MICHAEL Jackson may have been told that he can leave if he wants to, but he helped save North End's pride, cup hopes and their face with what was effectively the last touch of the game.

With what could pass for a full strength team out on the field, North End should have forged forward from the off.

But no great surprise with this North End side that the lower league side took the lead!

After just eight minutes, Dickson Etuhu lost the ball to Kyle Lightbourne. His ball into the box found Matthew Tipton, who chipped it cooly past David Lucas.

On 19 minutes, North End lost David Lucas to a knee injury and Tepi Moilanen was drafted on to the pitch.

Iain Anderson and Eric Skora both had good chances following the Macclesfield goal but it took until the 30th minute before the teams were back on level terms.

Skora - said to have been chatting to Thierry Henry recently - picked up a perfectly-placed ball from Richard Creswell to slide the ball in from close range.

And Preston should have been coasting to a 2-0 half-time score had Anderson not drilled a 30 yard shot over the bar, while Cresswell also missed a hatful of chances.

It was the same old story in the second half as North End continued to squander chances. Graham Alexander fed Anderson who sent a tough shot into the side netting.

Always with one pass too many, it look set to be another night of Worthington Cup extra time until Anderson put a perfect ball through to Jackson who buried the header into the back of the net!

MACCLESFIELD 1 PRESTON NORTH END 2