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EXPRESS sports editor Mike Glendinning is following their Silkmen on their Irish tour - here's his second report from the Emerald Isle

THURSDAY

Today I met a charming Irish chap in the street who took unkindly to me, apparently because I had no cigarettes to give him. I struggled to get by his particularly broad accent, though I was able to make out two words, neither of which were a) complimentary and b) printable here.

I’m collected at my hotel by Mike Rance and vice-chairman Andy Scott, who flew in this afternoon for the Distillery game.

Andy is also on his first visit to Ireland. He is, as I was, thirsty and keen to taste the Guinness over here and our first port of call is Bob Stewart’s, a renowned pub on the way to Distillery’s New Grosvenor Stadium in Lisburn.

Andy reveals that the first batches of replica kits have arrived from Adidas and the sports and fashion clothing expert is suitably pleased with them. He’s happy to report that they’re excellent, very professional looking and, as the players are wearing the yellow third strip from a few years back and training gear that is well past its use-by date, they can’t wait to get kitted out properly.

Director Jeremy Turner, who has made the long journey with a long drive to catch a ferry from Stranraer, joins us in the bar. He too is keen to sample the black stuff and, especially as we’re only a couple of dozen miles from the Guinness brewery, I felt it would be churlish not to join him.

Distillery are well into their pre-season preparations as they have played Intertoto fixtures in the last few weeks so they’re perhaps a yard or two ahead of the Silkmen in their preparation.

With the only keeper on the books, Jonny Brain, suffering with a neck problem, Keith borrows the hosts’ second-string keeper for the game. A back five start the match, with Izak Reid, set to play his third full game in four days, at right-back, Brisley, Hessey and Walker in the centre of defence and Ahmed Deen on the left.

Dunfield, Bell, Thomas, Gritton and Green are the other five to take the field.

Macc take an early lead through Danny Thomas. A neat one-two with Lee Bell sets him down the left flank and he beats Whites keeper Phil Matthews to slot home the opener.

On the 15-minute mark, Thomas combined with Martin Gritton and Franny Green to set the latter up for a snap-shot that takes a deflection and goes wide of the mark.

Distillery had a couple of chances to score late in the half and Macc are, worryingly, starting to show signs of vulnerability at corners. Just two minutes after a header comes back off the bar, another set-piece sees Lisburn’s Wayne Buchanan sneak in at the back to nod home after Shaun Brisley can’t cut out the deep corner kick.

The teams go in for the break level at 1-1 and the Macc manager keeps the same XI for the start of the second half.

As the Heavens opened, Thomas provides a fine ball across the face of the goal but Gritton and Dunfield are just a step behind the winger and can’t convert the chance.

Ten minutes into the half, Thomas decides to go it alone, to great effect. Taking on two defenders, he makes space for a shot that deflects off one marker and loops over the stranded keeper for his and Macc’s second goal.

Matthew Flynn comes on for Brisley, who is visibly tiring after the week’s exertions and Gritts and Green make way for Simon Yeo and Gareth Evans in the latter stages of the game. Yeo has a couple of shots go narrowly wide and sees one saved by the keeper but Macc are largely untroubled and see out the match to clock up their second straight 2-1 win of the tour.

After the Macc, Keith is pleased with the result but not the performance. The tough taskmaster will make the players pay for it at training tomorrow – I’m glad I’m not in the ranks for that.

The trip is about much more than just turning out for friendly matches though. Keith and Gary Simpson are keen for the squad members to bond on this trip. Not in a drunken ‘you’re me bestest mate, you are’ kind of way but that integrates the new signings and first year professionals and strengthens the friendships that can become tested when things aren’t going to plan on the field. Simmo has a (not unfeasible) theory that a strong team spirit is worth between 10 and 15 points in a season.

They’re pleased with how that side of things is going and all the signs are good for the new season. After they have worked the players tomorrow, they’re off to watch a potential new signing play a match tomorrow night.

After the match, I blag an invite into the boardroom, where Distillery’s club officials present Mike Rance with a commemorative silver salver and they, like the Larne board, can’t do enough to make us welcome. As the three Macc representatives are all returning to England tomorrow morning, we can’t stay as long as we would have liked though.

SATURDAY

Macc’s final game of the tour involves a visit to Irish premier side Coleraine.

Jonny Brain returns to the side with Matthew Flynn, Sean Hessey, Paul Morgan and James Jennings in the back four.

Neil Harvey and Nick Blackman flank Jordan Hadfield and Chris Millar in midfield and Gareth Evans and former Coleraine favourite Simon Yeo are the forward pairing.

Plenty of Macc fans have made the trip to the Showgrounds and, with two victories in the two previous games this week, hopes were high for a clean sweep.

However, the Bannsiders are no pushover and prove a tough test for Macc in their fourth game in six days.

Millar had a speculative shot sail narrowly over the bar and, in a lively opening five minutes, Yeo hits a shot straight to the keeper before Blackman turns his man to make space but sees his effort deflected wide.

Shortly before the half-hour mark, Hadfield received a pass from Blackman but his strike is wide of the mark.

In the half’s best chance Yeo, patrolling the left flank, puts in a good cross from which Millar brings a fine save from the home keeper.

Although no changes are made at half-time, shortly after the restart, the stadium announcer is taken by surprise by Keith’s seven-man replacement, and he declares: "This set of boys are coming on for another set of boys who are going off."

For the record, the oncoming boys are Terry Dunfield, Martin Gritton, Franny Green, Ahmed Deen, Izak Reid, Danny Thomas and the man who, according to the aforementioned announcer, "doesn’t exist on my sheet", Lee Bell. Those making way are Morgan, Millar, Blackman, Evans, Jennings, Yeo and Harvey.

But seldom has such a drastic change-around had such a negative effect and, less than a minute after the substitutions, Brain makes a hash of a routine collection and, as the Coleraine striker nips in, is tripped by Brain’s attempt to recover.

The resulting penalty is tucked away, and sparks the hosts into life.

Inspired by their only full-time professional, Coleraine have the better of the second half and, but for some wayward finishing and an excellent double save from Brain to make up for his earlier error, could have secured victory.

Macc do, however, almost equalise with five minutes remaining. Gritton fed Thomas on the right and the winger cuts inside before letting fly with a vicious drive that cannons back off the inside of the near post.

The week ends in defeat for the tourists then, but with plenty of games to go before the season starts at Shrewsbury on August 9, it’s been a successful trip for Keith and the Silkmen.