Dooley delighted to open account

STEPHEN Dooley opened his League One goalscoring account for the season when he fired Dale ahead against Lincoln – he was just disappointed the team couldn’t make the goal count for three points!

Dooley’s 12th minute effort was eventually cancelled out by Lincoln’s 86th minute leveller.

“On a personal note it’s been a long time coming, so it was nice to get that first league goal – but we’re very disappointed to concede a late goal again at home,” he said.

“We feel like we should have a few more victories, so that is disappointing but we’ll keep our head up and go again.

“We played very well in the first half but they came out and came at us in the second half and we didn’t get to grips with it. Maybe we sat a bit deep, but it’s hard to know. If you hld out for 1-0 everyone says you defended brilliantly.

“Maybe we could have played a bit higher, but I don’t think we were as good on the ball in the second half as we were in the first.

“Hopefully, last Saturday will be an anomaly for the season – we were well and truly beaten. On Tuesday we wanted to come out and score a couple of goals and do ourselves justice. We did so well for 86 minutes but then we were pegged back right at the end.”

Goals from sources other than perennial top scorer Ian Henderson are vital according to boss Brian BarryMurphy.

“We’re very conscious of the fact that all of our team have got to score goals and take the load off Ian Henderson as a squad,” he said.

“Stephen is someone who gets into that area of the pitch over and over again due to his physical capabilities, and it was very rewarding for him to score.

“He should be adding goals to his game because he’s a player who possesses the highest level of technical ability.

“He’s a very good technical finisher and he has always been renowned for his assists, but there’s no reason he can’t score goals and be an invaluable contributor to that part of the game.”

It was another enjoyable contest for BBM, despite the concession of a late Lincoln equaliser.

He believes the Imps will be up there among the clubs contesting the promotion race, despite the fact they lost manager Danny Cowley last week.

“I thought it was a very good game,” he said..

“Lincoln are a high-class opposition and they are going to be one of the big hitters in the league, so we were aware of their threat.

“I thought we were exceptional for the first 45 minutes. Our commitment to attacking play was true and easy to see. In the second half, the game became more difficult for us, not intentionally, but because of the opposition.

“Certain elements of our play became scrappy, but the lads gave everything and I have just commended them on their application and commitment to the cause. I asked them pre-game to give absolutely everything for the club and they left everything on the pitch.”