Ian Miller stepped from the bench to become an unlikely hero as Darlington beat Rochdale 2-1.
Late substitute crowned the unlikely hero
Ian Miller stepped from the bench to become the unlikely hero after his late header ensured it is Darlington that lead 2-1 at the half-way stage of their play-off semi-final with Rochdale.
An enthralling first-leg saw substitute Miller, introduced three minutes from time, net a 91st minute winner when he reached the ball ahead of Dale keeper Tommy Lee, whose kamikaze raid off his line was ill-advised.
The game had looked to be heading for a stalemate when Dale's Chris Dagnall cancelled out Jason Kennedy's 'Bergkamp-esque' opener for the home side.
While first leg affairs are notoriously cagey affairs the action that ensued here bucked the trend somewhat, as both sides showed a willingness to attack in numbers.
Darlington set the tempo early as Scott Wiseman embarked on a remarkable run that took him from the half-way to bearing down on Dale keeper Lee. Unfortunately, for the home crowd at least, Wiseman's finish failed to match his approach as Lee pulled off an important stop.
It was far from one-way traffic though as on eight minutes Dagnall rattled the bar with a clever curling effort from the edge of the box, after he had robbed a ponderous Alan White.
Michael Cummins will rue not putting his boot through the ball when presented with time and space 12 yards from goal, before team-mate Kennedy conjured his wonder goal.
There seemed little danger when a long ball was played into his body on the edge of Rochdale's box. His first touch was majestic in flummoxing Rory McArdle; the second sublime as he opened his body to curl past Lee.
The early stages of the second period saw Darlo attempt to cement their advantage as twice Tommy Wright headed over from set-pieces, before pulling up injured and having to be replaced midway through.
Dagnall delight
Dale responded through an effort from the lively Dagnall that drifted a yard or so wide, before the same player sent the travelling faithful into delirium with a leveller.
A clever touch gave him a yard of space on the edge of the box and while his shot had power, it would not have beaten David Stockdale had it not taken a wicked deflection off Stephen Foster.
With Dale buoyed and Darlo down after losing both Ben Parker and White to injury, it was Keith Hill's side that always looked the more likely as they created the odd half chance to steal the tie.
Substitute Ben Muirhead saw his close-range effort hit his own man and deflect wide, but it was Miller that earned the plaudits with a late winner.
