McMahon upbeat despite Macclesfield conceding late equaliser

Posted Sunday, October 06, 2019 by PA

Daryl McMahon was upbeat about his Macclesfield side’s performance despite conceding a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Cambridge.

McMahon’s side had trailed to Jack Roles’ terrific long-range effort but goals from Theo Archibald and Arthur Gnahoua turned the game in Macclesfield’s favour.

Sam Smith’s header, his fifth goal of the season, rescued a point for Cambridge 12 minutes from the end.

“I thought we were outstanding today,” said McMahon.

“We could have had two or three goals in the first half with some really good chances and I thought our performance in the second half was outstanding. There was some really good play and two great goals.

“Cambridge came out of the blocks fast. They’ve not had a great home record so far. They probably looked at us and thought they could get their season started here but I thought we showed real character after being 1-0 down to build ourselves into the game.

“We came here and influenced the game and I thought we grew and grew into the game as it went on. That first half was a little bit tough and then the second half we were really good today.

“It’s always one point gained. We’re seventh or eighth in the league table in terms of home performances this season so we’ve got to tidy up our away form. Today was a really positive performance towards that.”

Cambridge head coach Colin Calderwood was reluctant to describe the result as two points dropped despite their half-time lead.

“I don’t know if you can say that when you’re 2-1 down,” he said.

“I never felt we might lose a goal so readily but the level, the power or the dominance of the game, wasn’t there. We certainly couldn’t be dominant around the box and lots of second phases went their way.

“I feel at the minute we’ve gained a point but if we’re an improving team it’s a point that should feel like two dropped, but today it’s not.

“We didn’t seize the moment of play, find the best pass and really kill them off. The keeper’s made a great save at 1-0 and at 2-2 but I forget that in the annoyance of thinking the game could be ours, should be ours and would be ours to the fact that we’re scrambling to get a point out of it.

“At least we’ve scored, at least we’ve got a point, at least we’ve shown some personality, but again it’s from a losing position. Somehow you must be able to show a bit more powerful performance within a 1-0 victory and just make sure it is a 1-0 victory.”