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  • Kick-off: 15:00
  • Venue: Field Mill Ground
  • Attendance: 2351
  • Referee: Armstrong, P

Live Commentary

90 mins

That's it, it's all over, the referee has blown the final whistle.

90 mins

That's it, it's all over, the referee has blown the final whistle.

74 mins

Jefferson Louis goes into the referees book for unsporting behaviour.

70 mins

Kallum Higginbotham is being taken off, Ben Muirhead has come on in his place.

69 mins

Gary Jones is being taken off, Chris Basham has come on in his place.

69 mins

Keith Briggs is replaced by Chris Wood.

67 mins

Goal!! Rene Howe scores for Rochdale.

65 mins

Alex John-Baptiste is being taken off, Nathan Arnold has come on in his place.

55 mins

Goal!! Rochdale have scored with Gary Jones putting it in the back of the net.

47 mins

Goal!! Adam Le Fondre scores for Rochdale.

46 mins

The second half is under way with the score currently at 0 v 1.

46 mins

Mansfield are replacing Gareth Jelleyman with Jonathon D'Laryea.

45 mins

The ref has blown his whistle for half time.

40 mins

Rochdale are replacing Nathan Stanton with Marcus Holness.

27 mins

Goal!! Gary Jones scores for Rochdale.

0 mins

The ref has blown his whistle and the match has started.

Match Report

Captain Gary Jones celebrated his record 346th appearance for Rochdale with two goals to keep alive their play-off hopes and condemn relegation-haunted Mansfield to an eighth defeat in nine home matches.

Mansfield, without a win at Field Mill since before Christmas, never looked like grabbing the three points to take them out of the bottom two.

Two goals in the first ten minutes of the second half ended their hopes of a precious point as rampant Dale eased to only their second win in seven games.

It was easy to see how Dale have thrived on their travels - beaten just twice this season - and the Stags have struggled at home with no win since before Christmas.

For the visitors looked far more confident, breaking quickly while restricting the home side to rare threats at the other end.

There was no denying the more persistent Dale and when Kallum Higginbotham picked up on a poor Gareth Jelleyman clearance, Rene Howe crossed for the unmarked Jones to side-foot in from six yards in the 27th minute.

Straight from the kick-off Mansfield almost levelled, but Keith Briggs' fierce header from a Matt Hamshaw corner was hacked off the line by Adam Rundle as he stood by the post.

Higginbotham might have doubled the lead on half-time, but headed into the side-netting from a Tom Kennedy cross.

But the visitors did add a second goal two minutes into the second half when Adam Le Fondre touched in a Rundle near post cross as keeper Carl Muggleton and Alex John-Baptiste hesitated.

Muggleton stopped a third goal moments later, diving low to hold onto a fierce Jones drive.

But he had no chance in the 55th minute when the same player notched his second goal by hammering in a low drive from 18 yards as Mansfield failed to clear a Rundle free -ick.

Twelve minutes later, Howe ran clear onto a Le Fondre flick, rounded the keeper and rolled the ball into an empty net as the home side fell apart.

A magnificent finger-tip stop by Muggleton denied Rundle a fifth goal, while at the other end Michael Boulding scooped a chance for a consolation over.

Mansfield Town Team

Rochdale Team

Mansfield Town

Rochdale

Corners

7 3

Fouls

14 13

Goal attempts

9 14

Shots off target

7 6

Offsides

2 3

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