Ebullient Forest Green head coach Mark Cooper joked that new contact lenses helped Farrend Rawson get his side back to winning ways.

Defender Rawson kept his eye on the ball to nod in a 75th minute winner, his first goal in 22 months, as Rovers ended a seven-game winless run against financially troubled Macclesfield Town.

Cooper quipped: “We finally got him (Farrend Rawson) some contact lenses and he got them upgraded at Christmas and they worked, and he managed to find the back of the net. I asked at half-time for someone to step up and big Faz did.

“We controlled the game and that’s 12 clean sheets, the most in the EFL this year, so we’re doing a lot of things right and we just need to get it right in January at the top end of the pitch and we need to score goals and get players in who can improve us and get better than what we’ve got.”

Meanwhile, Macclesfield players remain unpaid, but boss Daryl McMahon lauded the spirit of his side.

He said:: “It was a very good performance from us. I thought we were excellent from start to finish.

“To be unlocked by a set piece is disappointing but I am proud of the performance today.

“Owen made a very good save, we got into their box numerous times and had balls flashing across the goal but could not get on the end of it.

“I thought we looked really, really good in the first half.

“Forest Green will be in the top three when the season finishes. They have very good players, they are built to go into the next division.

“Their infrastructure is a million miles away from where we are.”