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Santa was out a couple of weeks early in Cheshire as John Trewick’s men gifted three points to the hosts after dominating the game but going down 3-1 at The Moss Rose. Two late first half goals and another in the second period against a late consolation goal from Leon Constantine was scant reward for the possession but emphasised how games are won and lost.
Trewick, once again, shuffled his pack with Richard Rose replacing the absent Ryan Green and Kenny Lunt returning in place of Jordon Mutch. Lowe, Jones and Blanchet formed a central rearguard while Valentine on the right and Rose on the left filled the wingback roles. A fairly scrappy opening few minutes passed before The Bulls settled into the game and produced by far the better play. Kenny Lunt was prominent in many early moves with some probing distribution providing chances for both Manset and Pugh early on. Manset turned his marker but his shot was tipped round the post by home ‘keeper Brain before King lifted his shot over. Marc Pugh curled an effort just over the bar after a neat drag-back had created space. Lunt worked his way to the byeline at the six-yard mark but without a striker to pass too could only dink the ball against the post. The Bulls were showing signs of over elaboration in the danger area but looked by far the most likely to create the goal chances as the break approached. However, it was The Silkmen who capitalised on a couple of rare opportunities. Firstly, on 43 minutes, Emile Sinclair broke from centre-field and was allowed to progress to the edge of the box without challenge before firing passed Bartlett for the opener. The goal seemed to give confidence to the hosts who, until then, had shown little attacking intention and a well-worked move produced a corner from the right. A header at the back post saw the ball bouncing in the six-yard box and Ben Wright reacted quickest to bundle the ball over the line. Not for the first time in recent weeks, some indecision and probably the absence of Ryan Green had contributed to United’s downfall.
HT Macclesfield 2 Bulls 0
The half-time talk on the visiting terrace was that although two goals had been conceded, there had been enough good play from The Bulls to still hope for at least a share of the spoils in the second period. It was not, however, to be the case as Hereford conspired to produce a poor second forty-five minutes. Macclesfield closed the space that had been found in the first period and chances were far fewer than in the opening half. Sinclair again threatened with his strong direct running and Bartlett did well to beat way his twenty-yarder as he burst between Jones and Blanchet. Lunt released Manset but his effort was parried by Brain and without any supporting striker, the ball was easily hacked to safety. Trewick introduced Constantine and McCallum in place of King and Manset but it was the hosts who showed the way with another Sinclair strike after he split Lowe and Jones to fire passed Bartlett and give the home side a three goal advantage on 68 minutes - the central three seemingly unsure of who should go for the ball and who should cover. Sam Gwynne replaced King and soon got a shot off but it sailed over while Darren Jones saw a flicked header go just wide before Leon Constantine found the net with a cross shot just before the end.
FT Macclesfield 3 Bulls 1
The first forty minutes gave plenty of hope and some decent play from Hereford but from then on, The Bulls fell sadly short of what was required. It will take a substantial turnaround if a positive result is to be achieved on Tuesday evening against higher-graded Wimbledon. (Ooops)
Hereford: Bartlett, Lowe, Jones, Bartlett, Valentine, Wedderburn (Gwynne, 71 min), Lunt, Rose, King (Constantine, 61 min), Manset (McCallum, 61 min), Pugh. Subs not used: Adamson, Weir, Godsmark, Done.
Macclesfield: Brain, Reid, Tremarco, Hessey, Brown, Morgan, Bolland, Draper (Thomas, 81 min), Daniel (Rooney, 84 min), Wright, Sinclair (Tipton, 71 min). Subs not used: Veiga, Wilson, Lowe, Mukendi.
Attendance 1406 with around 100 from The Shire. The beer and bacon butties in The Railway View were the highlight of the day.
