Tough one to call this one, as two of the leading teams in the division battled it out for a top three place, though neither side offered anything worthy of that tag.

Dale went into the game with recalls for Michael Holt and Mark Monington in place of the injured Graham Lancashire and Dave Bayliss. There was a disappointing turnout by Dale supporters as many were put off by the back to back home defeats at the hands of Exeter and Halifax. A chance to welcome the full signing of record transfer Clive Platt was obviously not enough.

Dale started the game well and seemed keen to get an early goal to avert any pressure for the high flying Darlo side who came looking to continue their good start to the season. Dale had a few good attacks in the early stages of the first half with Michael Holt looking lively up front. The Dale midfield had established control of the middle of the park and Sunday tabloid star Dave Flitcroft in command. However despite the Dale attacks, the Darlington keeper was rarely tested.

As the half progressed, Darlington got more into the game and enjoyed their best spell of the match. They had some good attacking play down the left wing, helped by an ankle injury picked up by Wayne Evans, though he played on. The Darlington forwards seemed to find a lot of space, but when in possession, were very quickly closed down.

With time running out before half time, Darlington were once again on the attack and Gabbiadini was on the edge of the box, when he was fouled by Keith Hill who picked up his second yellow card of the match in the process, forcing Dale to play out the rest of the game with ten men.

Dale came out reorganised in the second half. Wayne Evans was switched to centre half and Tony Ford reverted to right back. Holt was substituted and replaced by Gary Jones who played on the right side of midfield. This left Clive Platt playing up front on his own. Although he did well when he had to do the same against Southend, he had little chance today when faced with a much stronger defence including ex Port Vale player Neil Aspin. It looked unlikely that Dale would have much success up front.

Thankfully, Darlington did little to take advantage of their numerical superiority. The Dale defence stood firm throughout, and looked in little danger of being beaten. However, a couple of chances fell their way with time running out. Gabbiadini had a fantastic chance on the edge of the six yard box with only Edwards to beat. However, as we all know, it is easier said than done, and Edwards threw himself at the feet of the ugly one to save well. Other than that, Darlo shots went wide and well wide, with Edwards no longer troubled.

Dale had plenty of possession in the second half, but really struggled because of the sending off. Our passing game left Clive Platt alone in the box, making defending easy for the North East side. However Platt almost won it for Dale when he fired home a volley after a super cross from the right wing, but he saw his volley go well over the cross bar and not troubling the substitute keeper.

The final whistle brought relief from both sides, as both teams seemed happy with a point, which keeps Dale in fourth place.
Dale: Edwards, Evans, Stokes, Monington, Hill, Ford, Flitcroft, Peake, Atkinson, Platt (Carden), Holt (Jones)
man of the match: Mark Monington
 

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