Avro manager Alex Frost had good reason to be philosophical after his side conceded three goals in the last quarter of an hour to suffer a heavy 6-0 defeat at league champions Macclesfield in the Cheshire sunshine on Saturday.

The visitors trailed by a solitary goal going into first half injury time until James Berry’s penalty doubled his side’s lead with his second of the afternoon. And although the two teams remained evenly matched for the first 20 minutes of the second period, the home side ran away with the game after that as Avro wilted in the heat.

“I thought our shape was excellent for much of the game, they couldn’t break us down and we looked like we could hurt them on the break. However, that took a lot out of the players and they ran us ragged in those last 20 minutes,” said Frost.

Berry went on to score four times, including a second spot kick, with debutants Callum West and Alex Kiwomya also getting on the scoresheet. Meanwhile at the other end Avro substitute Kyle Jacobs was inches away from a consolation goal when his 25-yard effort smashed against the crossbar, with home keeper Sam Ashton looking on hopefully.

However, Frost refused to be too deflated by the heavy defeat.

“We’re all hugely disappointed with the result, this team is full of winners and when you take a beating like that, it really hurts,” he said. “ But we have to put it in perspective. They had a guy out there making his debut today who spent five years at Chelsea, who has never played lower than the Conference National, which is four levels above this one.

“They are on a different planet from us financially, and indeed from any other team in this division. They have thousands coming through the turnstiles every week, and that has eventually paid off for them and they have run away with the league.

“Good luck to them going forward, but we would have to get a couple of promotions before we ever came up against a side as well-resourced as that again. So we’ll lick our wounds, regroup and make the most of this 10-day break to ensure we are ready for Abbey Hey when they come to our place next week.”

One bright spot on an afternoon to forget was the reappearance of Louis Potts after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.

“He wasn’t 100 per cent and a few of the other lads were also playing with niggling injuries,” Frost added. “They all wanted to be a part of this one and I am disappointed for them with the way that things have panned out, as always there was no lack of heart from them but it wasn’t enough today.

“However, they are still a young group of lads and they will learn from the experience.”

The uneven number of teams in the NWCL Premier Division means that Avro have a weekend off this coming Saturday, with just Winsford United to come in the league the following Saturday at the Vestacare Stadium.

Their season will only be extended beyond that date should they beat their local rivals next Wednesday night, with the Macron Cup not due to be played to its conclusion until May 14.