Dagnall does it late for Dale

Rochdale 2 (Dagnall 89, Rundle 90)
Lincoln City 0

Rochdale scored two late goals to get them back to winning ways as Lincoln City’s play-off challenge suffered another blow following last week’s defeat to Swindon. Chris Dagnall and Adam Rundle both scored in the final minutes of the match to give Dale a victory that their dominance had largely deserved, even though they left it late.

Both sides still harbour playoff aspirations, albeit Rochdale’s are distinctly feint given that they are eight points and six places behind Wycombe in seventh place. Their manager Keith Hill was quick to play down any playoff hopes despite his side’s quick recovery from midweek defeat. He said: “I think we saw the playoff window pass us by on Tuesday when we lost at Shrewsbury. The playoffs might be a step too far but we will keep going for three points at every opportunity.”

Substitute Dagnall struck Dale’s first to keep the unlikely playoff push alive with only a minute remaining, scoring his twelfth goal of the season in the process. He turned in Adam Rundle’s excellent low cross after the Dale winger had got to the by-line on the left hand side.

Junior Mendes drilled the ball inches wide as Lincoln went in search of the equaliser but Dale wrapped up the points when they caught the visitors on the break. The Lincoln defence was low on numbers, allowing Danny Reet to run at goal before playing in Dagnall. Rochdale’s top scorer turned inside to shoot only for his low strike to hit the far upright, but Dale had Rundle on hand to slam home the rebound.

The game had been entertaining enough but it looked as though the two defences would win out as the decent football of both sides struggled to carve out clear goal scoring opportunities before Dagnall and Rundle, between them, re-wrote the script. Both provided food for thought for their manager Keith Hill; Rundle’s contract is up in the summer and Dagnall is now pushing for a place in the starting line-up after scoring two goals from the bench since his return from injury.

Rundle squandered Dale’s best chance of the first half when he drilled his shot into the crowd after breaking clear on the left side of the Lincoln penalty area after being played in by David Perkins, as the Dale midfielder made one of his numerous bursts forward from midfield.

The most gilt-edged miss of the half, however, belonged to the visitors, when Jeff Hughes stole in at the far post, only to put his volley high over the crossbar from six yards out.

Earlier Lewis Dodds had been the first player to test Alan Marriott, the Lincoln goalkeeper, but his shot was not as good as the way in which he made space for himself on the edge of the box to get his strike in; Marriott’s stop was reasonably comfortable. Dale striker Dodds made a bright start and his looping header went narrowly over the bar after the Leicester loan player made contact with Ben Muirhead’s cross.

At the other end, Matthew Gilks’ biggest test came from one of his own players when Simon Ramsden got far too much power on a back pass and the Dale keeper had to head the ball clear from underneath the crossbar.

Both sides struggled with their finishing. Either side of half time Lincoln managed to create two rare decent chances. Hughes was allowed to make his way all too easily to the edge of the area but scuffed his shot wide and after the break Scott Kerr hit a tame volley into the arms of Gilks from ten yards out.

Rochdale went up through the gears in the second period and the majority of the game was played in the Lincoln half as the Imps strike force of Mark Stallard and Jamie Forrester proved to be much less effective than when they hit five goals between them in Lincoln's seven goal demolition of Dale earlier in the season.

However, the home side suffered some edgy moments thanks to Lincoln’s threat from set pieces. The home defence did well to emerge intact after a couple of nerve wracking goalmouth scrambles which culminated in Lee Beevers and Stallard trying to force the ball home but Dale defender Nathan Stanton did superbly to block anything that came the way of his side’s goal.

The visitors defended stoutly themselves and the game looked set for a goalless draw with the Lincoln back line always equal to the home side’s attacking efforts. Marriott did well to cling on to Perkins’ well-struck volley, whilst Natt Brown, the tall centre-half, did his utmost to prevent Marriott from being called into action. He kicked the ball out from under the feet of Dodds as he looked to turn in Dagnall’s cut back and he was again on hand minutes later to block Rundle’s close range shot.

Man of the Match – David Perkins – After playing the last four games at left-back, the young utility man stepped naturally into midfield. The tenacious tackler with the quick feet, won the ball, used it superbly and took players on to push Dale forward and ensure that they dominated in the middle of the park

Attendance: 2,911

Rochdale: Gilks, Ramsden, Stanton, McArdle, Goodall, Muirhead, Doolan, Perkins, Rundle, Murray (Dagnall 58), Dodds (Reet 82).

Subs not used: Rigby, Poole, Jackson.

Booked: Ramsden, Goodall.

Lincoln: Marriott, Eaden, Beevers, Brown, Green, Amoo (Frecklington 67), Holmes (N'Guessan 87), Kerr, Hughes (Mendes 80), Forrester, Stallard.

Subs not used: Olejnik, Mayo.

Booked: Green.

Attempts (on target): Rochdale 11 (7) Lincoln 7 (1)
Free kicks: Rochdale 22 Lincoln 23
Offside: Rochdale 9 Lincoln 2
Corners: Rochdale 4 Lincoln 6

Referee: P Joslin.