Dale were held to a 1-1 draw at Spotland by Lincoln as they see their lead at the top of League Two cut to 6 points.

Keith Hill named an unchanged side, going with the same eleven that saw off Rotherham in midweek. Frank Fielding was in goal with Rory McArdle, Nathan Stanton, Craig Dawson and Tom Kennedy making up the back four. Jason Kennedy and captain Gary Jones were in midfield, with Ciaran Toner on the left and Will Atkinson, making his last appearance for Dale, on the right. Chris O'Grady and Chris Dagnall were up top for Dale.

Before the game there was a minutes applause for Macclesfield manager Keith Alexander who tragically passed away on Wednesday morning.

The opening ten minutes of the game were very quiet by the usual standards seen at Spotland this season with Dale happy to keep possession and Lincoln pressing Dale as they looked for openings.

The first shot of the game came after 15 minutes through Ciaran Toner after a Tom Kennedy free kick evaded everyone, with Toner firing it in from a tough angle at the back post straight at Lincoln 'keeper Rob Burch.

This opportunity sparked the game into life and chances for both sides followed. Lincoln's David Somma had a good effort from the edge of the area which was chested away by Frank Fielding with the ball being too hot to handle. Gary Jones also had an effort from distance a minute later, but his left foot strike was dragged well wide.

With Dale having the lion's share of possession it was expected that it would be Keith Hill's side that would strike first. However, it was the visitors who took the lead with a well worked goal.

Good football in and around the edge of the box led to the ball being played to an unmarked Chris Herd at the back post, and he had the simple job of passing the ball into the far corner to put The Imps ahead.

That goal saw Lincoln sit back a little more as the pressure they had been putting on the Dale midfield eased. This meant Dale had a lot more of the ball but had to be patient in their build up as they looked to create space and opportunities.

Chris O'Grady had a few efforts on goal as Dale increased the pressure. His turn and shot on the angle of the area just evaded Will Atkinson at the back post, whilst a shot on the turn from the edge of the area flew well over the crossbar.

Then, with five minutes of the half remaining, came Dale's best chance. Chris Dagnall did superbly to break free of the Lincoln midfield as they aimed to stop him in his tracks before firing off a great left footed effort which Imps 'keeper Rob Burch did well to tip round the post as he flew to his left.

For Dale it was a frustrating half as they struggled to produce a final ball that could trouble Lincoln's back line and the half ended with the visitors in front.

Dale knew they would need an early goal in the second half if they were to take all three points from the game and from the first minute they put the visitors under immense pressure. Will Atkinson had the first chance of the half when a Ciaran Toner cross went to the back post, but his header was straight at Rob Burch.

Keith Hill's side were really taking the game to Lincoln in the opening stages of the half and the constant pressure from Dale led to some decent chances, with the best coming from Chris O'Grady, but his curling effort was well plucked out of the air by Rob Burch.

Lincoln's first effort of the half came from David Somma when his shot from the edge of the area troubled Frank Fielding, but the Dale stopper eventually got control of the ball.

Dale were pressing and pressing, and eventually that pressure told when Dale equalised in slightly fortuitous circumstances. Chris Dagnall had the ball around ten yards out and did superbly to turn between two Lincoln defenders and get a shot off which ended up hitting The Imps' Joe Anderson before crossing the line for a Dale equaliser.

That equaliser, coming with twenty minutes to go gave Dale enough time to go for a winner. On came Kallum Higginbotham and Joe Thompson to replace Ciaran Toner and Will Atkinson, with Higgy making an instant impact.

He picked up the ball around 25 yards out and struck the ball which just evaded the right post of Rob Burch who was scrambling across his goal.

Dale were still having all the pressure but soon three minutes of added time were signalled by the fourth official, with the only chance of those minutes coming from Gary Jones, but his shot left a lot to be desired at flew over the bar.

The referee blew his final whistle with the score at 1-1. It was disappointing for Dale not to pick up all three points but the focus must switch to Shrewsbury on Saturday now as Dale look to get back to winning ways.

Dale: Fielding, McArdle, T Kennedy, Stanton, Dawson, J Kennedy, Jones, Atkinson, Toner, O'Grady, Dagnall.

Lincoln: Burch, Hughton, Swaibu, Pearce, Anderson, Lennon, Kerr, Herd, Saunders, Somma, Broughton.

Referee: David Foster (Tyne & Wear). Assistant Referees: Mo Matadar & Andy Newell (Lancashire). Fourth Official: Danny Roberts (Manchester).

Attendance: 3,453.