Alex Curran bagged a brace of goals at the end of each half as the Silkmen started their competitive season with a 2-0 win over Wythenshawe Town in the Emirates FA Cup.
The visitors might have taken the lead in the eleventh minute, Matty Bryan making good ground down the left wing after a simple ball over the top. The Striker managed to reach the byline, crossing towards the front post where it was met by Steven Hewitt, but the midfielder could only send the ball wide of the left upright.
Macclesfield were further indebted on thirty-seven minutes to on loan goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga. The Liverpool Academy starlet moved smartly to his right, diving full length to deny Dwyer’s direct free kick that seem destined for the top left hand corner.
The Silkmen thought they had opened the scoring on forty one minutes, Neil Kengni finding himself in space in the inside right channel, crossing in to the box. James Barry was the first to react, bringing the ball down, before bundling the ball past a serious of defenders and over the line. Time seemed to freeze for minutes as the Referee and his Assistant discussed the ‘goal’ only to decide that the young winger had used his arm as the final touch.
Macclesfield were not to be denied though, taking the lead in the fourth minute of added time. Mark Duffy aimed a corner from the left deep beyond the far post, which was headed back across goal to the unmarked Curran who took a touch and fired beyond Bywater and a melee of players, to send the Silkmen into half time with the 1-0 advantage.
The game took a sudden twist as the second half unfolded, as during a substitution on the seventy-eighth minute, Wythenshawe tried to field an ineligible player not previously listed on the team sheet, and found themselves down to ten men. Moments later ten became nine as Jerome Wright received his second caution of the afternoon for dissent and was shown a red card, all but ending the game as a spectacle.
The game was forced to undergo a further delay after eighty minutes, as supporters from both sides clashed on the Silkmen Terrace holding the game up for a further several minutes as stewards and police tried to control the situation.
The result was finally put beyond doubt ten minutes into added time, the ball was fed to Berry on the edge of the box, who made a nice reverse pass to Curran, who twist and turned before shooting through the unfortunate Bywater who could only see the ball trickle over the line and send Macclesfield into the next round of the FA Cup, away to Mossley.
Director Robert Smethurst spoke to the Club’s website after the game,
“Macclesfield FC is and always will be a Community Club. I will not let the minority detract us from that. As such there can be no alternative but to impose full segregation on the Silkmen Terrace going forward. I hope that this has not soured what has undoubtedly been another great victory for us on the pitch today.”
