Ebbsfleet United v Macclesfield Town ; Match Preview

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE OPPOSITION

Macclesfield Town FC

Nickname – The Silkmen
Founded – 1874
Ground – Moss Rose, 6355 capacity
Manager – Steve King
Captain – Nat Brown
Top scorer – Matthew Barnes-Homer (15)

Macclesfield have enjoyed a relatively good season so far, sitting in a comfortable position in the table and went on a very good FA Cup run. Results wise, Macclesfield have secured some great victories this season against Dartford, Wrexham and Kidderminster. Their worst result looks to be the 4-1 loss at Luton near the beginning of the season.

Stonebridge Road will play host to the Premier Sports cameras this Friday as it was chosen to be on TV, bringing the game forward a day. Ebbsfleet will be hoping home advantage comes good this month as this match begins a run of four home games in a row. The ‘Fleet are looking to end a long winless run that dates back to 17 November – a 2-1 victory away at none other than Macclesfield Town.

Not only was this their last win but the ‘Fleet are the only team to come from behind to register a win against Macclesfield so far this season. Silkmen are looking for the three points to keep their outside chance of play-offs alive. Currently eight points away from that last play-off spot, a loss could be pretty damaging to their chances.

The ‘Fleet will be hoping it’s fourth time lucky this time round as the last three matches have fallen victim to the weather. Tamworth at home, and Cambridge and Hyde away, were postponed meaning the ‘Fleet’s last outing was that late loss away at Woking.

Macclesfield’s last league match was back on 19th January when they entertained Kidderminster and ran out eventual winners against red-hot Harriers with a goal from Waide Fairhurst in the 56th minute. The Silkmen looked to keep the non-league flag flying high in the FA Cup (along with Luton) as they hosted Premier League strugglers Wigan – unfortunately a 7th minute penalty from Jordi Gomez was enough to see off the lower league opponents.

The Silkmen can be extremely proud of their efforts in this season’s Cup and one player they can thank for this run is former ‘Fleet favourite Lance Cronin. The shot stopper made a couple of decent saves in the previous round to stop Championship side Cardiff from progressing. Unfortunately for them, Lance will be unavailable for this match against his old club due to suffering a broken thumb in the lead-up to the Wigan game.

The ‘Fleet currently sit bottom of the table and 7 points from safety so a win here is absolutely vital. A loss could see the ‘Fleet slip further away from safety. The Silkmen currently sit in 10th position and a win will see them move up to 7th in the table, at least until Saturday afternoon.

KEY PLAYERS

The ‘Fleet will be hoping striker Nathan Elder is on top of his game. The striker hit the winner from the spot up at Moss Rose in the ‘Fleet’s last victory and they’ll certainly be hoping he can get on the scoresheet this time to fire the Reds to victory. Centre backs Jack Saville and Paul Lorraine will have to be wary on Friday as they come up against one of the League’s top strikers in Matthew Barnes-Homer, they’ll need to be on top form to keep him out.

Macclesfield, of course, look to hotshot Barnes-Homer to fire them to victory in this match. Fifteen goals in the League already the striker will see this as a perfect chance to add to his tally! John Paul Kissock is another player who could cause the ‘Fleet defence problems, the skilful midfielder certainly has a great range of passing in his repetoire and his pace and trickery could come in handy against the ‘Fleet backline.

TEAM NEWS

Long-term absentees Ram Marwa and Moses Ashikodi still look to be missing from the squad whilst Ashley Carew looks to finally begin his three-game suspension. On-loan defender Jack Saville has extended his loan deal until the end of the season. Manager Liam Daish had a busy transfer deadline day snapping up Stefan Payne for the remainder of the season after his release from Sutton. Also, the 'Fleet have taken striker Josh Scott on loan for a month from Dagenham and Redbridge and have taken midfielder Adedamola Shitta and striker Tobi Alabi on youth loans from Millwall. All are available for Friday's squad.

As already mentioned Lance Cronin faces a short spell on the sidelines after breaking his thumb so the Silkmen have drafted in former Chelsea 'keeper Rhys Taylor, who was released by Preston this week. Dean McDonald recently signed and came off the bench in the game v Wigan, and Pablo Mills serves the 2nd of his three match suspension. Striker Amari Morgan-Smith has recently gone out on loan to Kidderminster Harriers. Fringe players Junior Yiadom and Arthur Gnahoua have gone to Chelmsford and Colwyn Bay on initial one month loans while manager Steve King has added to his squad on deadline day. Darren Murphy, formerly of Stevenage, has been drafted in after being released by Port Vale. Whilst at Stevenage he helped them lift the Conference Premier Trophy and the FA Trophy. King was quick to get some loan signings in too, grabbing Micah Evans and Johnny Gorman on loan from Blackburn and Wolves respectively. Gorman has 9 Northern Ireland caps to his name so he'll bring something to the table for Macc.

EBBSFLEET’S LAST SIX LEAGUE MATCHES (LLLDDL):

Ebbsfleet United 2-4 Cambridge
Mansfield Town 4-1 Ebbsfleet United
Dartford 3-1 Ebbsfleet United
Ebbsfleet United 2-2 Dartford
Ebbsfleet United 1-1 Lincoln City
Woking 1-0 Ebbsfleet United
Goals: 7
Conceded: 15

MACCLESFIELD’S LAST SIX LEAGUE MATCHES (DLDWLW):

Macclesfield Town 0-0 Nuneaton Town
Southport 3-2 Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town 2-2 Southport
Braintree Town 0-3 Macclesfield Town
Dartford 2-0 Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town 1-0 Kidderminster Harriers
Goals: 8
Conceded: 7

PREVIOUS LEAGUE MEETINGS:

17.11.12. Macclesfield Town 1-2 Ebbsfleet United.

LAST TIME OUT:

Macclesfield Town 1-2 Ebbsfleet United.

The ‘Fleet made it two wins on the trot following on from that superb comeback win against Hyde with yet another comeback win, this time away at Macclesfield. Chris Holroyd put the hosts ahead just before half-time but a resiliant second half performance saw the ‘Fleet get back into the game, with Phil Walsh knocking an Ashley Carew corner in 12 minutes into the second half. The ‘Fleet then got their reward late on in the game as Elder was fouled in the area, the striker dusted himself off to put the ball past Cronin from the spot.
Attendance: 1,896.

HOW THE BOOKIES SEE IT:

William Hill have the ‘Fleet to win at 17/10 but slight favourites Macclesfield are at 6/5. If you fancy a draw then the odds for this are 5/2. If you fancy Matthew Barnes-Homer to bag a hattrick you can get odds of 20/1.
Bet Victor have the ‘Fleet at 19/10 with Macclesfield coming in at 13/10. A draw for this game sees odds of 13/5. If you fancy the ‘Fleet to win 1-0 with Nathan Elder grabbing the goal then the odds for that are 50/1.
Ladbrokes have the ‘Fleet at 19/10 with Macclesfield favourites at 5/4 and a draw at 12/5. If you think the ‘Fleet fan register a 2-1 win like up at Moss Rose then the odds for that are 10/1.