's a lot of people wanting a pint!

I made it around to the opposite goal-side alongside the rest of the away support, who had swapped over with the home fans, just in time for Macc's first chance of the half. Some great work by stand-in captain Kingsley James, who I'd seen win this competition back in May 2016 with Halifax Town, led to a pass into the box which fell to Chris Holroyd. Unfortunately the Silkmen top-scorer could not get the ball from out of his feet to hit home and the ball was easily defended. We continued to see Dulwich turn the game in their favour possession-wise and they almost grabbed an equaliser from yet another set-piece as Holroyd this time came back to defend and ended up thrusting a header towards his own goal. The pressure continued and for me, Neil Byrne was having the best game for the visitors as he cleared and dealt with all that came his way. With just ten minutes left to go, there was a stoppage in play as Summerfield was bundled to the ground and this led the home fans to pick out the bald, pasty figure of Macc veteran Danny Whitaker. As Summerfield received treatment, the home fans shouted out "you're just a shit Jonjo Shelvey, shit Jonjo Shelvey!" and the away fans raised a smile amongst their concern for the man who'd scored a brace earlier in the game.

Thinking back to the good times- the goals and the pre-match Bratwurst

The clock ran down and with just three minutes of the ninety left, there was to be a deserved late twist in the tale for the home-side. In a truly magical fashion, Ash Carew hit a wonder-strike and surely enough it went straight past Flinders and the fans were in dreamland once again. Hamlet 2-2 Macc. Although I was gutted for Macc, who now have to host a replay against the Hamlet, I also felt somewhat happy for the over 2,000 fans who would at least get to see their side in the hat for the semi-finals. In truth, the hosts could have nicked it late as Carew fired a 30-yard strike towards goal again in the 94th minute, but this time the shot was saved and the resulting corner came to nothing.

Let's hope they don't make this sort of mess at Moss Rose

I left the game and headed back through the traffic-ridden streets as the rest of the Macc fans went their separate ways. Some of them were going to stay the night and head to Wembley tomorrow for the League Cup Final, whereas others had to long trip home to make. I am yet to decide if I'll be able to make it to the Replay on Tuesday night, due to a late finish at work, but if not then I am hoping to at least make a trip to see Sutton Coldfield Town versus Marine. Either way, I'll be back on Tuesday!

28/01/17 Review: North Ferriby United vs Macclesfield Town

North Ferriby United 0-2 Macclesfield Town (National League)

EON Visual Media Stadium

Today's game would be another famous Macclesfield Town away day to add to my growing repertoire and with a 150-mile trek from Stoke-on-Trent to start the day, I would eventually find myself in the sleepy East Riding of Yorkshire village of North Ferriby for today's National League fixture.

Lovely

Being from Flamborough Head originally myself, this area of the world is very familiar to me and it was of great nostalgic comfort to know that I would be heading "back 'ome" for a weekend of footy- which would double-up nicely as a trip back to Bridlington to see my family too. North Ferriby has been a popular team around our end for a few years now and they have taken on the title amongst some as the local team to follow of late, since the reform of Scarborough back in 2007. When I was a young en (about 15 years ago!) all of the best footballers would strive to play for Scarborough's Junior sides, before eventually settling for Bridlington Town if they were lucky. However, with Ferriby rising up the leagues in the past 10 years or so, a few lads I played with as a teenager went on to train with the West Hull-based club. Most notably I played alongside fellow Schoolmate Sam Belcher in a 6-a-side team, and after his spell with North Ferriby he now turns out for Hall Road Rangers. The club, known as "The Villagers", are now playing their first season in the National League and are fighting to stay in the highest League they've ever competed in.

Macc Town made the trip East today

I don't want to go on too much about what an incredible achievement it is for the club to be at the highest level of Non-League football, as they have worked very hard to get here on their own merit, but I am just going to lay out a bit of a timeline of the club to state just how far the club based in a village of just 3,800 people have come. At the start of the millennium, the Villagers played in the Northern Counties East Football League and won promotion to the Northern Premier League (Level 8) in 2001. In 2013 Ferriby won promotion to the then Conference North, and in their first season their they finished 2nd in the table and just missed out on back-to-back promotions. In the 2014-15 season they rose to fame amongst the many who hadn't followed their colossal rise so far, as they beat Wrexham on penalties at Wembley to lift the FA Trophy. And as if all that wasn't enough, the club still had more to give last season and they won a dramatic promotion to the National League as they beat AFC Fylde in the Playoffs. Amazing stuff!

Enter for Magic

Today's opponents, my beloved Silkmen town, came to Ferriby's EON Visual Media Stadium for the second time this season, having beaten them 4-1 back in a pre-Christmas FA Cup Qualifier. This would undoubtedly be one of the smallest grounds that the Silkmen away fans would watch their side play at this season, but that wouldn't mean we'd be taking the Yorkshire side any less serious than the high and mighty of Lincoln City or Tranmere Rovers. With the Silkmen still hoping and praying for a Playoff push themselves- with wins over Tranmere and Dover in the League already in 2017, plus a couple of FA Trophy victories on top- Macc were sitting just six points adrift of the Playoffs despite having two games in-hand over some of their rivals. It hadn't been all smiles for the Cheshire side though in 2017, as three starting midfielders have already been sold on to League sides in the dreaded January transfer window. Jack Mackreth, Paul Lewis and Danny Rowe have left for Bury, Cambridge United and Ipswich Town respectively and this will be another, albeit familiar, test for John Askey to try and keep the winning mentality going. Danny Whitehead, who signed for Wigan Athletic from Macc last January, was back on-loan and making his first start since his return and I was looking forward to seeing him back where he belongs at Macclesfield Town. On my journey to the ground, I pondered my pre-match prediction and after seeing the Villagers take down fellow strugglers Southport and York City since the New Year, I decided to play a cautionary guess of 2-1 to the Silkmen.

Are we there yet?

I arrived in North Ferriby much earlier than anticipated and had over an hour to spare before the match, so I did what any good Yorkshireman would and whipped out my packed lunch box so that I could tuck into a steak pie and crisps in the car. Parked up at the local Co-op, I wasn't sure at this point where the ground was due to a lack of signage around, but thankfully as I stretched my legs I saw a fellow Macc Town fan's car parked up and so I assumed I was close-by. It turned out that I was, although it took me a good thirty minutes to realise exactly which direction to head in. After an unintentional tour of the village, passing the church, the train station, a Persian rug sale and various school fields, I encountered the FOURTH person in that time who noted my blue scarf and lost look who asked, "are you looking for the football ground?". With thoroughly explained directions ingrained into my tiny brain, I finally saw a lady in a hi-viz jacket from afar and waltzed over to the ground with still thirty minutes to spare. Enough time for a pint and a ponder on how I could get lost in such a small place.

There's a bar here, somewhere

With that minor embarrassment behind me, I headed straight for the very busy clubhouse and as I entered the door I was greeted by a friendly mix of home and away fans who were all enjoying the last few minutes of Liverpool's shock FA Cup exit to Wolves. One man entered shortly after me and instantly approached me to say "you found it then!"

It doesn't help when the only sign is right outside the ground

The ground itself was as basic as I'd imagined, with one long Stand running the length of the pitch being the only seated area. The areas behind both goals were bare and the main highlight was the fairly new-built toilet blocks. Joking aside, the club had obviously done a lot of maintenance work and I'm sure that much of the money the club raised and won from recent successes will have all been ploughed into getting the ground up to date with the FA's rules and regs to be able to compete at this level. The main thought that ran through my mind as I glanced around was how incredible it was that this ground is in the division above Kidderminster's Aggborough ground.

It's not always the size that matters

With 3pm fast-approaching, I guzzled down the remains of my beer and headed out in anticipation of the two sides emerging for the game ahead. Fun fact: the last time I watched Macclesfield play in the East Riding, they beat Hull City 2-0 in the League Cup at the KC Stadium- how times change. Referee Karl Evans, supported by the humorously-named potential superhero character Michael Crusham, got the game underway and the opening exchanges did not disappoint. When Macc are at home, I always seem to think that the away side set out to use dirty tactics, mind-games and foul-play to try and get under the home sides skin- and today, it certainly seemed that the Silkmen defence were doing the same to try and rattle the North Ferriby attackers. After a few cheeky shirt-tugs that were unseen by the officials, one Villagers fan expressed his early frustration by stating "if he'd done that in the street he'd be done for assault". It is so rare to have home and away fans mixed, for obvious reasons, but today's audience being intermingled made for a good amount of friendly-banter with the comments flying around.

Accents galore

On the pitch, Macc had started the better side and inside the opening 10 minutes the first big chances had gone begging. As Ferriby's Rory Watson ran out wide to pursue Chris Holroyd, he came out and left an open net, meaning that when the Macc attacker gained the ball, he crossed it in to an on-rushing Mitch Hancox who headed his effort on to the bar. Holroyd's rebound was well blocked after this and eventually Hancox had a second header which steered clear of the goal. Shortly after this, Ferriby were almost gifted a goal as veteran defender Pilkington made a rare mistake with an intended header back towards his goal, which was intercepted by Sam Cosgrove out on the right. He tried to take advantage but was closed down too quickly to have a shot or provide a cross to supporting team-mates. Pilkington knew that he'd been lucky there, but not as lucky as he was about to become at the other end. On 17 minutes Macc won a corner and after a clever chip from Danny Whitaker was guided towards the unmarked centre-back he let rip a volley into the net, via two Ferriby deflections. Ferriby 0-1 Macc. With an early goal established for the visitors, the odds seemed stacked against Ferriby, but that hasn't ever stopped them trying before and with Sam Topliss looking solid at right-back and Curtis Bateson having a step-over or two up his sleeves, there was every chance that a quick-counter or a bit of pressure from top scorer Reece Thompson could lead to a goal or two for the home side.

Clouds, stay away!

It wasn't to be though and Macc continued to press on for a second. Just minutes after the opener, Kingsley James was set free from the home defence and his one-on-one run would eventually leave to a big save from Watson. Ferriby were let off the hook this time, but just before the half-hour mark Danny Whitehead was left with too much space at the edge of the box and his precise finish stroked into the bottom-corner of the goal to give the green and white shirts a mammoth task if they wanted to gain anything from the game. Ferriby 0-2 Macc. The best chance of the half for the Villagers came to Thompson on 40 minutes but the striker failed to add to his 6 goals for the season as he went in for a close-range header with his eyes closed, brushing it wide. A few disgruntled fans headed back to the bar with a few minutes to play still, and the biggest cheer from the home fans came when the ball nestled awkwardly upon a tall bush in the distance. I also started to gander around to the bar ready for half-time, and as I did I just about saw another Macc chance denied. This time Danny Whitaker saw his effort cleared off the line. Although I hadn't been too impressed with North Ferriby's defence so far, nobody could deny that they had a fight and passion about them and on a good day that is sometimes enough to grind out results.

0-2 Half-time

The second-half started well for the home team and they pressed well in the opening 10 minutes. At one end, a very good save had to be forced out of Scott Flinders to deny a comeback, meanwhile Watson was being subjected to some mild-mockery from the travelling fans at the other- "your bird's on Tinder, Watson!" seemed to get the biggest laugh from the Ferriby shot-stopper. The final 30 minutes was fairly subdued, with the odd chance being wasted at either end. Holroyd managed to hit the post for Macc from a discreetly chipped cross-cum-shot, before setting up Hancox minutes later for a goal which was ruled-out for offside. Ferriby went close themselves as the rain started to pour, with another close-range header being squandered this time. As the weather changed quite dramatically I thought for a moment that I'd heard thunder rumbling above the Stand, only to realise later on that the ground sat adjacent to the railway and with it running upon higher-ground it made a hefty clatter as it ran past Grange Lane. The final couple of decent chances fell to the Silkmen again who could've had 5 or 6 in truth, and it was this time the substitute Ollie Norburn who had a shot cleared off the line, before Whitaker's rebound was deflected on to the bar. The game would end 2-0, but not before a Ferriby striker summed up his side's luck today by running in one-on-one before falling flat on his face into the wet grass. The 429 in attendance could only raise a chuckle, but it was game over for the beaten home side and they'd gone down to a decent Macclesfield Town showing. Having seen them face the highs of beating Hull at the KC, to the lows of being relegated from League Two at Southend United's Roots Hall, this ranks somewhere in the middle as a nice, but not spectacular, victory to move the side up to 8th in the League.

Good win for the Silkmen

With the rain still spitting down, I made a quick dash back to the car, ready to continue my journey to Bridlington. Thanks again to North Ferriby for a good game of football- I for one am hoping that this club continues to thrive and whether it is at this level or the National North, I'll be keeping an eye on their further progress.

Next stop- Nan's house for a beasty Roast!