Macclesfield manager Daryl McMahon was frustrated that his side couldn’t take all three points at Walsall on Saturday. Miles Welch-Hayes’ first goal for the club was cancelled out by Wes McDonald’s strike in an entertaining draw at the Bank’s Stadium.

Despite ongoing off the field problems, it was Macc that took the lead inside ten minutes. It was clear that the Silkmen were trying to exploit spaces out wide with the overlapping of Fitzpatrick and Welch-Hayes proving particularly effective, and it was from one of these attacks that first goal came along. Jay Harris ran fiercely from deep before passing to Arthur Gnahoua who rolled the ball to fullback Welch-Hayes, he then tiptoed into the box from the right before smashing the ball low and hard across Roberts’ goal for the opener.

Macc had plenty of opportunities to double their lead before half time – McCourt’s curling effort fell wide of the goal whilst Gnahoua tested the ‘keeper with a header from close range. Walsall had only one chance of note when Mat Sadler forced Evans into a reflex save from Danny Guthrie’s corner.

Darrell Clarke brought on Cameron Pring at the break, but it would be a while before the sub would prove effective. Macc carried their attacking impetus into the second half, Gnahoua should’ve done better from Osadebe’s through ball and Harris was unlucky to see his 35-yard strike hit the top side of the crossbar.

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As the game progressed, the Saddlers looked increasingly dangerous with Wes McDonald looking to get on the ball. With 15 minutes left to play, substitute Pring found the striker inside the box, he then cut inside and curled past Evans to bring the game level. Macc’s on-loan goalkeeper would prove pivotal in keeping his side in the game late on. Heroics from a Josh Gordon shot and a Caolan Lavery header in the minutes remaining ensured the spoils were shared.

Speaking after the game, McMahon said: “I thought the lads were awesome today. The effort, the commitment to each other and the quality was terrific. We dropped off towards the end but in the first 60 or 70 minutes, we were very good.

“In the changing room, you feel like it’s not [a point gained] because we want to win. But I think it shows how far we’ve come as a group in the sense that we’ve come to Walsall, who were a League One club last year, and we’re disappointed that we only got a point out of the game.”

“It’s disappointing to concede towards the end because you want to get the win, but I look more at the opportunities that we had before that we didn’t take. I think that if you’re playing a side away from home in any league, and you miss two or three chances that you should take, then you always leave the door open for the opposition to creep back in.”

“We’re a young team. We’ve got energy, we’ve got legs and we’re going to go after people. That’s just how it’s going to be. Anyone who has watched us this season, no matter what the result, has seen that is what we base our performances around.”

Macclesfield will now play two home games in a row, a meeting on Saturday with Plymouth before a Boxing Day visit from Grimsby Town. Meanwhile, Walsall face a challenging trip to high-fliers Exeter City on the weekend.

words Will Farr, D3D4 Macclesfield Town correspondent