Macclesfield FC V Chester FC XI - Match Thread #6 - Pre-Season Friendl

Following a rampant 1-5 success over at Northwich Victoria just two days ago we are back in action tomorrow night as a Chester FC XI make the journey to East Cheshire to take on Macclesfield FC away in what will be our first of two away matches in as many days. Given we do play a much stronger outfit in Radcliffe away less than 24 hours after this one, I expect a much more youthful side will travel to Macc tomorrow night, although if we play like we did at Clitheroe a couple of weeks ago then we should have enough to win the game. I’m now really looking forward to attending both games, particularly the Macclesfield one tomorrow as it’s our standout away friendly against a club who we have locked horns with many times over the years.

Our last match was on Tuesday night as we won 1-5 away against Northwich Victoria in what was a classy and dominant performance from us. Our first half showing contained signs of promise given we controlled most of the possession, while we were also bright going forwards. With 1/6 of the encounter gone Declan Weeks broke the deadlock to make it 0-1 to us, with a beautiful strike on the edge of the penalty area. Throughout the rest of the half we continued to play some nice stuff, although not many other chances of note were created hence we went into the break only 0-1 up. Meanwhile, our display in the second period, consisting of a more youthful Seals side, was excellent as we were on fire in front of goal in the intense heat. Only two minutes into the half Declan Weeks was brought down inside the penalty area to present us with a penalty. Anthony Dudley made up for Saturday’s missed pen by slotting in the resulting spot kick to make it 0-2 to us. With less than ten minutes of the half gone John Johnston made it 0-3 to us by beating Chris Cheetham at his near post. After the hour mark Brad Lynch bagged a consolation for Northwich Victoria to make it 1-3 by dispatching past Louis Gray, who made an error in the build-up. That goal didn’t affect us though because with less than ten minutes left, Lloyd Marsh-Hughes made it 1-4 to us with a cracking strike on the edge of the box. To cap off a blistering performance, Anthony Dudley secured his brace by finishing off a tremendous move to make it 1-5 to us. A top night all round with us maintaining our encouraging pre-season campaign in spite of the sweltering conditions.

Macclesfield FC ply their trade three divisions below us in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division where they are currently setting themselves up for their inaugural season. Last September the initial Macclesfield Town, who we endured many ding-dongs with over the years, ceased to exist with the new Macclesfield FC established last October. The Silkmen are certainly taking their pursuit back up the football pyramid seriously with high-profile names such as experienced defender Kieran Kennedy, Curtis Obeng, Tom Clare, and also club legend Danny Whitaker, who is Macc’s player-manager, amongst their squad, so they will certainly be one of the big guns in Step 5 this campaign. The Leasing.com Stadium (formerly known as Moss Rose) has had a huge revamp over the past year with a brand new 4G playing surface replacing Macclesfield’s previous grass pitch, new seating to match the new club, while the Main Stand has had a big renovation so our opponents certainly aren’t messing about.

This will be my second venture to Macclesfield FC’s territory having made the trip to watch us lose 1-0 away in April 2018, in what was a miserable day all round. Hopefully tomorrow will be a mirror image of that though given we now play three leagues above The Silkmen, so hopefully we will maintain our promising pre-season campaign by recording our fourth win in a row. Looking forward to a night out over in East Cheshire before Radcliffe on Saturday, so let’s hope we will kick off the weekend in style tomorrow evening. Come On You Seals!

???????????????????? - Macclesfield FC (Clare) 1-2 Chester FC XI (Clarke, Marsh-Hughes)

???????????????????????????????????????? - 452 (95 Chester FC XI)

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Worsnop
Morgan Burke Williams Trialist?
Cartwright Clark Lowe Trialist?
Clarke Marsh-Hughes

???????????????????????????? - tickets for this clash are available to purchase on the day, which are as follows:
Adult - £9.00
Concessions (Over-65’s, Students, and 13-18-year-olds) - £5.00
Under-12’s - free
Disabled and Carer - free

COYS!