Macclesfield hopeful of staging Everton FA Cup tie despite freeze
MACCLESFIELD TOWN remain confident tomorrow's FA Cup tie with Everton will go ahead - despite not being able to do any work on the pitch yesterday.
Fears that the current cold snap would make the Moss Rose surface unplayable prompted the Coca-Cola League Two club to seek help from volunteers to place extra covers on the pitch.
However, the club was yesterday foiled in its attempts to acquire specialist heated covers and were advised against using marquee tarpaulins as a makeshift measure.
Frantic calls to get some extra equipment were in vain, leaving them to rely on double layers of their own frost protection covers.
But the club is optimistic that sunshine forecast for today will ease the damage to the pitch and that more overnight covering can ward off the frost and enable the third round tie to go ahead.
"At this stage we remaion hopeful that the game will go ahead," said Macclesfield chairman Mike Rance.
"Once again we would like to thank these fans for their dedication in braving the cold on New Year's Day and coming along to help us out. But it's disappointing that we were unable to really get any work done on the pitch."
Macc manager Keith Alexander is just asking that his players give a good account of themselves.
"We just hope we don't go and disgrace ourselves," said Alexander, who last met Moyes just two seasons ago, when his Peterborough side were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Everton.
"It is a great day out for our fans. We will go out there and of course give it our utmost and our best. The lads are really looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, Lee Molyneux is set for a taste of FA Cup glory if he is included in Southampton's squad to take on Manchester United on Sunday.
The 19-year-old left-back and Goodison Academy graduate left Everton yesterday to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Saints.
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