KEITH HILL slammed his faltering Rochdale side after they twice blew a lead against their promotion rivals.

Marcus Stewart scored twice to earn Exeter a point. But furious Dale boss Hill rapped: "It is football suicide. We cannot keep conceding stupid goals like that.

"The lads are pretty down because the same mistakes keep coming back to haunt us."

Dale slipped to third while Exeter stayed sixth but were happier with the point. They lost both Alex Russell and Steve Basham to injuries and boss Paul Tisdale was happy to go in at half-time only 1-0 down.

He said: "I wanted to get to half-time and have a re-think. The players were all very positive and they took a hold of the game in the second half so I'm delighted."

Grecians' Dean Moxey hit the bar with a free-kick but that was their only threat in the first half. At the other end, Rochdale striker Lee Thorpe had three chances - netting with his second on 27 minutes.

Pounced

Exeter hit back after the break, although striker Stewart, 36, looked to control the ball with his arm before bundling it into the net for the visitors' 55th-minute equaliser.

Rochdale's 21-goal top scorer Adam Le Fondre - who started on the bench because of an injury niggle - came on to win an 83rd-minute penalty when Troy Archibald- Henville hauled him down.

Paul Jones saved Le Fondre's spot-kick - but the striker pounced on the rebound to score.

But the lead lasted just a minute as Rochdale defender Nathan Stanton brought down Stewart who sent Frank Fielding the wrong way with the penalty.

CHESTER 0, BRADFORD 0

STRUGGLING Chester will feel happier with a point than Bradford after this stalemate.

Bantams halted a four-game losing run, but their slide has dropped them out of the play-off spots and boss Stuart McCall admitted: "We huffed and puffed without getting anywhere.

"We had a presence in attack but failed to capitalise and didn't do enough in wide positions to cause them real problems."

Chester are struck in the bottom two, three pooints adrift of safety. But manager Mark Wright insisted his side could have snatched a win with a little more luck.

He said: "I can't fault the lads for the way they battled - but yet again it showed how badly we lack a striker."

Neither side came to life until midway through the first half when Bradford keeper Rhys Evans denied Jay Harris and Kevin Ellison.

Chester's John Danby was forced to move quickly to push an effort from on-loan striker Paul Mullin around the post.

Evans was also busy after the break, saving a 20-yarder from Chester's Ryan Lowe and then diving at the feet of Richie Partridge.

And Partridge nearly grabbed a winner when he just failed to connect with James Vaughan's cross with the goal at his mercy.

BARNET 0, DARLINGTON 1

DAVE PENNEY hit out at the administrators running Darlington - despite his side's battling win at Underhill.

Pawel Abbott hit a 66th-minute winner before Polish keeper Przemyslaw Kazimierczak made a name for himself after going on for crocked Andy Oakes.

He made top-class saves to deny Joe Devera and Neal Bishop certain equalisers.

But Quakers chief Penney said: "This club are treating the players like amateurs and so I won't talk about the game."

Penney stormed off, but his assistant Martin Gray explained: "The boss is very frustrated.

"We've tried to prepare right for a tough game but have been told we have to sit on a bus for five hours this morning instead of travelling down overnight."

CHESTERFIELD 2, PORT VALE 1

JACK LESTER fired his way into the Chesterfield record books with his second double in four days.

Striker Lester was denied his hat-trick by a post but still became the first Spireites player in 80 years to net 20 goals in back-to- back seasons.

Vale keeper Joe Anyon kept the home side out, making fine saves from Lester and Danny Hall, until he was injured in a 41st-minute collision with Drew Talbot.

Sub Chris Martin, 18, escaped five minutes after the break when a 20-yarder from Lewis Montrose hit the bar.

But Vale cracked on 68 minutes when Paul Edwards' blunder let in Lester. And he struck again six minutes later with a deflected shot.

Vale got one back on 77 minutes when Paul Marshall's free-kick went through a crowd of players.

GRIMSBY 1, ALDERSHOT 0

BARRY CONLON'S cheeky late penalty fired Grimsby to their second successive win - and a step closer to survival.

The on-loan Bradford frontman coolly chipped Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz eight minutes from time after Aldershot defender Anthony Charles handled.

Shots had started superbly and Justin Cochrane's 25-yarder was acrobatically tipped over by Wayne Henderson.

And Mariners defender Robert Atkinson cleared John Grant's shot off the line a minute after the break.

But sub Peter Bore hit the bar as Grimsby came good after the break and the breakthrough came when Nick Hegarty's long ball was handled by Charles under pressure from Conlon - who converted from the spot.

LINCOLN 1, NOTTS CO 1

SAM MULLARKEY fired the first goal of his career to rescue a point for Lincoln.

Delroy Facey put County ahead after 64 minutes, rolling home from an acute angle after City keeper Rob Burch and defender Moses Swaibu got in a tangle.

But sub Mullarkey, 21, levelled just seconds later, smacking a 20-yarder into the top corner.

Magpies' ex-Lincoln forward Jamie Forrester had an effort clawed away from the top corner by Burch in the first half.

Imps striker Ben Wright's piledriver was finger-tipped into the side-netting by keeper Kevin Pilkington after the break.

Facey eventually put County in front - but also lashed a match- winning chance wide after Mullarkey's leveller.

ROTHERHAM 0, ACC STANLEY 0

KEEPER Andy Warrington was the Rotherham hero with two superb saves to earn a point.

Warrington acrobatically tipped over Michael Symes' angled header from John Miles' free-kick.

Then the same double act threatened when Miles' corner fell for Symes, but Warrington pulled off a brilliant stop from point-blank range.

At the other end, Rotherham's 16-goal top scorer Reuben Reid cut in from the right to produce a quality save from Stanley keeper Kenny Arthur.

Ryan Taylor then missed two chances for Mark Robins' side, firing one wide and then high.

Taylor did get one on target late on with a fine shot that looked like being the winner, but Arthur again stretched to save and keep his clean sheet.

WYCOMBE 1, SHREWSBURY 1

BEN DAVIES' 75th-minute leveller denied Wycombe only their second win in eight games.

Gary Holt gave Peter Taylor's side a 29th-minute lead, curling in a cracking 20-yard effort off the underside of the crossbar.

But Shrewsbury missed a host of chances before Davies finally headed home from Steve Leslie's cross.

Shrews boss Paul Simpson said: "We were on top of the game and then went behind against the run of play. We did enough to win and we're disappointed."

Wycombe boss Peter Taylor said: "Gary's was a very good goal - I've never seen him do that before. I'd have liked to have clung on but we let them have an easy cross for their goal."

BRENTFORD 1, GILLINGHAM 1

SIMEON JACKSON'S penalty secured a handy awayday point for Gillingham as leaders Brentford stuttered again.

Jackson grabbed his 17th league goal of the season after Karleigh Osborne brought down Andy Barcham on 59 minutes.

David Hunt had put Bees ahead four minutes before the break with a 25-yard free-kick. Jackson thought he had levelled seconds later but his effort was ruled out for a foul.

BURY 1, BOURNEMOUTH 0

ANDY MORRELL hit the only goal as Bury roared back into second after their first league win in five games.

Elliott Bennett chipped the ball over Shwan Jalal as the Bournemouth keeper came rushing out, and Morrell tapped in his ninth goal of the season nine minutes after the break.

Jalal had kept struggling Cherries in it with a couple of fine saves and Shakers defender Ben Futcher headed one against the bar as Alan Knill's side should have won by more.

DAG & RED 2, MACCLESFIELD 1

MATT RITCHIE volleyed the winner seven minutes from time as Dagenham came from a goal down.

John Still's men went behind on 38 minutes as John Rooney, 18, Wayne's brother, hit his first senior goal - pouncing on a Mark Arber slip.

But Still sent on Paul Benson with 67 minutes and Daggers' 17-goal top-scorer had only been on three minutes when he poked the leveller.

And Macc were sunk when Ritchie crashed in his volley from the edge of the box.

MORECAMBE 1, LUTON 2

KEVIN GALLEN volleyed Luton's 59th-minute winner to end Morecambe's 12-match unbeaten run.

Stewart Drummond's 21st-minute header put Shrimps in front. But Chris Martin nodded in rock- bottom Hatters' leveller just before the break.

Morecambe boss Sammy McIlroy admitted: "We need to make sure our season does not fizzle out."

Luton are still 11 points adrift of safety. But boss Mick Harford insisted: "if we can stay unbeaten until the end of the season we can stay up."

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