Macclesfield FC are knocked out of the Isuzu FA Trophy after a 4-2 defeat on penalties against Altrincham.
Three minutes into the game, Matty Kosylo almost put Altrincham ahead when his deflected shot went wide of the goal.
In the 14th minute, John Rooney delivered a cross from a corner with the keeper struggling to handle the ball as Danny Elliott’s clear-cut chance from the six-yard box was magnificently blocked by Lewis Banks.
10 minutes later, the Silkmen would be a man down after an altercation with Kosylo, made the referee show a red card to Paul Dawson.
Max Dearnley was bound to busy in goal after the red card incident, keeping Macclesfield hopes alive after a brilliant save to deny George Wilson in the 27th minute.
Into the second half, Luke Duffy’s curling effort almost broke the deadlock, but the chance was cleared off the line by Tylor Gordon.
Despite the game being very close, Altrincham would put the pressure on and make the most of their advantage with 11 men, after Alex Newby failed to score within six yards with 20 minutes left to play.
In the 89th minute, the hosts came close to a winner when Regan Linney’s strike hit the bar, allowing Robbie Savage’s men to take the game to penalties and add more suspense in this derby.
Substitute, Danny Whitehead, stepped up first for the Silkmen but could only see his shot saved, before Elliott Osbourne’s penalty was smashed in off the bar.
Both Duffy and Newby converted their spot kicks to make the score 2-1 to the Robins.
D’Mani Mellor struck his penalty past the goalkeeper, before Banks scored to make it 3-2 despite Dearnley coming close to saving his effort.
Justin Johnson had to score to keep the FA Trophy dream alive, but sadly missed from 12 yards after hitting the crossbar as Linney made it 4-2 on penalties to send Altrincham into the fourth round.
Macclesfield return to league action on Saturday as they play Stockton Town at the Leasing.com Stadium.
By Charlie Oxtoby
