Notts County suffered their first home defeat under Ian McParland at Meadow Lane this afternoon, as the Magpies fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Macclesfield Town.
A scoreless and relatively chanceless first period saw Richard Butcher force a fine save from Tommy Lee in the Macclesfield goal, but come the start of the second period the main talking point was that the visitors had already used all their substitutes due to a number of first-half injuries.
After putting the pressure on at the start of the second period and having seen Lee deny Dudfield with a fine save, the visitors took the lead just after the hour through Francis Green who showed his predatory qualities by firing a loose ball into the box past Kevin Pilkington.
Notts made changes in search of an equaliser, but they were unable to break down a well-drilled Macclesfield outfit - with Captain Adam Tann coming the closest with a header from a Paul Mayo corner fifteen minutes from time, but his effort was cleared off the line.
Notts boss Ian McParland had something of a selection dilemma for this game with Stephen Hunt back after injury, but he along with Myles Weston had to be content with a place on the bench as the boss stuck to the side which defeated Histon a week ago with the exception of Neil MacKenzie who was ruled out as a result of his hernia operation on Monday and Matt Somner stepped into the middle of the park.
Macclesfield meanwhile were aiming for a reaction to their FA Cup loss to Rushden & Diamonds last weekend, but they were dealt an early blow with less than ten minutes gone in the game as leading scorer Martin Gritton had to be substituted after suffering an ankle injury in the first five minutes. Despite trying to continue, he clearly couldn't carry on and he was replaced by Evans.
The first opportunity of the game fell on nine minutes to Richard Butcher at the far post, but he couldn't add to his six goals already this season as he drew a good stop from Tommy Lee in the Macclesfield goal. Shooting on his less-favoured left boot after cutting inside around twelve yards out, Lee was able to palm the ball out and Dimech cleared quickly to relieve the pressure.
In all honesty, despite the early pressure and seeing plenty of the ball, Notts were not really creating a great deal. Ian McParland and Dave Kevan were constantly out in the technical area urging the players forwards and clearly wanting them to be a little cooler and calmer on the ball - something McParland has spoken openly about.
It took until twenty-five minutes for the visitors to test Kevin Pilkington's reactions, and even when they did the 33-year-old wasn't called into anything other than a routine stop from Jamie Tolley's right-foot effort from the edge of the box which was straight at the former Mansfield shot-stopper.
Having only lost four League games this season Macclesfield were showing they were a tough nut to crack in terms of breaking down, with the bleach-blonde Tolley sitting in front of the back four and doing the dirty work in terms of breaking up the play.
The visitors were dealt another injury blow before the break, with Dunfield going off two minutes before the interval and he was replaced by ex-Magpie Adam Murray who had a very short spell at Meadow Lane in 2003 under Bill Dearden.
Try as they might, Notts weren't able to break the visitors down before the interval.
Half-Time: Notts County 0-0 Macclesfield Town
Both sides made changes at the break, with the visitors forced into their third and final change with debutant Sean Hessey replaced by McNulty, while after a frustrating first half for Andy Parkinson where he was unable to get on the ball he was replaced by Myles Weston for the Magpies.
Weston made an instant impact minutes into the half with a typical run down the left, and his cross was perfect towards Butcher at the far post but stretching to meet the ball he was unable to get any power on the ball and his effort went wide with McIntyre also putting pressure on the former Peterborough midfielder to shoot first time.
After an impressive scoring streak in recent weeks Dudfield almost added to his tally ten minutes into the second period, but after receiving the ball on the edge of the box and high in confidence his right-foot effort which was thundering into the roof of the net was tipped over the bar with his fingertips by Lee in the Macclesfield goal.
By the hour Notts were looking on top, but with their pace on the counter-attack the visitors were always dangerous and on sixty-three Francis Green took advantage of the ball bobbling around in the box to quickly snap up the scraps and slam the ball past a helpless Pilkington to give the Silkmen the lead.
After that goal Evans had two opportunities in the space of a minute to double the visitors' lead, but he clearly didn't have his shooting boots on and he was off target with both efforts.
Ian McParland introduced Spencer Weir-Daley into the action soon after the goal in a bid to change Notts' fortunes, with Richard Butcher moving into the middle of the park alongside Gary Silk with Matt Somner the man making way while Hector Sam replaced Craig Lindfield soon afterwards.
Pilkington had to be called into action to deny Green a second from the edge of the box as the game approached the final fifteen minutes, with the frontman given room outside the box to fire a low effort at goal, but diving to his left Pilkington turned the ball away.
From Paul Mayo's corner thirteen minutes from time Notts thought they had draw level as Captain Adam Tann met the ball with a firm header, but goalscorer Green was back on his own goal-line to hack the ball away, but came close with a low drive from a narrow angle late on as the visitors aimed to expose space at the back as the Magpies pushed forwards in search of an equaliser.
It wasn't coming, despite Weir-Daley heading wide in injury time from Myles Weston's left wing cross on a disappointing afternoon at Meadow Lane.
After a fine run of form in recent weeks, this result will no-doubt bring Notts back down to earth with a bump.
It's back on the road again next weekend at Lincoln, and the key now is to see the Magpies respond to this defeat. After a four-match unbeaten run after the defeat at Mansfield in October, McParland will be looking for a similar sort of reaction.
Notts County: Pilkington, Canoville, Tann (C), Pearce, Mayo, Butcher, Somner (Weir-Daley 67), Silk, Parkinson (Weston 46), Dudfield, Lindfield (Sam 73).
Subs Not Used: Sandercombe, Hunt.
Booked: None.
Sent Off: None.
Goals: None.
Macclesfield Town: Lee, Regan, Hessey (McNulty 46), Dimech, Green, Gritton (Evans 8), Thomas, Reid, McIntyre (C), Tolley, Dunfield (Murray 43).
Subs Not Used: Doughty, Brain.
Booked: None.
Sent Off: None.
Goals: Green (63).
Match Referee: Mr K G Evans
Attendance: 4,390 (223 Macclesfield Town Fans)
nottscountyfc.co.uk Man of the Match: Adam Tann
