There is a thin line in football between unbridled joy and utter devastation. Eight minutes of stoppage time encapsulated this perfectly, and painfully, in the climax of one of the greatest title finales in living memory.
Trailing leaders York by two points as they entered the fifth of six added minutes, Rochdale thought they’d produced yet another late show when it mattered most. They were still alive in this National League title race thanks to 90-plus-minute winners against Sutton United, Wealdstone and Braintree Town, and it seemed certain all that drama hadn’t gone in vain when Emmanuel Dieseruvwe headed home in the dying moments. Bedlam broke out at Spotland - fans were on the pitch, shirts were off and nabbed as a collectors item. This was a day for Dale’s history.
