Theo Robinson's bundled strike 12 minutes into the second half gave Hereford victory over a Macclesfield side who again squandered a hatful of chances.

Martin Gritton had a goal ruled out for offside before the break as Macc failed to find a way past Wayne Brown and slumped to a fourth defeat in five games.

The Bulls looked to put Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Morecambe behind them and began strongly with Robinson's clever turn flummoxing Luke Dimech and forcing Sean Hessey to hack away his cross.

Macc, in search of their first double of the season, took five minutes to register their first effort on goal when Francis Green raced onto Carl Regan's ball over the top only to lash wildly over.

Jon Brain was called into action to punch away Simon Johnson's left wing free kick, but the former Port Vale keeper was also guilty of a few poor clearances which fortunately for the home side went unpunished.

At the other end Adam Murray saw a half volley deflected behind on 15 minutes and Green's low cross was smuggled to safety with Levi Reid waiting to pounce in the middle.

Bulls keeper Brown twice saved low to his right, firstly when Murray prodded Gritton's cross towards the bottom corner and then to deny Danny Thomas's venomous strike against his former side.

Clint Easton shot just wide for Hereford in the 27^th minute but for the rest of the half the chances all fell for Macc.  Gritton's snapshot from the edge of the area was smartly tipped over and from the resulting corner Hessey wasted the best opportunity of the half.  The on-loan Chester man was picked out unmarked at the back post from a corner and headed back across goal only for Dean Beckwith to nod off the line.

Sean Hessey - Should have put Macc in front in the first half

A minute before the interval the Silkmen did find the net but Gritton was judged to be offside when he tapped in Green's low centre from the right.

Half time came at a bad time for Macc who were beginning to turn the screw on their high-flying opponents and seemed to lose some of their vigour when the teams re-emerged for the second period.

Gareth Evans replaced a limping Green on 54 minutes but almost immediately the visitors went ahead with their first shot on target of the afternoon.  Murray's poor touch gifted Hereford a corner on the right and after Lee Collins's far post header was blocked Robinson smashed home through a crowded six yard box.

The goal knocked the stuffing out of Macc for a while and United looked to add to their lead by breaking dangerously down the wings using the pace of Johnson and Robinson.

Easton's 20 yard drive was collected by Brain and Toumani Diagouraga's shot was deflected over by Kevin McIntyre's desperate lunge.

A familiar change saw Simon Wiles introduced for Levi Reid with 25 minutes to go, but apart from winning a few corners the on-loan Blackpool winger struggled to influence the game greatly.

The match became rather stretched in the final 20 minutes as Macc threw a few extra men forward and left more space at the back.

A good spell of pressure allowed Thomas to cross from the left and when his ball was half cleared Regan charged onto the loose ball only to volley closer to the corner flag.

Danny Thomas - Put in a few good crosses but wasn't at his tricky best against his former side

Pushing more players further up the pitch certainly made more chances for the Silkmen but again woeful finishing cost them dear with Wiles guilty of slicing horribly wide from the right channel on 71 minutes.

An inspirational Regan run saw him storm forward and play a neat one-two with Gritton before beating another man and being chopped down just inches outside the box.  Beckwith was booked for the challenge and Dunfield curled the set piece just the wrong side of the post.

Carl Regan - Brilliant second half run almost made a goal from nothing

With time running out, the bulk of Macc's chances fell to Hessey pushing forward from centre back.  And unfortunately for the Silkmen, he wasn't brought to the club for his finishing prowess.  In the 84^th minute Brown punched a cross out to him on the edge of the area but was able to scramble back into position to save his skidding effort low to his right.

Hessey then saw two very similar opportunities come and go in the closing minutes when he was found lurking at the far post to collect deep corners.  He could take neither of them though as he hit a swerving drive just wide of the angle and then saw a second effort diverted behind off Collins.

The two minutes added on were just enough for Gritton to be denied for one final time when he headed too close to the keeper after being picked out perfectly by Regan's floated cross.

For the second home game running the Silkmen had dominated for long periods but failed to hit the net - a trend which must be stopped if Macc are to stay clear of the chasing pack at the bottom.

Andy Brinkhurst