Macclesfield Town 2 Rochdale 2
Dale came from behind to grab a share of the points and extend an unbeaten away run that dates back to the first day of the season and end a calendar year that has seen them lose just twice on their travels in the League.
Already missing key players through injury and suspension manager Keith Hill also lost Tom Kennedy and Rory Prendergast to illness before the game as well as Kallum Higginbotham(back) and Lee McEvilly(heel) to knocks during it.
Though his side did not play as well as they are capable of they showed great spirit to come back from 2 goals behind in what were at times monsoon conditions.
The first half saw a disjointed performance from the visitors despite the fact that they had the apparent advantage of having the driving wind and rain at their backs .A word here for the fans who again turned out in numbers but had to endure the awful conditions stood on one of the remaining open terraces in League Football. In this modern day and age is it too much to ask that fans be sheltered from the elements when they have paid good money to watch a game of football?
After a scrappy start in which McEvilly's early volley, just over the bar ,was the nearest the vistors came to scoring struggling Macclesfield took a 2 goal lead.
On 20 minutes the visiting defence failed to deal with a Kevin McIntyre cross as it hung in the wind and Levy Reid was presented with a simple close range, far post finish.
Worse was to come on 30 minutes as Macclesfield goalkeeper Jonathan Brain scuffed his attempted goalkick but the ball somehow found it's way through a static rearguard and having raced away Martin Gritton squared for strike partner Gareth Evans to score from 15 yards.
After a half time team talk the visitors improved markedly in the second period but almost paid the price for a series of missed chances.
On 55 minutes, after McEvilly had limped off, Rory McArdle must have thought that he had equalised with a flicked header from a Kallum Higginbotham corner only for Adam Murray to produce a wonderful goalline clearance with a little help from the underside of the crossbar.
Adam Rundle reduced the deficit on 64 minutes as having gained possession in the box he cut onto his right foot to get in a shot that took a wicked deflection off defender Luke Dimech to wrong foot his keeper and divert into the net.
From then on in it was all Dale as Macclesfield seemed content to hold what they had but a series of chances came and went with Adam Le Fondre volleying wide after a clever Glenn Murray flick, seeing an effort brilliantly saved by Brain and them missing from close range after good work by another substitute Joe Thompson on 79 minutes.
On 85 minutes Thompson saw his goal bound effort blocked with Simon Ramsden firing the rebound over and after Macclesfields Nick Blackman had been denied by Sam Russell it appeared that John Doolans 90th minute free kick that fizzed just over the bar would be the last real opportunity to get something from the game.
Deep into time added on though Glenn Murray rose highest to head home Joe Thompsons corner to give his side what was looking at one stage as being an unlikely point and to send the travelling faithful into raptures of delight and just for a second they will have forgettten just how wet and miserable they had become.
Again the result underlined the spirit and sheer will to win in the dressing room but with another injury crisis looming and the squad reduced to the absolute bare bones how long can Keith Hill's young guns keep competing at the top end of the table without dipping into the transfer market when the window opens in the next few days?
Team
Russell, Ramsden, Holness, McArdle, Stanton, Higginbotham (Thompson 63) Jones, Crooks(Doolan 59) Rundle, Murray, McEvilly( Le Fondre50)
subs n.u Spencer, D'Laryea
