Dale cruised to a two nil victory against a poor Chester side, in what should have been a landslide win. Dale controlled the match from start to finish, and will only be disappointed that they didn't come away with more than two goals. Some poor finishing by Graham Lancashire and some suspect decisions from the linesman in the second half. Inevitably the biggest talking point of the match was the sending off late in the game which led to one disgruntled home supporter to invade the pitch and assault he referee.

For once, Dale got a grip straight away and should really have scored within seconds of the kick off. Graham Lancashire found the ball in acres of space with only the home keeper to beat. He seemed stunned that he was not offside, and could not believe his luck. When he realised the chance he had, he found his effort was well saved by the keeper, and his rebounded shot went well wide.

The game continued with Dale well on top, and it was just a matter of time before they took the lead. Obviously, there were worries that we might see a repeat of Saturday, where we never took advantage of our dominance. Graham Lancashire had another virtually identical chance with an identical outcome. Lancashire and Platt were combining well, with Platt's support play outstanding when he had his back to goal.

The breakthrough came after about half an hour. After a continual spell of attacking, Dale finally took the lead. The ball was crossed in from the left hand side, and Graeme Atkinson headed the ball home from not far out to put Dale in front for the third consecutive league match away from home.

The homeside tried to force their way back into the game, but to no avail. Despite recent improvements in their fortunes, with a Worthington Cup win over two legs against Port Vale, and their first point and goals at Torquay on Saturday, they looked a very poor side. Even supposed star striker Luke Beckett looked very poor, as Neil Edwards was untroubled. In fact, the only worries we had at the back was when Edwards had clearances to make from back passes after Saturday.

Chester came back into it a little more in the second half, obviously spurred on by their five man coaching team, but they again failed to trouble to Dale. Dale were soon back very much on top. Again the bulk of the chances fell the way of Graham Lancashire. One effort saw him volley the ball over the bar from inside the six yard box from a Graeme Atkinson cross. He also had a couple of headers, which went wide of the post, as did Clive Platt.
By this time, we should have been five or six up at the very least, and there was a fear that our failure to take advantage could cost us in the long run. However, Clive Platt soon secured all three points for Dale, as he finally escaped the dreaded linesman's flag which was going up at will. He raced down the right wing before cutting into the box. He fired a shot which collided with a defender who sent the ball over the line and into the back of the net. Whether it was going in or not anyway, remains to be seen, but matters little now. Platt was claiming the goal anyway.

The major talking point happened just a few minutes later. There was a tussle down in the far corner between Hill and Chester player Moss, which lead to both players being booked. Seemed a fair decision really from what I could make out. Unfortunately for the home side, Moss had already received a yellow card, so it meant he was sent off. A small section of the home fans went beserk at this decision and some stewards had to move in. I didn't really see the problem, as there were few chants from the home side for Hill to join Moss down the tunnel, so I guess Hill wasn't the more guilty of the pair.

Within seconds, as Chester were preparing for a free kick/corner (don't know which), one bald home supporter from precisely where the stewards were supposed to be protecting, climbed over the barrier and attacked the ref, putting him a headlock. Thankfully the intervention of the players from both sides saved the ref from any serious injury, and the ref was able to continue with the match. Why the stewards were not doing their job properly, God only knows. The stewards watching the Dale fans never took their menacing stare off us. But lets not deny where the real blame lies, and that is at the hands of that one supporter who attacked the ref, who left the pitch with an ovation from the Chester supporters, and to the cries of "Scum" from the sizeable away following. I would like to think that if it was a Dale fan who had attacked the ref, our reaction would have been exactly the same. The ref had up to till then had a very good match, and Chester were lucky to have eleven players on the pitch at that point as their bald number four had escaped the eyes of the ref when he wrestled Tony Ford to the ground. Chester will win very few friends in this continues

The rest of the match was played out after this. Chester were spurred on a bit by the sending off, and forced Neil Edwards to make his first save of the game, when he saved a very weak shot which went straight to him. If these Dale performances continue, Edwards will have no chance of getting into the Welsh squad, as he has had nothing to do in a few games so far this season.

This was a good win at a potential banana skin. Dale have often failed to beat the poor teams in the division, eg Scarboro doing the double over us last season. The ghosts of Exeter were banished very quickly indeed. Twelve points out of a maximum of fifteen will do very nicely indeed. Bring on the Shaymen!

Dale: Edwards, Evans, Stokes (Jones), Bayliss, Hill, Ford (Carden), Flitcroft, Peake, Atkinson, Lancashire, Platt
 

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