Crewe Alexandra team of teens and trialists lose 2-1 to Macclesfield
Crewe Alexandra went to Macclesfield this week for the first time since January 2020.
The pre-season football match was a 7:45 kick off, on the evening of Tuesday July 5.
Just under 100 Crewe fans made the 22-and-a-half mile journey north east to our Cheshire East neighbours Macclesfield FC.
Crewe looked like a draw was certain until the final chance of the game left Crewe with a 2-1 defeat, but considering it was an individual's mistake which led to the defeat, the young team can be proud of their performance.
The game started slow, but Crewe had the first chance.
James Berry had the first big attempt for Macclesfield, which set the tone for the first half, as would threatened with a free-kick, and then later a goal after receiving a peach of a ball from right-back Jacob Hanson.
The right-bank hoofed a ball from the right from the central third to the opposite flank, cherry-picking Berry, who would slice a strike from just inside the penalty area past The Railwaymen keeper Tom Booth.
The goal came at the eve of the 38th minute, and gave Manager Danny Whitaker the confidence to bring on five subs at half-time.
Just before the hour mark, The Silks thought they'd doubled their lead when Lewis Fensome had the third touch from a corner ball tapped into the net.
Sadly, his deflected shot was disallowed for offside.
The Alex took advantage of this muted celebration, by drawing level just seconds later.
The Football League club - which fielded a mid-strength side of teenagers and triallists - took advantage of a corner goalkeeping fumble to score.
Youth player Max Woodcock was the scorer, and his parents were in attendance to watch his equaliser, as was his 23-year-old Crewe Alex-playing brother Ross.
Max Woodcock took the shine from Liverpool loanee Marcelo Pitaluga's first Macclesfield appearance, who failed stop the six-yard-box shot in the opposite corner in an otherwise competent debut.
Five more Silkmen subs came in response, and fifteen minutes after Woodcock - who was a substitute himself - had to go off.
In a valiant effort to keep play going, Woodcock clipped in a low cross into the Macclesfield penalty area, but simultaneously crashed into an advertising board and the medical staff were called on.
It was a nervy six minute wait, with even an ambulance waiting for him outside, but thankfully he revealed to be okay after the game despite a loss of consciousness.
And while this injury did not stunt Crewe's performance completely, the majority of chances in the final fifteen minutes belonged to Macclesfield.
Macclesfield's Harry Freedman had multiple chances, and a slew Silkmen of corners piled on the pressure.
This culminated in the sixth (and final) minute of stoppage time, where 32-year-old Andy Owens called for a corner, and delivered when he received a fumbled catch from Crewe's keeper.
The Liverpool-born journeyman slotted home and screamed in celebration, which reminded fans that this indeed was a derby game, even with the milder temperament of it being a pre-season fixture.
A resilient Crewe eventually came unlucky. But with a line-up featuring four triallists and players as young as 16, this was not representative of the side we can expect in League Two next season.
Despite the last minute fixture, Crewe's evening ended on a positive note, as Alex Morris confirmed in a post-match interview that after a hospital visit, Woodcock was indeed okay.
Woodcock even himself tweeted early on Wednesday afternoon, thanking the medics and joking to Macclesfield "'is the board okay?".
Crewe Alex's next pre-season fixture is today at Kidsgrove Athletic, where a less trialist-heavy side is expected to be fielded.
Line-ups:
Macclesfield FC: Marcelo Pitaluga, Jacob Hasnson, Sam Grimshaw, Lewis Fensome, Zeki Fryers, Laurent Mendy, Neil Kengni, Mark Duffy, Tom Clare, Alex Curran, James Berry (Subs Used: Neil Danns, Harry Freedman, Andy Owens, Tre Pemberton, Trialist B, Brandon Lee, Harry Bower, Jelani Blake, Trialist A).
Crewe Alexandra: Tom Booth, Zak Kempster-Down, Lewis Billington, Trialist A, Connor O'Riordan. Billy Sass-Davies. Matus Holicek, Trialist B, Trialist C, Owen Lunt, Trialist D (Subs Used: Max Woodcock, Jack Flint, Lucas Sant, Charlie Finney.
Crewe Alex's first competitive match of the new season begins later this month.
They will take on Rochdale at the Crown Oil Arena, on Saturday July 30.
Their first competitive home game of the new season is against Harrogate Town, with the Sulphurites coming to the Mornflake Stadium one month from today on Saturday August 6.
You can buy season tickets here.
See Also: UEFA reveal Crewe chosen as base camp for Women's Euro 2022 Iceland national team
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