Silkmen boss Keith Alexander was still struggling to contain his anger after the final whistle this afternoon, having seen his team fall to a controversial penalty award in first half injury time.

It proved to be the crucial moment in a game of few chances but despite his frustration with the official he still felt his side had failed to do themselves justice.

"We weren't at the races in the first half. They're a good side but we showed them far too much respect. But despite that we looked like going in at half time on level terms," explained Keith.

"But the referee had other ideas on his mind. There's no getting away from it. It was a bad decision and one that has ultimately cost us the game. If he takes the time to watch the video he will realise that but I think judging by everyone's reaction I think he knew that as soon as he had blown the whistle."

"A draw against Rochdale would have been a good result for us but in the end we got nothing."

"I tried to use the decision to get the lads going at the break. We hadn't done enough in the first half. And we did improve in the second half. But at the moment the ball just isn't going into the net. We created a few chances today but we are still not doing enough in the final third. Someone has to take it upon themselves to put that right."

"I fully understand the fans' frustration. We all want to be up there challenging for the play-offs. It's doubly frustrating as we have shown in patches, especially at the start of the New Year, that we can compete with the best sides in the league."

"But we've struggled in the last three games and it is important we bounce back quickly. The game against County on Tuesday therefore takes on more importance. The one thing we aren't doing though is looking over our shoulders. That's been a regular event at the Moss Rose in recent seasons. So we can point to steady progress albeit it hasn't been as marked as I would have liked."

"We've the rest of this season to ensure we continue to build on that and now is the time for strong characters to show themselves as we all work towards that common aim."