Taking no chances

ATHLETIC duo Neal Eardley and Deane Smalley sat out last night’s 2-1 win at League Two outfit Macclesfield Town purely as a precaution.

They didn’t feature in Dave Penney’s squad after picking up minor ankle and groin injuries against Bury last weekend. Neither is thought to be too serious.

Kelvin Lomax replaced Eardley at right-back, while Danny Whitaker came in for Smalley in midfield.

Chris Taylor got both goals, the first coming after five minutes, before scoring a late winner after Ross Draper had equalised for Macclesfield in the second half.

Penney said: “It was another good run out, but we probably didn’t play as well as we did against Bury.

“It’s another step in our preparations for the new season and the players will have benefited from getting more minutes behind them.”

Team: Brill, Lomax, Jacobson, Gregan, Hazell, Worthington, Whitaker, Furman, Abbott, Parker, Taylor. Subs: O’Grady, Ollerenshaw, Alessandra, Brooke, Rowney, Stephens, Trialist, Trialist.