A controversial, late equaliser from Dean Furman denied The Silkmen a slender victory on bank holiday Monday.
Macclesfield began the game in the ascendancy, and went close in the 6th minute when Alex Curran and Kane Drummond linked up.
The two Silkmen stars exchanged passes before Curran set Drummond away with a lovely pass, and his strike was well saved by Pilling in the Rylands goal.
Rylands had their share of chances as well in the first 20 minutes, but the Macclesfield defensive unit only limited them to half chances.
There was a big break in play during the first half, due to a serious injury to Rylands’ player Chinedu Uche. After 5 minutes of treatment he was replaced.
The Silkmen pressed on again after the stoppage and soon found the opener. Tre Pemberton was wonderfully found on the right and he cut the ball back towards the penalty spot.
Hayden Campbell was the man arriving into the box from midfield, and he finished like a seasoned professional to score his first goal for The Silkmen with 10 minutes to play in the first half.
The second period began with The Silkmen on the front foot once again, but resolute Rylands defending prevented the hosts from grabbing the all important second goal.
Macclesfield’s best chance of the second half came through Drummond in the 60th minute after wonderful play from Alex Curran.
Curran danced through the midfield and found an inch-perfect pass to Drummond, who couldn’t quite get the ball under his spell and allowed the goalkeeper to eventually gather.
As the game went on, Rylands became ever more confident, and had the lying share of possession in the final 20 minutes.
The Silkmen did a brilliant job of keeping their dogged opponents out, that was until a late, late winner from Dean Furman.
The referee had initially indicated that there were 5 minutes of additional time to be played, but it was well into the 99th minute that Furman found the goal, much to the frustration of The Silkmen fans around the stadium.
Tom Thorpe was sent off in the immediate aftermath of the goal for letting his feelings known to the referee, who eventually blew his whistle after eleven minutes of added time.
The Silkmen travel to Whickham on Sunday in the FA Cup first qualifying round, giving Mark Duffy and his players a chance to take the focus away from the league for a week, as a potential cup run beckons
By Kallum Bates
