Hill: Point gained for Rochdale

Keith Hill insisted the important thing was not to concede ground in the relegation scrap after Rochdale's 1-1 draw to Aldershot.

The Shots, in the drop zone in League Two, were the better side in a first half which saw the visitors pose plenty of questions towards the latter stages as the Dale limped in at the interval fortunate to keep their clean sheet intact. Yet striker George Donnelly handed the hosts the initiative with a 52nd-minute opener, collecting Michael Rose's throughball and slipping a neat finish past Jamie Young. But Aldershot hit back when Adam Mekki capitalised on a slip from goalkeeper Josh Lillis, who spilled Ben Herd's free-kick straight to the substitute. Asa Hall then almost compounded Dale's disappointment when he struck the woodwork from distance. The Lancashire outfit climbed one place in the table to 17th and stretched their advantage over the bottom two to seven points. "From my point of view it's advantage Rochdale with respect to staying in this division," Hill said. "It was definitely a point gained, it always is. That was the real mental test for us of the two games we have this weekend. For Aldershot it was a free hit. "They were playing away from home and trying to drag us into the relegation battle. Their pressure game will come on Monday when they play at home and have their own supporters a bit anxious about the position they are in."