TOM Kennedy's penalty in first half stoppage time consigned Macclesfield to a third successive defeat.

Rochdale were awarded the spot kick after Chris Dagnall was upended by Jon Brain when through one on one with the Macc goalkeeper.

Brain insisted he made contact with the ball first, but was at least  spared a red card - getting away with just a yellow.

Still, he could do nothing to stop Kennedy's powerful strike into the bottom left hand corner.

Rochdale should have been ahead much earlier after dominating the first half.

Gary Jones saw a 20-yard drive deflected narrowly wide, and Dagnall thought he had opened the scoring with a point blank header that was diverted over the bar by Sean Hessey.

Scott Wiseman then found himself with a sight of goal, only for Brain to save with his legs.

Despite being penned back for much of the first half Emile Sinclair might have given Macc the lead shortly before break. The on-loan striker sprung the offside trap but took the ball too wide when one on one with Frank Fielding, allowing the keeper to make a save.

It proved to be particularly costly with Rochdale making tge break through on the stroke of half time.

Keith Alexander's half-time team talk obviously got the desired response with Macc enjoying their best spell after the break.

Nat Brown's 18 yard effort had Fielding at full stretch - and the Rochdale keeper was in action again shortly after to push away substitue Gareth Evans' strike.

Sinclair forced another save later on, but Macc couldn't find a way through.

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