Dale take over at the top of the Alliance

Defender Alex Coleman

Vale had held top spot recently after taking over from Blackpool, who had been there for most of the season, but Rochdale made the most of their game in hand although a Port Vale win at Bury would have seen them return to the top.

It really is close now. 'Dale have a two point lead over Port Vale who in turn are just one point ahead of Burnley, Oldham and Blackpool, the Seasiders now down in fifth place on goal difference.

Rochdale could, and should, extend their lead before anyone else plays this weekend. They travel to Carlisle on Thursday for a re-arranged match and follow that up with a game at Walsall on Saturday.

Burnley missed the chance to go second on Saturday, a win against Macclesfield would have guaranteed that, but Oldham were able to catch up with a win over Tranmere.

Shrewsbury and Morecambe were also winners, against Carlisle and Stockport, with two games falling victim to the weather.

Whilst Rochdale get the opportunity to pull away this week, Burnley are without a game this weekend. However, we have two games next week. We face Accrington away a week today and then play Shrewsbury at home a week on Saturday.

The recent results and the next fixtures are show below along with the Burnley goalscorers.

Last Week's Results

Thursday 24^th February
Oldham 2 Rochdale 4

Saturday 26^th February
Burnley 0 Macclesfield 0
Bury 1 Port Vale 0
Carlisle 1 Shrewsbury 2
Morecambe 3 Stockport 1
Oldham 2 Tranmere Rovers 0

Postponed Games
Accrington v Wrexham
Preston v Walsall

This Week's Fixtures

Thursday 3^rd March
Carlisle v Rochdale

Saturday 5^th March
Macclesfield v Bury
Shrewsbury v Morecambe
Stockport v Oldham
Tranmere v Preston
Walsall v Rochdale
Wigan v Accrington
Wrexham v Blackpool

Burnley Goalscorers

13: Joe McKee
11: Joe Jackson
5: Tommy Taylor
4: Shay McCartan
3: Ross Wilson
2: Curtis Woods
1: Tom Anderson, Steven Hewitt, Mehdi Lazaar,
Dave Lynch, Dean Overson, Ed Williams, Ben Woodhead