EARLY mistakes from Fylde gave Macclesfield the opportunity to attack but the home defence just held out.

However with Fylde gaining and retaining possession Macclesfield were put under pressure and Fylde scored a converted try after nine minutes.

A penalty put Macclesfield within five metres of the try line but the chance was not taken and again some minutes later a penalty in front of the posts went begging.

The game swung backwards and forwards with neither side gaining full advantage. But when hooker Pete Allen made an excellent break Macclesfield should have scored, but they infringed at the scrummage under the posts.

As the half came to a close Macclesfield once again infringed when in a good position and Fylde came close after breaking out from their own 22 but the score remained the same.

Problems

The second half began with Macclesfield losing winger Mike Burgess with hamstring problems then giving away a penalty making them 10 points adrift, but Macclesfield struck back immediately with a catch from Dave Muckalt and a drive that put prop Scott Goodfellow in for a try.

At this stage Macclesfield looked better offensively than Flyde but stubborn defence prevented this and against the run of play the home side broke clear, chipped ahead and won the race for the touchdown making it 17-5. They increased their lead with another penalty conversion.

Macclesfield lost Muckalt, sin bin and scrum half Simon Johnson with a dislocated shoulder to make life very difficult in the last 15 minutes. However they stuck at it and still attacked but still unable to unravel the Fylde defence.

Coach Steve Rule said "that he was disappointed with the result after dominating much of the play, the team unable to convert pressure into points, and were perhaps a little na've at times".