Fair Point

A LATE equaliser from Antoni Sarcevic gave Argyle a hard-earned point at a battling Macclesfield Town in Sky Bet League Two on Tuesday night.

The Silkmen led through a first-half goal from Shilow Tracey and Argyle manager Ryan Lowe was full of praise for the home side’s character, as they fight for their lives near the bottom of the table after a turbulent campaign, but Pilgrim persistence paid off in the end.

Sarce scored the equaliser six minutes from time, converting the rebound after his initial penalty had been saved and, despite not reaching the quality heights of recent games, the Greens still dominated possession on a difficult surface and after a very busy recent schedule.

“I think a point was fair,” said Ryan. “We definitely didn’t deserve to win it, the quality wasn’t there tonight on a pitch where I don’t want to be too harsh, but it’s a good point.

“Teams are coming here and not a lot of them will win, whatever position you’re in, and we know that and respect that because they [Macclesfield] are fighting for their lives. They are galvanising each other, which is great to see - credit to where credit is due.

“We just weren’t firing on all cylinders today, they got blocks on the line, they put bodies in the way, they cleared everything, kicked everything and headed everything. Sometimes in this league, that’s what happens.

“The pitch wasn’t great but we still had 70% possession to their 30 but, overall, we didn’t do enough to win it, although we had some shots and blocks. They [Macclesfield] started bright and might be disappointed, but we’re happy with a point.

“They [the players] do get their rewards for sticking to the plan. There was a lack of quality in certain areas and that’s fine; it’s not for the lack of trying.

“They worked their socks off and that’s our second game in a few days. They’ve had to recover, we had a long journey up yesterday and we’ve had to get them out to stretch their legs today.

“It’s tough on them but the lads have been magnificent in their work ethic. There was a little lack of quality but they can’t have that quality every day of the week, and every game.

“We’ll accept it this once but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and recover properly for another important game on Saturday.”

Don't forget to attend our Community Open Day on Thursday.