Macclesfield 40 Coventry 10 by John Wilkinson.

Behind inside the opening thirty seconds, Cov never recovered and were outplayed all round by a sharper, smarter and much more streetwise Macclesfield side who handed out a harsh lesson in how to play the difficult conditions.

The tale of woe began when Cov, who had elected to face a strong, cold wind in the first half, failed to secure Macclesfield’s kick-off at the first attempt, were put straight on the back foot by a clearance kick which died in the wind and failed to make touch, and then left space in the middle for centre Fergus Mulchrone to score after 29 seconds.

It didn’t get a lot better over the rest of a first half which saw Cov generally give away possession whenever they made any progress and fail to reach the home 22 with ball in hand while their now buoyant hosts claimed three more tries under the prompting and probing of scrum-half Charlie Mulchrone.

Cov’s forwards were unable to dominate as they had in recent games against a strong Macclesfield eight and as a consequence an evolving back division – including three players making their first start – struggled to make any impact, which added up to a sorry show all round.

Cov’s early-season exploits mean that despite sliding down to 12th place in the National League One table, they retain a good cushion over the three sides currently occupying the relegation spots.

But every performance like this drains a little more of what confidence there is within the squad and with injuries continuing to bite deep in key areas, Cov’s coaching team have a job on their hands to stop the rot and get things back on track over the next two months.

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