KEITH Hill reckons Rochdale's promotion tilt is the real deal after watching his side see off play-off rivals Shrewsbury.

Two goals from Lee McEvilly cancelled out Grant Holt's opener to move Dale within a point of the automatic promotion places.

"It takes us closer to where we want to be," said Hill. "The league is very tight and I think if Shrewsbury had won today they would have got away from us a little bit.

"But as it stands we go above them so it's a win-win situation."

Hill praised his team's grit after recovering from a wonderful opener from former Dale favourite Grant Holt.

Victory lifted them up to sixth in the League Two.

"It was a hard-working performance and in the first half we had to put the endeavour in to wrestle the game from Shrewsbury.

"In the second half it could have gone against us with Grant Holt scoring the first goal and I wouldn't have been overly concerned had we lost the game to that goal because it was a tremendous goal.

"But our work-based performance really pleased me. You cannot always play total football and if you want success it has to be work-based.

"I think we had gone away from that recently."



Holt opened the scoring in the 59th minute, rounding Rory McArdle with his first touch before volleying spectacularly past Russell.

But the game was turned on its head by substitute McEvilly.

He levelled in the 67th minute, sidefooting a freekick from the edge of the area under the Shrewsbury wall and past Daniels.

He struck the winner on with seven minutes to go in fortuitous circumstances.

Clark Keltie's corner was hacked off the line by Ben Davies only for the ball to hit the in-rushing McEvilly.

ROCHDALE: Russell 7, Ramsden 6, Stanton 6, McArdle 6, Kennedy 6, Rundle 6, Toner 6 (M Jones 90), Keltie 7, Thompson 6, Le Fondre 6 (Dagnall 69, 6), Shaw 6 (McEvilly 54, 7). Subs not used: Holness, Spencer