David Hodgson's refusal to lambast his players on Saturday suggests all is not lost after all.

You could forgive loyalty for getting in the way of the truth when a manager offers his post-match synopsis.

But as the Darlington manager demonstrated seven days earlier in the wake of a poor display at Cambridge, his opinion of events are normally an acceptable reflection.

At the weekend Hodgson chose to sound out the merits of his side despite League defeat number 13 of the season.

On another day - against York for example - Quakers may have won comfortably and all would've been fine and dandy.

Hodgson was as frustrated as anybody else on Saturday. And who could blame him?

His side had enough possession to dictate the run of play and more than their fair share of chances in front of goal too.

Effectively, it was Quakers' inability to perform in the final third which denied them a much-needed win at the weekend.

Macclesfield, it's safe to say, were there for the taking. The Silkmen's only other away win in the League this season came at Third Division whipping boys, Carlisle. And it showed.

But the vital statistic showed Macclesfield were one goal better, courtesy of Stephen Brackenbridge's 62nd minute winner.

"There was no creativity last week but I'm going to defend them because they created the chances," said Hodgson.

"We had four or five very good opportunities and we didn't take them. I'd like to think that on another day Wainy would have come away with a couple of goals.

"They had one opportunity in the second half and they took it.

"We had plenty of possession but that sometimes doesn't always work in your favour.

"You can sometimes get caught out and that's what they did.

"If Macclesfield had dominated the game and had possession for long spells we'd have a problem.

"But with all due respect we had the possession but maybe too much of it because with that many bodies behind the ball the game is opened up."

And once Brackenbridge had broken the deadlock from close range, Quakers' task was made all the more difficult by John Askey's side, who defended their precious lead in numbers.

"After they scored they virtually had six along the back which is very hard to break down," said Hodgson. "The longer the game goes on the more frustrated people become and that's when it starts getting a bit anxious and a bit messy."

The outcome may well have had a different bearing had Ian Clark converted early on.

With just three minutes on the clock striker Neil Wainwright span around his marker just inside the Macclesfield half before sending Clark clear with a well-weighted through ball into the box.

However, with a sight on goal, he took a bad first touch and the visitors were able to clear.

Even in difficult playing conditions, the frozen Reynolds Arena pitch failed to hinder an impressive opening from Quakers, who were passing the ball around with confidence.

And after a well-worked build-up Clark was unlucky not make amends for his earlier miss when he fired wide from Craig James' low cross from the left.

Sunderland defender James, who extended his loan stay with the club for another month last week, fired over on 20 minutes, before fellow loanee Lee Matthews sent a firm header over the bar from James' corner.

The tigerish Chris Hughes demonstrated how the wing-back role should be played when he won the ball from Colin Little with a crunching challenge before setting Matthews through on goal.

He managed to pull away from marker Michael Welsh but his goal-bound effort from the right was pushed away by Silkmen keeper Steve Wilson.

Quakers let another chance go begging just before half-time when Wainwright failed to control in the box after linking up well with Matthews.

And seven minutes into the second half James came agonisingly close to his second goal for the club when he side-footed Hughes' deep cross across the face of goal and just inches wide.

Wainwright and Matthews both had efforts on goal but to no avail.

And to the frustration of Quakers' lowest League crowd of the season - 2,920 - the visitors took the lead just past the hour mark.

Where Quakers had failed, Macclesfield substitute Brackenbridge took just seven minutes to get off the mark, tapping into an empty net after John Miles' initial effort was blocked.

There was still plenty of time for Quakers to equalise and after creating so many chances prior to the opening goal, there was always going to be a glimmer of hope.

But with most men behind the ball, the visitors were becoming increasingly difficult to break down.

There were appeals for a penalty in the 68th minute when Clark's shot on goal was charged down by the hand of Matt Carragher but referee Paul Danson - who managed to get through the game without sending off a Darlington player for once - was having none of it.

Hodgson introduced Mark Convery late on and the youngster looked Quakers' most dangerous player going forward.

Convery dragged wide an effort with a quarter-of-an-hour to go before crossing for Matthews, who shaved the bar with another header.

But it was Craig Liddle's miss late on which summed up a frustrating afternoon in front of goal for Quakers, when, with the keeper beaten, the defender's goal-bound effort took a deflection wide.

"We've got to keep believing what we're doing and that the chances we are creating will go in," said Hodgson.

"We've got to stay positive."

Result: Darlington 0 Macclesfield Town 1.

Read more about the Quakers here.