Macclesfield 0 City 2
When I arrived home afterwards I was amazed to find highlights of the game on BBC1. How many people nationwide were watching this in preference to highlights of the England game I don't know, but it was like an 80s childhood treat.
I'm sure most of you will have seen these, even if you weren't at the game, so I won't go into too much detail about the match stats. The result was never in doubt, even after a goalless first half.
Macc got stuck in and didn't disgrace themselves, but only threatened once when a deflected shot looped onto the bar at 0-1. After N'Guessen's cool-headed back-heel and Fryatt's storming run and finish, we could easily have had more in front of our end.
There were many pleasing aspects of the performance, team-wise and individually. The Fryatt-Howard pairing remains strong, and despite his tanned and gelled appearance, Wellens appears to be a player who can display either skill or steel as the situation requires…..
There was little to learn about the defence tonight, so we await a full examination of Weale's credentials. O'Neill at right-back looks too inexperienced for the Championship yet, but this 90 minutes will have been a beneficial experience for him.
Arguably our best two players on the night were down the left flank: Powell ever enthusiastic and Adams heavily involved in running and crossing – he made a strong case for more first team action than he saw in his first season. Finally, Waghorn was a real livewire – I'd never watch a live game on Sky featuring Sunderland as they are just too dull so I'm surprised they don't think he's an immediate asset to them.
But the main things to enjoy tonight lay in the relaxed setting. The Moss Rose ground retains – proudly according to Macc's website – its non-league feel. I parked my car so close to the ground that it would have been endangered by an untimely hoof.
No tickets were issued – just cash on the turnstile – get there early for the terrace crush barrier to lean on. Stewards joked with our fans throughout the match. You could hear the players and ref shouting during the game. We were pelted by misplaced shots during the warm-up. Salad days and halcyon times indeed.
I love cup runs and let's hope this is the start of another. It would be great to see how we'd get on against a Premiership side now if we can get some momentum going.
A lad at work sorts Bruno Berner's insurances out and he had revealed that there had been an air of nervousness in the camp in the last week before the season began. The Swansea win has certainly done the trick as relaxed confidence was the hallmark of our play tonight.
N'Guessen – 2 games, 2 goals (picture courtesy of lcfc.com)
CITY: Weale 5, O'Neill 5, Powell 8, Morrison 7, Hobbs 7, Adams 9, Wellens 8, Oakley 6, N'Guessen 6, Howard 8, Fryatt 8 (subs Gradel 7, Waghorn 7)
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation