This was certainly a case of 2 points dropped rather than one point gained, as Dale failed to take full advantage of the chances that they had presented to them in the second half. Lincoln looked a poor side, as Dale bossed matters throughout, apart from a short spell during the second half. Graham Lancashire almost sewed up the points for Dale in the final minutes, seconds after Dale almost blew it, when Edwards pulled off one of his typical wonder saves.

Around two to three hundred Dale fans made the journey to Sincil Bank to witness an encouraging Dale performance. The Dale fans were housed in a new stand behind the far goal, with the big main stand being devoted totally to the home fans. In this end, were a couple of drummers giving out some drum n bass rhythms (but without the bass!). Respect to the Ali G Lincoln Massive! In addition to this was a very annoying bloke with an air raid siren. At every corner he would wind it and the Dale fans up with his toy. Chris Bettney came in for his full first team debut playing on the left with Graeme Atkinson reverting to the bench.

The first half saw Dale start well and keep the ball in the Lincoln half with some effect. However, the half soon reverted to a midfield tussle with chances few and far between for both sides. Lincoln had the best chance for either side when a crossed ball saw Gavin Gordon with a free header inside the six yard box. Amazingly, he somehow managed to put it well wide, when it would have been more difficult to score. Gordon had quite a lot of influence in the match with his tremendous ability to avoid getting booked after some ridiculous challenges. However, he made up for it with his ineptitude in front of goal.

Dale had a few efforts down the other end, but few to really trouble Richardson in the Lincoln goal. Peakey had a couple of long range efforts which never tested the keeper, and Platt and Ellis were causing bother for the home defence, but the final effort was not there.

The second half saw a huge improvement in the efforts of both teams. Dale again started well and were unlucky not to put themselves in the lead within the opening few minutes. Whilst on the attack, the ball fell to Gary Jones who shone throughout, and he fired in a shot which Richardson managed to save, and Chris Bettney fired the rebound over the bar.

Within a minute the unthinkable happened, and Lincoln took the lead with their first attempt on target of any note. A cross came over from Dave Phillips, who started playing when Tony Ford was a lad, and Peter Gain broke away from his marker Wayne Evans, getting time and space to head the ball over Neil Edwards into the back of the net. Cue lots more annoying drum beats and air raid sirens from the Lincoln supporters.

This gave the home side a bit of confidence and for the first time in the game they were the better side. They stepped up a gear, and looked close to increasing their lead. Indeed, had it not been for a great save by Edwards, it would have been two.

However, full credit to the Dale players as they fought hard themselves to get back into the match. They started playing a little more direct, with Gary Jones and Jason Peake running the show. Jones got just rewards for his recent efforts when he took the ball just outside of the penalty box, breaking through the home sides offside trap. He ran into the box, and fired past Richardson to equalise. Cue lots of air raid siren noises from the away stand, and no more from the home fans. Result.

In no way did Dale settle for a point, and they again stepped up a gear. The equaliser brought a new lease of life out of Tony Ellis who had disappointed up to this point. He went as the target man, with Platt playing deeper, and caused several problems in doing this, and was unlucky not to have grabbed a goal himself. With just a few minutes to go, with time and space he had a shot but saw his effort go over the bar.

Clive Platt was withdrawn as Dale went in search of the win, with Graham Lancashire making the next step in his comeback. He had two virtually identical challenges to win the game for Dale. A long ball over the top saw him race in front of the home defence and with Richardson approaching, he lobbed the keeper but on both occasions, his efforts went just wide of the same post. Graeme Atkinson was also brought on for Bettney who stayed down a long time after a challenge, whilst the game was in play.

In-between these challenges, Gavin Gordon almost won it for the Imps, when he received the ball in the box, with acres of space. Somehow, Neil Edwards dived full length to save the shot. It was one of his best. That gives you some idea of how good it was.

The final whistle brought mixed feelings in the Dale end. A point away at in form Lincoln was a good result on paper, but it was the home team who had been hanging on in the last few minutes, and they knew it. However, in the grand scheme of things, it was a good performance again from Dale and a return to the August performances is not too far away. We are going to completely turn over a team very soon indeed. The midfield was outstanding with Peake and Jones taking most of the credit. It was another good game for Platt, who looks frightening for any defender when he runs at them with the ball at his feet. On the downside, we are still not marking properly at the back and not taking our chances at the other end. Perhaps the absence of Keith Hill at the back is having more of an effect than we thought.

Dale: Edwards, Evans, Searle, Bayliss, Monington, Ford, Jones, Peake, Bettney (Atkinson), Platt (Lancashire), Ellis

man of the match: Gary Jones 

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