Second-half goals from Luke Duffy and Alex Curran ensured that The Silkmen progressed through to the last 32 of the Isuzu FA Trophy against Curzon Ashton.
Fresh from his hat trick in midweek, Oumar Niasse was lively in the opening 20 minutes and could have put Macclesfield into the lead on a few occasions.
His first chance came in the 19th minute when Neil Kengni found him in the box, but Niasse’s header flew just over the bar.
The former Evertonian then had another opportunity just seven minutes later, but he was denied superbly by the Curzon goalkeeper.
But the closest that he came to opening the scoring was after 34 minutes when he played a 1-2 with Alex Curran before unleashing a venomous shot that whistled past the post.
The home side had their fair share of the ball in the first half, but the teams went into the halftime interval goalless.
The Silkmen came out firing in the second half and started to sustain their attacks well, retaining the ball in their opponent’s half and putting pressure on the defence.
Macc came close when Curzon Ashton’s defender nearly put the ball into his net, after a brilliant cross from Lewis Fensome that caused problems in the box.
Alex Bruce’s men continued to press forward and eventually broke the resistance of the Curzon back line in the 59th minute.
Kengni found space on the left-hand side and delivered a perfect cross to Duffy, who had the simple task of tapping the ball into the net to put The Silkmen a goal ahead.
The home team came back into the game after the opening goal, but Macclesfield managed to double their lead on the break when Duffy was fouled in the box for a penalty.
Curran stepped up to take the penalty and converted in his usual calm manner, to give The Silkmen a two-goal advantage with only 12 minutes to play.
Curzon Ashton threw caution to the wind after the second Silkmen goal but the brilliant backline stood strong and held out for a clean sheet.
The victory sees Macclesfield move into the last 32 of the FA Trophy, as a dream trip to Wembley moves ever closer.
But it’s back to league action next weekend for Alex Bruce and his players, as Bradford Park Avenue travel to The Leasing.com Stadium.
By Kallum Bates
