At half time I honestly thought this one was in the bag. Walter Otta had fired home in first half stoppage time and although we were facing a stiffish wind in the second period I just couldn’t see a lacklustre Macclesfield breaking us down. Our first half display was stunning. Passing and movement that took me back the best part of fifteen years to Buckley’s Babes.
We fully deserved our mid way lead but again patience was the key as we kept plugging away at a hard working but limited home side. Wrack intercepting a pass from a Macc corner, carrying the ball from our box to theirs before squaring to Tarka to slide the ball under the keeper.
The second half assault began very early and was sustained for the whole of the very long 45 minutes. We held out for 28 of those minutes until Tomlinson seized on a shot that Walker could only parry and, despite looking iffishly offside, equalised.
The last fifteen minutes were tense as the Saddlers tried to both hold on to a point and if possible sneak a winner. Neither side could be parted however and we had to settle for a point. The disappointment both on the field and in the away terraces serves to show how far this side has come since August.
There wasn’t any booing but most people saw this as two points lost rather than one gained - so it appeared did the players.
Following a retched season of away performances last term this disappointment is a good sign. Man of the match was probably Richard Green but Roper and Walker (one magnificent save) pushed him all the way.