The Silkmen made the short journey up the road to local rivals Stockport County this evening hoping to make it three wins in win. But those hopes were dashed by a polished Hatters side who made it 6 straight wins with a 2-0 victory thanks to a brace from Jason Taylor.

With a great atmosphere for a local derby both sides started lively but it was the home side who almost took the lead in the fifth minute when a through ball found Liam Dickinson. However the prolific striker saw his shot go wide of Jon Brain's goal. A minute later Jon Brain was again in action, making a great save to tip a Tommy Rowe diving header over the bar.

The Silkmen won a corner but the kick was well claimed by John Ruddy. Quick thinking from the keeper saw his long kick up field find Jason Taylor who whipped in a cross that was cleared by youngster Shaun Brisley for a corner. From the resulting kick County took the lead when the ball fell to Ashley Williams who put the ball back into the mix and it was Jason Taylor who turned and smashed the ball past Jon Brain from ten yards out.

The Silkmen struggled to get out of their own half until the half hour mark to register their first shot on target when a floated ball into the box by Terry Dunfield was met by the head of Martin Gritton. But the front man was not able to get any real purchase on the ball and it was easily saved. At the other end the home side looked more likely to score but were unable to add to the lead before the half time whistle.

At the start of the second period the Silkmen made a substitution with Gareth Evans replacing the injured Martin Gritton whose groin once again was causing him trouble.

The game was over as a contest within a minute of the restart when a cross down the right by Anthony Pilkington looked easy for Jon Brain but he dropped the ball into the path of Jason Taylor who fired the ball into the net.

The Silkmen continued to struggle to make a string of passes together and never looked like getting back into the game. However on the hour mark they did have a good shout for a penalty turned down when ball into the box by Francis Green looked to have hit a County defender on the arm. The referee waved away the appeals and the home side played on, moved the ball quickly up to the other end to Liam Dickinson who looked to lob Jon Brain but the keeper was alert and collected the ball.

The Silkmen's second attempt on target came with twenty minutes left when from eighteen yards out Terry Dunfield shot straight into the arms of John Ruddy. The Silkmen made their second change of the night shortly after when James Jennings was replaced by Scott Spencer.

Scott look bright once on but was unable to put the County under real pressure. One more substitution was made in injury time when Francis Green was taken off for Izak Reid. The youngster had an immediate impact with some good runs down the right but it all came too late as the final whistle blew shortly afterwards, leaving the 900 plus travelling fans disappointed and contemplating a crucial game with Barnet on Easter Monday.

Dean Bamford