Devante Rodney’s 96th-minute equaliser earned ten-man Dale a deserved 1-1 draw at home to Hartlepool United.
Dale were the better team in the opening 45 minutes, but just before the break, Kairo Mitchell was given a straight red card for a sliding challenge, despite winning the ball.
The visitors took advantage of having the extra man midway through the second period, but Dale came on strong towards the end and grabbed a deserved goal late on, when Rodney rounded the goalkeeper before slotting home.
Jimmy McNulty made three changes from the side that started Good Friday’s game at Gateshead. Dan Sassi, Finlay Armstrong and Sam Mather all returned to the starting line-up, replacing George Nevett, Cameron John and Jimmy Keohane.
Dale, wearing the yellow away strip due to both of Hartlepool’s kits containing blue, saw a lot of the ball early on and hit the woodwork inside the opening ten minutes, when Cian Hayes’ cross came back off crossbar.
Kyron Gordon sent a looping header over the bar and Hayes also had a shot blocked, as McNulty’s side looked the more likely to open the scoring.
Hayes was causing the Hartlepool defence problems and shot wide of the near post after bursting forward from the halfway line before he had another effort blocked.
The best chance of the first half fell to Mitchell after a superb build-up from Dale led to Devante Rodney squaring for the number nine who fired over, although it looked as though the ball might have popped up off the surface as he went to hit it.
Just two minutes later though, Mitchell was sent off. He won the ball off Tom Parkes with a sliding challenge, but the referee deemed it to be dangerous, and with the visiting players surrounding him, Richard Eley issued a straight red card.
After the break, the visitors, with their extra man, saw more of the ball, leading to Louis Stephenson hitting the side netting and producing a good save from Jacob Chapman, who beat away his fierce effort.
The Dale stopper then turned Emmanuel Dieseruvwe’s shot around the post, but from the resulting corner, Hartlepool took the lead, when Joe Grey flicked home after the delivery had been flicked on.
Chapman denied Dieseruvwe again ten minutes later before Dale began to put the Hartlepool defence under real pressure.
Substitute Tyrese Sinclair sent a couple of efforts off-target from distance before Rodney sent a free-kick over the bar from just outside the area.
But there was one more chance for Dale when Ryan East sent a long pass over the top of the Hartlepool defence for Rodney to run onto, and he rounded the goalkeeper before turning home from close range.
There was a late chance for Parkes who headed over a corner for the visitors, but it was the final action of the game, as Dale ended with a deserved point.
Dale XI | Chapman, Gordon, East, Ebanks-Landell, Mitchell, Rodney, Hayes, Sassi, Gilmour (86’ Henderson), Armstrong (76’ Sinclair), Mather (58’ Keohane).
Unused subs | Clayton, Nevett.
