ANDY Mangan was the Stanley hero as his injury time goal rescued a point against the league's bottom club.
The Reds had looked on course for their seventh defeat in eight games when John Murphy tapped home to make it 3-2 on 89 minutes.
But Mangan got the ball in the area, shrugged off the defence and finished well to give the relegation-threatened Reds a vital point.
"That was a relief," said manager John Coleman. "There is no hiding it, we are in a relegation battle, and every point is now important. You can't fault our lads for effort and I am proud of their fighting spirit."
Stanley took the lead in the 27th minute with a superb overhead kick by Leighton McGivern - his first for the club.
However, his joy was shortlived as, after a tackle by Carl Regan, he was stretchered off with a broken ankle and could be out for four months.
Macclesfield began to up the tempo and equalised just after the break after a superb free kick from Jamie Tolley.
They were soon ahead when Matthew Titpon's shot was saved by Rob Elliot but it landed on the head of Martin Bullock who looped the ball into the net on 74 minutes.
However Stanley were back in it two minutes later through a disputed free kick on the edge of the area which Joe Jacobson curled into the net - his first for the club.
Then Murphy tapped home from close range and it looked like he had secured a crucial three points for Macclesfield - until Mangan's late show.
It was only Stanley's second point out of 24 and they dropped down a place to 21st in the league.
