This afternoon sees at least 1500 fans head to the Moss Rose for the Cheshire Derby between the Alex and hosts Macclesfield Town, a team that has improved under the management of former England international Sol Campbell since his appointment at the end of November. The Alex won the reverse fixture 3-0 with goals from Charlie Kirk and Jordan Bowery twice.
Looking at the hosts, so far this season they have 7 victories, 6 draws and 18 losses in the league as they sit in 23rd place in the league. In the league, they have beaten Carlisle United, Yeovil Town, Exeter City, Crawley Town, Notts County, Grimsby Town and Oldham Athletic, they have drawn against Cheltenham Town, Mansfield Town, Forest Green Rovers, Newport County, Port Vale and Tranmere Rovers while they have lost to Swindon Town twice, Grimsby, Oldham, us, Stevenage, Lincoln City, Morecambe, Notts County, Tranmere, Northampton Town, Cambridge United, Bury, MK Dons, Colchester United, Carlisle, Cheltenham and Mansfield.
In cup competitions, they lost against West Ham United in the EFL Cup 3rd Round after beating Bradford City and Walsall, both on penalties, while they lost to Maidstone United in the FA Cup 1st Round. In the EFL Trophy, they finished 2nd in their group that contained Accrington Stanley, Blackpool and West Bromwich Albion’s Under-21 side before going out to Newcastle United’s Under-21 side in the 2nd Round.
Looking back in the archives, the two teams have met 11 times with the Alex leading the head-to-head with 6 wins to 3 with 2 draws. Macclesfield’s biggest win came at the Moss Rose as they won 4-1 in December 2009 whilst the Alex’s biggest win came in September 2008 with a 3-0 victory at the Alexandra Stadium in the EFL Trophy.
Who are the officials for the game?
The officials for this game see Geoff Eltringham as the man in the middle where he is assisted by Mark Pottage and Geoffrey Russell with Philip Dermott being the fourth official. Here are the Crewe games that have been refereed by Eltringham in the previous 5 years:
- Sheffield United 2-0 Crewe Alexandra (18th November 2014, FA Cup)
- Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Oldham Athletic (21st March 2015)
- Bradford City 2-0 Crewe Alexandra (14th November 2015)
- Blackburn Rovers 4-3 Crewe Alexandra (23rd August 2016) – Bingham (2), Dagnall
