Dale's hope of a miracle to ensure that Dale somehow finish in 7th did not happen, and once news of Hartlepool's 3-0 lead over Hull came through, it just became a matter of playing for pride. Tony Ellis grabbed the goal which meant he finished the season as top scorer.

So that's another season over with. Dale picked up a point to finish tenth in division which represents Dale's highest finish for a few years, and also broke the club's record ever points total.

The actual game was typical of so many other home matches that we have seen this season. Dale had a lot of possession without turning it into outright chances. The visitors did what they had to do, had the majority of the chances and took the lead. Thankfully, however, Dale were able to come back and grab a deserved equaliser when Tony Ellis rose to head home a cross.

The game itself was slightly better than your average end of season encounter. It soon became clear that Barnet would not be on the end of a 6-0 thumping, and so another season in division three beckoned. Barnet did not play like they had nothing to play for. I would have thought that with play off status confirmed they would have been avoiding injuries and suspensions, but they were certainly up for the game. Winger Darren Currie had a good game and looked capable of causing a lot of problems.

The ref's final whistle brought an end of season pitch invasion, not seen at Spotland for a good few years. The Dale fans congregated around the tunnel and waited for the players and management to come out and milk the applause for their efforts over the past nine months. During this time, many fans went over to the Barnet section, shaking hands with the away fans, wishing them all the best for their forthcoming play off clash with Peterboro. Eventually, the players came out, and Steve Parkin took hold of the microphone, and confirmed that he would be staying for next season, dispelling any rumours of a move to Chesterfield.

Photo: Action Images

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