Macauley reaches milestone with Witton

Carl Macauley picked an Albion team for the 150th time before a competitive fixture, and was happy not to blemish his record with a reverse his side certainly didn’t deserve.

The Guardian emailed to him a copy of his record before kick-off.

“I enjoyed reading that – I’ve not done too badly!” he quipped during the post-game press conference.

Witton have won 78 games with the former Vauxhall Motors and Marine manager in charge, and are two short of 300 goals in that time.

His win percentage is 52 per cent.

Missed chance because chances were missed

The Witton manager said afterwards that the only criticism of his side’s encouraging performance was that they weren’t clinical enough.

It is important though to hail Peter Crook, Hyde’s goalkeeper, for his part in that; the Tigers’ number one was swift from his line to thwart Tom Owens twice when they came face-to-face.

He was bailed out by his crossbar more than once, while a defender did brilliantly to block a header from Josh Wardle on the goal-line by sticking out a shoulder while falling.

“We caused them a headache,” reflected Macauley, buoyed of course to see Albion creating opportunities.

How are the new recruits settling in?

It’s early days, of course, but the signs are encouraging.

There is an expectation that full-backs will attack often in Witton’s new formation, and James Yates showed a willingness to do exactly that despite having to keep an eye on Luke Porritt.

A challenge facing Josh Wardle at a higher level was illustrated perfectly by him having to contend with former Harrogate Town and Bradford Park Avenue attacker Chib Chilaka, and he fronted up well.

Billy Smart is exactly the profile of midfielder Macauley loves to sign – a high-intensity midfielder with deep reserves of stamina.

Greg Hall was perhaps most impressive, and he illustrated his value to the side with a perfectly-executed long kick to set in motion a counter-attack that ended with James Foley’s curling shot hitting the crossbar.

Early stages of an evolution

So fascinating is Witton’s metamorphosis in attack following Steve Tames’ departure that even the man himself was in the stand to watch is former teammates.

Carl Macauley switched Rob Hopley from a role in defence, which he performed at South Shields on Saturday, to a more familiar position alongside Will Jones up front.

Tom Owens was stationed closest to them, with Billy Smart, Cesaire and James Foley behind him, and tasked with reacting to their flick-ons and hold-up play.

With no natural width in midfield, there is an expectation that Witton’s full-backs will be aggressive in joining the attack.

It is a ‘work in progress’.

In praise of Tom Owens

The midfielder scored seven league goals last season and proof of him playing in a more advanced starting position is the fact he might have three already this time around.

Without Steve Tames, Carl Macauley is expecting those breaking from midfield – to support Rob Hopley and Will Jones in attack – to take on more responsibility to boost Albion’s goals tally.

Owens’ energy and willingness to take a risk saw him twice well-positioned in the penalty area only to be denied by Hyde’s custodian Peter Crook.

“If Tom adds goals to his game then he won’t be playing for us for much longer!” said Macauley afterwards.

“On a serious note, he’s a guy we love having around and he’s doing exactly what we’ve asked of him.”