A brilliant brace from Luke Duffy helped Macclesfield to progress in a six-goal thriller against Alfreton Town in the Isuzu Fa Trophy.
The Silkmen had already travelled to The Impact Arena earlier this season and lost out in the FA Cup. But Alex Bruce’s men were determined to avenge that defeat.
Their cause was helped after just one minute, when Kane Drummond opened the scoring brilliantly, as he smashed the ball past the goalkeeper after finding his way in behind the defence.
But the home side soon struck back, firstly through Jake Day in the 14th minute. And then two minutes later earned a soft penalty for a light push in the box.
Justice was done though, and Dylan Berry made a fantastic save with his legs to keep the scores level.
Despite the reprieve, Alfreton continued to press and got their second goal in the 27th minute through Dylan Motley-Henry.
Macclesfield pressed on again for the remainder of the first half but failed to equalise until after the break.
It took until the 63rd minute for the equaliser, and it was an instant impact from substitute Brandon Lee, who found space on the left and delivered an inch-perfect cross to Duffy, who tapped in from close range.
This equaliser flipped the game on its head, and now The Silkmen were in the ascendancy, dominating all aspects of the game.
And the pressure soon paid off in the 74th minute, when Macclesfield themselves had a penalty for a foul on Rooney.
Alex Curran stepped up to take the spot kick and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to put The Silkmen back into the lead for the second time.
Then up stepped Duffy once again to seal the game with just seven minutes left to play, and it was the pick of the bunch.
He received the ball on the halfway line and took on multiple defenders before making his way into the box, cutting back and then calmly finishing into the bottom corner to take the game away from Alfreton.
The Silkmen saw the game out after the fourth goal and now progress to the next round of the Isuzu Fa Trophy.
The games come thick and fast now and we head back to The Leasing.com stadium on Tuesday for a battle against Atherton Collieries in the league, where Alex Bruce will hope his players can build on Saturday’s result.
By Kallum Bates
