| Whether Mansfield deserved to win this fixture is questionable. What is true is that Dale had the majority of the chances, but failed to make Bobby Mimms in the Mansfield goal work at all. Most shots that he faced were either without power or went straight to him, and as a result, Dale crashed to only their third defeat of the season.
It was another display by Dale which failed to show their true potential, and was the second goalless match by Dale in succession. Despite a disputed penalty by Gary Jones which was saved by Bobby Mimms, and a host of chances which went begging, Dale rarely looked like being able to break the deadlock, without looking capable of conceding at the same time.
However, Dale allowed Mansfield striker Chris Greenacre one chance, and he took it and finished off Dale in the closing minutes of the game, when it appeared that nothing could change the expected 0-0 outcome.
There was a decent following of Dale fans making the shortish journey down to Nottinghamshire for this match, with Dale fans in three sections with around 8-900 inside Field Mill, including a small number in the home end, taking the attendance comfortably past the 2,000 mark.
Dale went into the game with just the one change from the team that drew with Barnet last weekend. Tony Ellis returned to the starting eleven, taking the place of on loan Christian Lee who had to make do with a spot on the bench. Keith Hill retained his place in the side, ahead of Dave Bayliss, who despite being available after suspension, had to sit out after picking up an ankle injury in midweek.
Dale had the better of the early stages, and it seemed that an early goal may be on the cards. There were a couple of close calls which produce a minor amount of panic for the home fans, but nothing to strike fear into keeper Bobby Mimms.
After this initial Dale burst, Mansfield steadily got back into the game, and probably had the majority of the first half possession. Indeed, the Stags even managed to force the ball into the back of the net on two occasions only to see them ruled out by referee Lee Cable. The first, which was a header by striker Chris Greenacre, was ruled out for offside, a second or two before he made contact with the ball. The second was ruled out when Neil Edwards was assualted into the back of the net.
However, it appeared that Dale were given a small amount of good fortune when they were awarded a penalty. Michael Oliver with his back to goal looked to be kicked from behind. About 47 minutes later, he went down, and the referee surprised most people by awarding a penalty to Dale. Initial impressions suggested that Dale were slightly fortunate to have been given the decision. Gary Jones obviously empathised with the injustice felt by the Staggies, and he allowed his spot kick to be saved by Bobby Mimms. To be fair, it was a good save by the former good keeper, and it would have to be to deny Jones a 100% success record on spot kicks, when most keepers don't even see them!
The second half saw a much improved Dale performance which had Mansfield on the back foot for most of the match. However, despite enjoying 90% of the possession and the chances, Dale fell to a last minute sucker punch.
Chances came and went, and shots either went straight at Bobby Mimms, or were fired in without any real force behind them, allowing Mimms to protect his clean sheet with ease.
However, Chris Greenacre, who was kept very quiet for most of the match, proved the theory that quality strikers only need one chance, and that he did when he was put through in the last minute. He got clear of the Dale defence for perhaps the one time in the entire match, before firing the ball past Edwards into the back of the net to send the home fans into hysterics. Furthermore, there was to be no reply this season to their chants of "Parkin, What's the score?".
It was close though, as Mark Monington almost did his usual trick of scoring from corners, when he attempted what appeared to be an overhead kick in the last minute, but it went wide of the post.
Defeat it may have been, but the pride was still there. Most people will agree that Dale disappointed again today, but results elsewhere dictated that Dale remain in third position, so things could certainly have been worse today. We remain in a promotion place, let's not forget that.
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