A 65th minute penalty from Macclesfield's Tom Clare was enough to secure a 3-1 win at Moss Rose against Prestwich Heys on Tuesday night.
Heys were sitting second bottom of the North West Counties Premier League and were looking to get some points on the board after losing the first three games of the season with manager Matt Barnes including new defensive signing Alex Mcquade, who joined on dual registration terms from Widnes earlier in the day.
In a scrappy opening exchange both teams were trying to get the upper hand and it was the home side first to show when in the12th minute when after intercepting the ball it was Aaron Dwyer who rounded Heys keeper Russ Saunders and into the net.
It was Dwyer who was catching the eye for Macclesfield giving the visitors a torrid time down the right-hand side but Heys were gradually working back into the game notably in the 17th minute when full back/winger Krisel Prifti ran down the left and found Jamie Hill who fired over from 25 yards.
Heys striker Jack Coop was also busy and fired over the bar shortly after and Prifti again on 31 minutes, who after some great work by midfielder Brad Sixsmith put in a lovely cross but couldn't find a Heys shirt.
Macclesfield then had a goal chalked off for offside and with the game now a lively affair Macclesfield hit a second goal on 41 minutes with Laurent Mendy firing a 25-yard shot which seemed to go right through Russ Saunders and into the net.
Back came Heys again with good work from Lee Grimshaw finding Jack Coop who fired wide left but Grimshaw was again at the heart of it on the stroke of half and was rewarded when his low drive from the edge of the area flew past Macclesfield keeper Ben Pierce and into the net to half the deficit.
So, 2-1 at the break and despite Macclesfield having the upper hand Heys were more than still in this game and continued to go toe to toe with the home side although Aaron Dwyer was continuing to be a menace to the Heys back four and as the half went on the pressure on the visitors intensified and the game was decided in the 65th minute in bizarre fashion.
The referee, despite no shouts from either the players or the crowd, awarded the home side a penalty after a shot was allegedly handled on the line by a Heys defender. The referee waved a straight red card at debutant Alex Mcquade who walked off the pitch to the dugout and then waved back on after it was decided it was centre half Anthony Potts who had committed the offence.
So, with Prestwich down to 10 men it was striker Tom Clare who stepped up to take the kick and convert passed Saunders for 3-1 and end the game as a contest.
Heys continued to battle hard but with caution under the circumstance with centre half Aidy Bellamy coming on as a substitute. Macclesfield nearly added a fourth late on with a shot that rattled Russ Saunders right hand post and the 'silkmen' knew the points were in the bag by the time the referee blew the final whistle.
The search goes on for Heys first points of the season but if they keep battling away like they did here, fortunes will change very soon indeed.