Darlington 4-0 Macclesfield

The Silkmen lost 4-0 to Darlington in the opening game of the new season.

But the performance was not as bad as the result suggested as the Silkmen started strongly. Dave Morley forcing a quality save from a free kick and Marvin Robinson hitting the post before watching the ball roll agonisingly along the goal-line.

The Silkmen looked good for 10 minutes but the home side scored the opener against the run of play. Giallanza turning well in the box to slot past Tommy Lee.

This goal rallied the home side and they scored a further two within nine minutes. But Macclesfield’s support were left aggrieved by both.

The first came when Conlon headed home a left wing cross, then nine minutes later, tapped in from the same side. But the replays on Darlington’s vast video screen showed that there had been a shove on McNulty for the first, and the player who crossed the second was clearly offside.

Between these goals, the Silkmen managed to hit the post again in a scramble.

The second half saw John Miles unlucky not to score with a 10 yard drive, but it was deflected clear by a flicked heel of a defender. Conlon scored a fourth with a close range tap in after Lee couldn’t hold a back header.

Jordan Hadfield and Colin Heath both made anappearance for Miles and Navarro respectively.

All in all a terrible start for the Silkmen, but the final score did not tell the whole story.