Nomads edged out by Silkmen in next pre-season test

Despite a dominant second half at the Leasing.com Stadium, Connah’s Quay Nomads were narrowly edged out 2-1 by Macclesfield as our unbeaten run in pre-season came to an end.

Callum West, Dan Cowan and Marco Fregapane all returned to face their former club, while Chris Marriott. Goalkeeper Kit Margetson also made his second appearance since arriving on loan from Swansea City.

Macclesfield hit the front with nine minutes on the clock, as D’mani Mellor steered home a low ball from close range.

The hosts then doubled their advantage midway through the first half as Danny Whitehead picked up the ball outside the area and curled into the top corner.

There were two changes from our bench at the start of the second half as Fregapane and Noah Edwards replaced Dan Roberts and Harry Franklin.

The Nomads evidently stepped up a gear after the restart, and pulled a goal back straight away through Max Woodcock.

After some great work from Abdi Sharif down the left hand side, the ball fell to Woodcock inside the area, and the youngster was able to fire home into the bottom corner, leaving the Macclesfield goalkeeper no chance of the save.

Jason Oswell then came agonisingly close to equalising just two minutes later as his strike from close range was denied by the post, despite his hard work in earning the ball back.

Declan Poole had a great opportunity to level the scoreline on 66 minutes when the ball fell kindly to him inside the area, however his fierce strike was inches over the top.

With the Nomads limiting the Silkmen to barely any shots or any attacking threat, it was just chance after chance for John Disney’s side as Jack Kenny headed wide Fregapane’s cross, before Rhys Hughes had a thunderous volley blocked at the back post.

Despite our best efforts to find a late leveller, the full-time whistle blew, seeing our unbeaten run in pre-season come to an end.

Nonetheless, the contest saw many players gain valuable minutes ahead of the new campaign. It was also pleasing to see Disney and his coaching staff giving opportunities to our Steven Gerrard Academy scholars once again as Conor Partridge entered the field for the closing stages.

What’s Next?
Just like last weekend, John Disney and his staff will take charge of two more pre-season friendlies on the same day as we face Telford United and Vauxhall Motors on Saturday, 26 July.

Our fixture against Telford will be played behind closed doors in the morning.

However, fans can still see us in action later in the afternoon as we face Motors at the VanEupen Arena (3pm KO).

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer