Macclesfield stunned Championship Blackpool with a Shaun Brisley goal against the run of play and after Martin Gritton doubled the lead the Silkmen grew in confidence and were well worth their win.

Terry Dunfield and visitors' skipper Keith Southern were dismissed for an altercation seconds before Macc's second but they defended solidly and will now dream of pulling a Premier League side out of the hat in the Second Round draw.

After the disappointing four goal defeat at Shrewsbury, Keith Alexander made just one change with Gareth Evans replacing Francis Green.

On loan Birmingham frontman Sone Aluko looked lively early on and after a smart turn he saw his 20 yard effort blocked in the area amid half-hearted handball claims.

Macc's first foray into the Blackpool half came five minutes in when Gritton's neat pass found Evans in a promising position on the right but as he crossed for Jamie Tolley the flag went up.

For long periods of the first half it seemed like a game of attack against defence as the Silkmen struggled to properly clear their lines and the trickery of Adam Hammill and Gary Taylor-Fletcher caused a number of problems down the flanks.

Brisley was booked for a crude challenge on Hammill on 15 minutes as the highly rated Liverpool youngster looked to surge into the box.Hammill took the set piece himself and the linesman's flag came to the rescue for Macc when big Ben Burgess scrambled the ball in at the near post.

Centre back Ian Evatt was denied his first goal in over a year when his glancing header from a corner was hacked off the post by Brisley but moments later the ball was in the other net from a rare Macc attack.

A free kick from the halfway line was nodded down by Gritton and Brisley got to the loose ball first to poke through the legs of former Rochdale stopper Matt Gilks.

The tricky Danny Thomas provided glimpses of how dangerous he can be with the ball at his feet and one of his mazy runs drew a foul out on the left.Tolley's dinked free kick was met at the near post by Gritton but the big striker squandered a glorious chance to score a quick second as he headed wide under pressure.

Danny Thomas - Linked up well with Deen down the Macc left

The unlucky Evatt was denied yet again from the Blackpool corner when Burgess headed the deep cross back across goal and his close range header came back off the crossbar with Jonathon Brain beaten.

Despite going behind the visitors still played some attractive football and looked likely to level.On 32 minutes Hammill's brilliant diagonal ball found Taylor-Fletcher on the right and his first time cross drifted perfectly in for Aluko to head well wide from 10 yards.

The ball stayed in the Macclesfield half for the remainder of the first period, but resilient defending frustrated their loftier opponents.

Macc looked most threatening from set pieces and into the second half Gritton's diving header from Dunfield's free kick looked to be heading on target before hitting strike partner Evans.

Taylor Fletcher took advantage of a rare lapse in concentration in the home backline, finding space to square the ball across Southern who miss-hit his effort allowing Brain to scramble across his line and watch the ball trickle wide.

Southern's evening then went from bad to worse, getting involved in a disagreement with Dunfield after a free kick decision went against his side and with hands raised from both players they were both immediately shown red.

The resulting free kick was nodded across the box and with Gilks caught out of position Gritton pounced to head in from close range.

Martin Gritton - Netted his first goal of the season

Blackpool seemed to lose their attacking threat after the second with only occasional flashes of inspiration from Hammill or long balls up to Burges posing a threat.

As the balance of the match swung in Macc's favour they could have put the game to bed when Jamie Tolley latched onto a ball chipped over the top and with the away defence waiting for a flag which never came he drilled wide.

A few half chances were thrown away by Blackpool and as time ticked away the Seasiders never looked likely to hit back.

Substitutes Green and Izak Reid combined well against tired legs and almost provided a third when Green's cross just evaded Evans for Gilks to collect at the second attempt.

A frustrating night for Evatt was completed when again he went close with two minutes to go, this time expertly chesting down a half cleared corner to rifle a dipping volley inches over.

Green almost provided a third on the break in injury time but as the final whistle blew Keith Alexander will have been delighted with a clean sheet against opposition two leagues higher and a chance of a big game in Round Two.

Andy Brinkhurst