Dale had the edge over a disappointing Mansfield Town side, but could not produce enough themselves to win the match. It was a game of few chances, but Dale seemed to be content to take a point throughout.

How the hell did we not win this one? Dale were very comfortable from start to finish, and all Dale fans were left asking that question at the final whistle. It was a long way from an end to end encounter but Mansfield did nothing to deserve anything out of this match.

After games like this, it is always hard to say what happened. Whether it was a case of Dale being far superior to the home side or whether they were extremely poor, it is hard to say. But they offered very little with only two shots in the entire match. Dale, on the other hand, had enough chances to win several games, and this match will always go down as two points dropped rather than one point gained.

Dale went into the game with just the one change from the side that beat Carlisle on Saturday. Keith Hill returned at the back instead of Dave Bayliss, as Dale continued with the 3-5-2 formation for the third game on the trot. Mansfield went into the game with three strikers in a bid to try and improve things after Saturday's 5-0 drubbing at bottom club Chester.

In the early part of the game, with Dale kicking towards the demolished end of the ground, the home side were on top. They had a lot of possession, and put in a couple of tricky crosses. However, other than that, Edwards had little to do. The closest the home side came to troubling Edwards, was when a cross took a deflection off a Dale defender, and Taffy was left with the simple ask of tipping the ball over the bar.

As the game progressed, Dale's superiority soon became clear. Tony Ford MBE, or Judas as some of the locals decided to call him late in the game, had a chance of putting Dale into the lead when he lobbed the keeper when clean through. Unfortunately the ball didn't carry to the goal.

Late in the first half, it looked like Dale had took the lead following a goalmouth scramble, but the ball ended up hitting the side netting.

The second half began, with Dale attacking the other demolished terrace end. Whilst in the first half things were slightly even, throughout the second half it was fair to say that there was only one side in it - Dale. Dale had attack after attack, but despite that, still failed to really test the home keeper.

Dale had the home side on the back foot for much of the second half, and came close to taking the lead when Hill headed over the bar just a minute or so into the second half.

Ten minutes into the second half, Parkin made a double substitution, bringing on Bayliss and Peake for Hill and a very surprised looking Sean McClare, who had done well up till that point. However, Jason Peake was to come on and have a fine game in midfield.

Despite the dominance, Dale almost blew with half an hour to go, when Mansfield had the best chance of the entire game. Debutante Evans won the ball from Dave Bayliss and beat the Dale defence. He was clean through with about thirty yards to go. However, never do anything else than put your faith in Edwards, who proved he was back to his lively best by rushing out and saving at the feet of the Barnsley on loan striker. This was a golden opportunity for the Stags, and should have been the games first goal.

The rest of the game was spent with Dale on the attack. Both Atkinson and Ford MBE put in some excellent crosses, and despite some tremendous work by Ellis, who was outstanding all night, it wasn't to be. Peakey had a couple of long range efforts, which were saved by the keeper.

In the last minute, it looked like Dale had snatched a winner, when Dale won a free kick ten yards outside of the Mansfield box. It was curled goalwards, and Mark Monington may or may not have got a touch on it as it went straight into the back of the net, however the goal was ruled out by the linesman who raised his flag fairly early to prevent any embarrassing celebrations on the Dale terrace.

At the final whistle, there was certainly a feeling of disappointment. Mansfield looked a poor side, and were there for the taking. It was sad to see a side like Mansfield settle for a point at home. You would have thought there players would have been fired up for this one, what with Parkin and Ford MBE's homecoming, but they weren't at all. They offered very little in the second half, looking content to try and hold on for a point. Dale did everything bar score. We played well on the whole. Ellis had another excellent game, but was let down by his strike partner Lancashire who didn't look to be back to his best just yet. It would have been good to have seen McClare and Peake in the midfield together. The game was crying out for that bit of magic, and both of these players are capable of doing that. Steve Parkin said afterwards: "It was not a great spectacle but we fought hard for everything. Mansfield had the better chances in the first half but I thought we improved a lot after half time."

Dale: Edwards, Evans, Monington, Hill (Bayliss), Ford MBE, Flitcroft, McClare (Peake), Jones, Atkinson,

Photo: Action Images

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