Make no mistake, this was a performance far better than the one in midweek against Chester where we scored six goals. There we had a dispirited and rudderless opposition who were happy to let their heads drop at the first opportunity.

This win had so much more. This was far from easy, against a much better side and one in which we didn't have all of the fortune on offer. We had to battle for it more, and every question that we faced, we more than answered.

Except for the "When will we ever keep a clean sheet?" question that is, but with chances getting converted at the other end, we'll happily accept the "we'll score more than you" mentality as we give our home supporters so much value for money that we're single handedly destroying the credit crunch.

Everything about this Saturday afternoon had a typical Rochdale afternoon about it. The rain was incessant from start to finish, just as it had been on Tuesday night, but the Rochdale way would dictate that after hammering a side, we'd be bound to follow it up with ninety minutes of disappointment. Not this time, and yet again Keith Hill has ripped up the Rochdale rule book.

There was just the one change from Tuesday's side, with Adam Rundle surprisingly returned to the starting line up in place of Will Buckley, though with the comments over the past fortnight about protecting Buckley, it looked to be a switch for the long term good rather than short term success.

It took us a good ten minutes or so for things to settle down. Aldershot didn't come out like a side battered during the week, and were very keen to make their mark on the game. Thankfully, the ghost of conceding early goals this season saw us make a similar dogged start to the game, and arguably we'd have conceded had this game been played a few weeks back.

But this early tussle was enough for us to rise to the challenge, and we began our long period of dominance. The midfield was where the game was being one, with Toner and Jonah reigning supreme in the middle. Toner in particular was everywhere, and played like a man knowing one bad performance could see him lose his place.

Up front, Chris Dagnall was not the Chris Dagnall of a fortnight ago. What a difference a tap in on the line at Morecambe can make to someone's confidence. He was bright and buzzing throughout and whilst you got the feeling that it wasn't his day given the chances that he missed, another day could have seen him walk off with his fourth Dale matchball.

He had the first chance of the game, when he ripped the Aldershot offside trap to pieces, but after breaking free, he couldn't match it up with a finish to match, and his strike easily saved by the 'Shots keeper Nikki Bull.

But we didn't have to wait overly long for the breakthrough, and there was a huge slice of fortune in the goal. Adam Rundle struck the ball from a central position, earning a wicked deflection on the way giving the keeper no chance whatsoever as it nestled into the back of the net.

Reports elsewhere have suggested that Aldershot were much improved in the second half and were deserving of a point. The reality is that they came close to snatching a point but in a half where we scored twice, hit the woodwork a couple of times, had a penalty claim turned down, and spooned the ball out of the ground from two feet off the goal line, the word "deserving" is more than a touch misleading.

First blood of the second half came should have come our way. In a move which was highly reminiscent of Lee Thorpe's second half chance on Tuesday, Chris Dagnall again broke clear of the Shots back line but his effort cannoned off the post with the hapless girly named Aldershot keeper nowhere to be seen.

A couple of minutes later though, Dagnall would have undoubtedly known that he wouldn't have scored had this game gone on till half past ten at night, with the Aldershot side already way down the M6. A pin point Rundle cross from the Main Stand side saw Daggers somehow put it way over the bar when it appeared any touch on the ball would have doubled our lead.

If Dagnall was feeling bad about these missed chances, then a few seconds later he had a big bag of salt firmly rubbed into those wounds, as the woodwork prevented him scoring again. Certainly wasn't his day in terms of hitting the back of the net, but that should not mask another great performance from him.

But the script has been written too many times over the years. If you don't take full advantage when you're on top, then it's going to come back and bite you firmly on the backside, as it proved to be the case. Whilst our chances were going begging, Aldershot took their first real effort of the half to gain equilibrium on the scoresheet.

With the otherwise faultless Wiseman confused as to where a high ball was, a cross was put in to the back post which needed a great save by Russell to prevent it going in. However, Shots sub Marvin's magic trick of being in the right place at the right time to knock in the rebound was enough to get them on level terms. And as an aside, just how many great saves has Russell pulled off this season only to concede within the next three seconds?

And so the now traditional second half wobble came. A game in which we'd all but banked the three points was now firmly in the balance, and the visitors played with a belief that the game was there for the taking. Worryingly, we seemed to believe that too, or at least it seemed that way in the stands.

The decision to withdraw Chris Dagnall in favour of Alfie was not a universally popular one. Perhaps understandably, as Dagnall for all the spurned chances, had been far and away our most threatening player. Similarly too when Rundle was withdrawn to allow Buckley to come on, when many felt that Thompson should have been the one to make way.

So it was perhaps fitting that the winning goal came about thanks to those to substitutes. A moment of brilliance from Le Fondre chasing down what would many have seen as a lost cause, before cutting it back to Gary Jones who's shot rebounded to JT.

Again, we had the benefit of a deflection, only slightly less this time, as Thompson's shot ended up squeezing just the right side of the keeper's near post, and for only the second time this season, Dale regained the lead.

And then we had the brown underpants time. Time ticking away, Aldershot get a late break, another great Russell save saw the rebound put away in a similar style to their equaliser, though this time we had the benefit of seeing a raised linesman's flag - something not seen for quite some time by the Aldershot lot, (either at the game or online). There was no doubt that it was the right decision. Probably. :)

That disallowed brought a slight air of desperation to proceedings to the extent that Stanton put his head where it hurts. Great way of wasting time I thought by playing the head injury card. Only turned out that he a bigger scar than Carlos Tevez.

But as seconds ran out, the game was put beyond doubt as Le Fondre fed Buckley through before Buckley chipped the keeper from an angle to win the game for Dale with Keith Hill's substitute decisions paying off yet again.

So overall a very satisfying victory for Dale which required much more than the Chester game did, and all of a sudden it seems like things are coming together rather nicely, and with off the pitch talk being of new players coming to Spotland, it could be that those writing our season off may have done so somewhat prematurely.