Macclesfield FC's unbeaten pre-season continues with 2-1 Crewe Alexandra victory
By Alex Greensmith
6th Jul 2022 | Local News
Macclesfield FC beat Cheshire's highest-ranked football team on Tuesday evening.
The Silkmen saw off Crewe Alexandra 2-1, with a last-gasp winner in a lengthy stoppage time period.
It was the first time Crewe had been to Macclesfield, since a 1-1 draw with defunct club Macclesfield Town in January 2020.
The Silks second pre-season friendly - and first at home - started slow with Crewe having the first chance.
James Berry had the first big chance for Macclesfield, which set the tone for the first half, as would threatened with a free-kick, and then later a goal after receiving a peach of a ball from right-back Jacob Hanson.
The right-bank hoofed a ball from the right from the central third to the opposite flank, cherry-picking Berry, who would slice a strike from just inside the penalty area past The Railwaymen keeper Tom Booth.
The goal came at the eve of the 38th minute, and gave Manager Danny Whitaker the confidence to bring on five subs at half-time.
Just before the hour mark, The Silks thought they'd doubled their lead when Lewis Fensome had the third touch from a corner ball tapped into the net.
Sadly, his deflected shot was disallowed for offside.
The Alex took advantage of this muted celebration, by drawing level just seconds later.
The Football League club - which fielded a mid-strength side of teenagers and triallists - took advantage of a corner goalkeeping fumble to score.
Congleton-born player Max Woodcock was the scorer.
Woodcock took the shine off've Liverpool loanee Marcelo Pitaluga's first Macclesfield game, who failed stop the six-yard-box shot in the opposite corner in an otherwise competent debut.
Five more Silkmen subs came in response, and fifteen minutes after Woodcock - who was a substitute himself - had to go off.
In a valiant effort to keep play going, Woodcock clipped in a low cross into the Macclesfield penalty area, but simultaneously crashed into an advertising board and the medical staff were called on.
It was a nervy six minute wait, with even an ambulance waiting for him outside, but thankfully he revealed to be okay after the game despite a loss of consciousness.
And while this injury did not stunt Crewe completely, the majority of chances in the final fifteen minutes belonged to Macclesfield.
January signing Harry Freedman threatened, and a slew Silkmen of corners piled on the pressure.
This culminated in the sixth (and final) minute of stoppage time, where 32-year-old Andy Owens called for a corner, and delivered when he received a fumbled catch from Crewe's keeper.
The Liverpool-born journeyman slotted home and screamed in celebration, which reminded fans that this indeed was a derby game, even with the milder temperament of it being a pre-season fixture.
The Silkmen's remaining pre-season fixtures are as follows:
9th July: Morecambe
12th July: West Bromwich Albion XI
16th July: Buxton
19th July: Matlock
21st July: Huddersfield Town
23rd July: York City
26th July: Chorley
28th July: Blackpool
2nd August: FC United of Manchester
Buy tickets here.
Line-ups:
Macclesfield FC: Marcelo Pitaluga, Jacob Hasnson, Sam Grimshaw, Lewis Fensome, Zeki Fryers, Laurent Mendy, Neil Kengni, Mark Duffy, Tom Clare, Alex Curran, James Berry (Subs Used: Neil Danns, Harry Freedman, Andy Owens, Tre Pemberton, Trialist B, Brandon Lee, Harry Bower, Jelani Blake, Trialist A).
Crewe Alexandra: Tom Booth, Zak Kempster-Down, Lewis Billington, Trialist A, Connor O'Riordan. Billy Sass-Davies. Matus Holicek, Trialist B, Trialist C, Owen Lunt, Trialist D (Subs Used: Max Woodcock, Jack Flint, Lucas Sant, Charlie Finney.
See Also: £349,000 loss recorded in first year of Macclesfield FC
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