Recap
It was a case of so near yet so far for a brave Reds team who fell to the title favourites in stoppage time.
Late goals like Luke Duffy’s are the difference between title winners and the also rans and the ninety-first minute goal was a tough one to take for those of a red persuasion but created sheer joy in the blue camp.
And the goal may have not happened had Josh Galloway still been on the field. His substitution meant a defensive reshuffle just when it wasn’t needed and Macc exploited the uncertainty along the backline to grab a sensational winner.
Neil Kengni, a thorn in our side even during his Stalybridge and Marine days, was able to send over a wonderful cross from the left and substitute Duffy was in the right place at the right time to secure all three points with a confident finish.
That leaves Macc with a fifteen points cushion at the top of the Premier Division before they take a break from league action and resume their FA Trophy adventure.
To a man, Workington left everything out on the pitch – they had given their all, and more, and probably didn’t feel the disappointment of defeat until Sunday morning.
It had been a cracking contest, not too many clear-cut scoring opportunities for either side, but an enthralling game for the best crowd of the season.
First half was about Macclesfield enjoying plenty of possession and forcing a flurry of corners but not hurting the home side too much. Reds were relying on a more direct counter attack and were seeing the ball far less.
Tre Pemberton’s cross into the danger area actually brushed the goal frame but, when he was needed in a defensive role, his brave block denied Kai Nugent a potential goal.
And Workington’s nearest call was via an Efe Ambrose header which lacked the power to trouble Max Dearnley who also gathered bravely at Nugent’s feet.
It was well into the second half before Duffy’s shot forced Alex Mitchell into his first save of note and he followed it up with an excellent block to thwart John Rooney.
Talisman Steven Rigg took a physical battering but when he managed to escape a blue shirt momentarily, two chances came his way. The first, after being released by Jake Allan, saw him attempt to lift the ball over Dearnley but he didn’t get the elevation quite right and the ‘keeper gathered comfortably.
His second attempt was a whisker away from opening the scoring and sheer determination from the skipper fashioned the chance. Dearnley was helpless on this occasion as the ball flew past him but rebounded off his left hand upright.
Jamie Allen then had a goal-bound shot blocked by another brave body in blue.
And, just when Workington were thinking about becoming the first team to prevent the Silkmen from scoring, the league leaders struck and registered the match-winner by scoring in their twenty-fifth consecutive game.
On the evidence of this performance, Reds have come on leaps and bounds since the early months of the season and can go into the second half of the campaign with renewed optimism.
Workington: Mitchell, Galloway (Doumbouya, 89), Clarke, Jake Allan (Wane, 82), Swinglehurst, Ambrose, Jamie Allen, Grewal (Casson, 69), Rigg, Hetherington (Norris, 62), Nugent. Substitute – Farquharson (not used).
Macclesfield: Dearnley, Pemberton, Kengni, Fensome (Duffy, 54), Mendy, Dawson, Edmondson, Rooney, Mellor (Heathcote, 90), Elliott (Johnson, 54), Curran (Etaluka, 71). Substitute – Whitehead (not used).
Referee: Alex Clark, Gateshead
Bookings: Rigg (Workington), Kengni, Mellor, Pemberton, Dawson (Macclesfield)
Attendance: 988