Derby Day

SCFC vs. Macclesfield Town
Moss Rose, 3pm

Today is one of those dates most keenly looked for in the footballing calendar; a meeting with a local rival. In this case, County make the relatively short trip to Macclesfield for a game that bears more significance than who has the local bragging rights.

Almost 4 years ago, County were well and truly demolished 6-0 in this fixture, leaving us rock bottom of League 2 and staring non-league football in the face. What happened afterwards is a tale of returning heroes, epic last day survival, record breaking runs (for the right reasons) and eventually, promotion. We've since paid the price for that high, and now return to Moss Rose once again occupying one of the relegation spots (yes, I know there have only been 4 games played).

This is one of those games we have to win. Not only would the 3 points be very welcome, but also as a means of exorcising the ghosts of that 6-0 defeat. It would also help erase another painful memory for County fans. Unable to play an FA Cup tie at Edgeley Park due to pitch conditions last year, we ended up playing "at home" to Torquay at Moss Rose. As if playing a home tie on someone else's ground wasn't bad enough, we lost 4-0 to a side near the bottom of League 2 (ok, we were bottom of League 1 at the time, but that really was unacceptable).

What is quite positive today is that we have 3 (yes, three) new signings eligible to play. Robbie Williams I've mentioned previously, while yesterday, goalie Matt Glennon and midfielder Josh Simpson were signed up. For a long time we've been without decent cover for OFW in goal, and Simpson - despite being so young- does seem to have a bit more experience about him than our current midfielders. Hopefully they will have a positive impact both in terms of results and team morale.

I'm quietly confident today that we can get something from the game. Last weeks non-performance obviously hurt everyone, and I suspect nothing less than a whole hearted, battling performance will be accepted by Paul Simpson or the fans. Lets face it, if you can't motivate yourself for a derby game, there really is no hope. If we can get that, we certainly stand a decent chance of gaining that elusive first win.

-- Post From My iPhone