A SUPERB first-half goal from Matthew Coughlan gave Winsford United the lead at the break, but efforts from Neil Danns and Tom Claire gave Macclesfield a 2-1 victory.

The Cheshire derby between Macclesfield and Winsford United attracted a capacity crowd of 4,353 at The Leasing.com Stadium.

The two sides were involved in a thriller at the Barton Stadium earlier in the season with the game ending 4-4 but this bank holiday duel turned out to be a nailbiter for both sets of fans.

Inside the opening minutes James Berry-McNally stung the hands of Ryan Hamer in the Winsford goal with an effort from distance, but it was the visitors who opened the scoring in the sixth minute.

A superb effort from Coughlan from outside the area flew past Samuel Ashton to give Blues the lead.

Lee Duckworth’s side nearly doubled their advantage moments later, when a mistake in the Macclesfield defence saw David Short through on goal but his chip went agonisingly wide of the near post.

After falling behind, the Silkmen were able to control the majority of possession but a solid defensive performance with Blues captain Steven Jenyons at the heart of it, was able to keep Macclesfield at bay.

In the opening minute of the second half two fantastic saves from a bicycle kick and a header following a corner by Ashton kept the score at 1-0 and they proved to be crucial saves for Macc.

With the hour mark approaching James Berry-McNally put Danns through on goal and he calmly slotted the ball into the far corner to level the scores.

As Macclesfield pushed for a goal that would put them ahead for the first time in the game, they came up against an in-form Ryan Hamer who pulled off a stunning reflex save to keep out Aaron Dwyer’s effort.

Just seconds later the hosts did find the goal to give them the lead.

Berry-McNally’s curling free-kick found the head of Claire who guided his header into the far corner.

Winsford did have opportunities in the final 10 minutes with Sam Madeley rounding Ashton outside his area, but the goalkeeper was able to recover from his own mistake to gather the ball to secure the three points for the Silkmen.