After two years of waiting, we finally had a Gary Jones goal to celebrate, and it was certainly worth the wait. Full match report now online.

For a long, long time on Saturday afternoon, this game had 1:1 written all over it. It was just one of those games that we've seen hundreds of times over the years at Spotland, where you can predict the final score even before the half time whistle. And it was hard to see what could happen to alter the predictability of that 1:1 draw. If anything was to damage that outcome, then surely it would have come from the opposition nicking one as we pushed for a winner.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man. People have been writing off Jonah for years, but it has to be said, reports of the demise of Gary Roy Jones have been somewhat exaggerated. With time running out, the veteran, the stalwart, the old warhorse, whatever you want to call him, our record appearance maker stepped up, and with mutterings of "don't shoot" around the ground , he fired it from distance into the back of the net to maintain our five points advantage at the top of the league.

Just over three thousand were at Spotland, with the number of Dale supporters up by a 150 or so from the previous home game. Visitors Dagenham brought what can only be described as a handful of supporters, though the away end were boosted by a number of Bury supporters taking advantage of a free Saturday, and Dale's kind offer of full price admission to any supporter with or without a season ticket from their own club. One Bury supporter in particular was particular excitable all afternoon. Well, to the 83rd minute at least.

Dale went into the game with an unchanged line up. Not that anyone could remember what our last side was given the enforced break from the season, but we were boosted by the news that Nathan Stanton was fit to play having been taken off injured in our last game.  An added boost was the news that Dagenham manager John Still was absent from the game through illness and the dangerous Paul Benson was missing from the Daggers' front line.

The game at Victoria Road (or the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Stadium to give it its Sunday name) had been something of a classic, with the home side producing one of the best displays against us in recent years, before Dale held out with a resolute second half to come away as winners, denying Dagenham top spot in the process.

Despite the visitors falling away since that game, there had been hope for something of a repeat showing, and all the evidence suggested that was what we were in for after the opening ten minutes. Both sides had started brightly, with Will Atkinson looking lively for ourselves, and it was no surprise to see the deadlock broken so early on in the game.

And it was that man Gary Jones who had a hand in the first goal. A low drive from him was saved by the 40 year old Dagenham keeper, but Bolton loanee Temitope Obadeyi was on hand to fire in the rebound. 1-0 to Dale in the first few minutes, let's have a cricket score please.

But that lead didn't last long, and rather than racking up a cricket score, we lost out wickets at the very next delivery and as Boycott would no doubt be screaming out, we certainly gave our wicket away.

A goal kick from Fielding resulted in Stanton getting caught in possession, and from that moment on, we were always up against it, and a simple cross into the middle allow the Dagenham striker Scott with an open goal to tap in to provide great delight to the 50 odd Dagenham supporters and even greater delight to the Dad of the Year Bury supporter dancing about in the Willbutts Lane stand.

If these two early goals promised great things, then we were to be somewhat disappointed, as if anything they knocked the stuffing out of the game. There was to be no goal bonanza on show, and it was from here on that the first signs that the game was heading for the 1:1 draw were in evidence.

There were still chances, but they were very much half chances rather than glorious efforts.  Dagnall and O'Grady both came close, but it was Atkinson who probably had the best chance after great work by O'Grady saw the ball crossed straight through the six yard box, with Atkinson inches away from dispensing the ball to hand Dale the lead again. Any contact would surely have seen a goal.

The ever entertaining Tony Roberts never misses an opportunity to grab the limelight, and he was almost hero and villain all rolled into during one first half incident. He did well to block a Gary Jones shot, but what followed was one of those bizarre moments that appear to happen in slow motion.

Having saved the shot, the ball bounced on the floor before spinning up above his head, scraping the top of the cross bar with Roberts oblivious to where the ball was. His usual theatrics saw him thank and kiss the woodwork at the first opportunity.

The second half was rubbish. That might be considered slightly unfair but when you think of some of the wonderful football we've been spoiled with this season, this was a million miles off it, and for long periods we were witnessing what could have been labelled as long ball football.

Of course, the pitch didn't help matters one bit (though let it be said, when compared to other pitches up and down the country it is still in wonderful nick), but we just found it impossible to grab hold of the game. With Jason Kennedy reduced to a spot on the bench, we had plenty of battlers but nobody able to orchestrate our play, and the game seemed to be just meandering its way towards full time.

Both keepers were having plenty of possession without having to face any real chances, and at times it appeared like they were indulging in their own little game, as they launched the ball towards each other over and over again. We certainly didn't look like we had a goal in us, and experienced Spotland campaigners have seen a many a game like this over the years, where we've conceded.

We had a brief scare when a Dagenham striker charged down a Fielding clearance, but Fielding managed to recover enough to catch the ball as he returned down to terra firma, with the Daggers player finding himself between Fielding's body and the ball.

Changes were made, and the ever impressive Higginbotham at least offered us something different. He came on as a sub for the Dale goalscorer Obadeyi, and caused some right problems for the Daggers left back as he ran at him with trickery and pace.

But it was the entrance of Jason Kennedy with around twenty minutes to go which made the difference. It was a sub that had been anticipated for some time, with the only question mark whether it would be Taylor or Jones who would make way for the former Darlo man.  It would be fair to say that the decision to bring Taylor off brought grumblings around the ground, with many feeling that our captain should have been withdrawn. Watch this space.

Things were certainly improving, and both of our strikers came close to giving us the win. O'Grady had one effort which went well wide, and Dagnall had a volley scraping the post which would have had us salivating had it gone in.

But it was that man Jones who proved to be the difference. Space just opened up for him as he approached the Dagenham box, and with the away defence covering most of the other options up, he had almost no choice but to shoot. We were certainly glad that he did.

His shot gave Roberts no chance, and Jonah himself had very little chance as he disappeared under a scrum of bodies more usually seen at Spotland by the side formerly known as Rochdale Hornets. By the time he emerged, the smile on his face lit up the stadium as he ended a barren spell in front of goal which has lasted almost two years.

Of course, in the first half we'd managed to keep the lead for a matter of seconds, and there'd been enough evidence to know that we wouldn't be allowed to just play out time, and it was certainly a nervy time.

Again, the Rochdale of Christmas past have conceded in similar circumstances many a time over the years, but it was not to be this time. And with a rather ridiculous four minutes of added time to play, we sealed the victory and with it our lead at the top of the table.

Clever passing football against a pressing Dagenham side saw Chris Dagnall given the freedom of the Dagenham half with just Tony Roberts to beat before he'd even left his own half.

Unfortunately for all concerned, Dagnall found himself pushed wide by Roberts giving him a far tougher chance than he should have had, but his eventual shot was parried into the direction of Chris O'Grady who was left with a tap in.

The eventual scoreline was perhaps harsh on Dagenham but more importantly it was further proof of what sets this Dale side apart from Dale sides of previous years. Not only do we have what it takes to football sides to death, but also in our armoury is the ability to grind out victories, taking the win from stalemates - something the media often portray as being the mark of champions. As the league table of the moment suggests, who are we to argue?

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