Macclesfield’s commitment in draw at Leyton Orient delights boss Mark Kennedy

Posted Sunday, February 09, 2020 by PA

Macclesfield head coach Mark Kennedy praised his players after watching his side salvage a late point at Leyton Orient with a 1-1 draw.

The relegation-threatened visitors had seemed set leave to London without any reward after falling behind to a strike from James Brophy but substitute Jacob Blyth popped up with a stoppage-time goal to rescue a point for the Silkmen and send Kennedy into raptures.

“That result sums up exactly what Macclesfield are about,” he said.

“We have 100 per cent and the commitment of the group to each other, from the staff, players and fans was incredible.

“I have been in football a long time. I made my debut at 16 and I am 43 years old now but our togetherness is as good as any team I have played with or been involved with in the game.

“It doesn’t matter whether your play Premier League, Champions League or League Two. In a group you need that togetherness, commitment and putting your bodies on the line mentality and you won’t find another team that has a better team spirit than we showed today.

“It’s a terrific point and I thought that was the least we deserved. Orient caused us problems but we worked so hard and I am so pleased for the players right now. They are a real pleasure to work with.

“The rest of our matches are all cup finals now. I feel that we are hard to beat. We don’t concede many and I feel that we are always competitive in every game.”

Kennedy’s opposite number Ross Embleton cut a contrasting figure. Embleton had been looking for his side to record a victory that would have given them their first back-to-back home league wins since August 2015 but it was not to be.

“I am very frustrated because I feel we have played well recently,” said Orient head coach Embleton.

“Full credit to Macclesfield because they got men behind the ball and despite us getting our noses in front, it felt like we waited for them to equalise.

“We looked content to soak it up rather than being positive and we switched off at the end which was sloppy and lazy and let them back in it.

“We made the substitutions which I felt gave us that positivity but again, I have to give full respect to the way the opposition set themselves up because they defended deep and got men behind the ball and we couldn’t build up the intensity to our play.

“We can’t underestimate the competition for players looking for starting places now as everyone has to fight for their place and that has to be a positive as we look ahead to Tuesday when we take on Mansfield.”