Bury held by 10-man Rochdale

Bury had to settle for a point against 10-man Rochdale after being held to a 0-0 draw at the JD Stadium on Friday night.

The derby clash lived up to the hype and although Dale forward Ian Henderson was shown a second yellow card in the 44th minute, Bury struggled to break the visitors down. Knowing victory would put them top of Sky Bet League Two, Dale still had chances of their own but will be pleased with a point after keeper Josh Lillis made a stunning save at the death. Bury's Clive Platt saw an early shot blocked before Jamie Allen and Henderson spurned good chances for Dale. The visitors suffered a blow as top scorer Scott Hogan, named League Two's player of the month earlier in the day, was forced off through injury, but Dale almost caught Bury napping as Allen headed over from Peter Vincenti's cross. The Shakers replied with Danny Nardiello firing over and moments before the break, Henderson was sent off after pulling back Jake Carroll. The hosts almost broke the deadlock just after the restart as Pablo Mills sliced a close-range effort against the bar, yet Dale hit back as Michael Rose and Peter Cavanagh fired inches wide. Bury substitute Tom Soares then had a close-range effort saved by Lillis while Brian Jensen parried a 20-yard shot by Dale sub George Porter. But Dale were indebted to Lillis as he denied Nardiello before tipping over Carroll's last-gasp header.