League Two promotion rivals Rochdale and Bournemouth shared the spoils in a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Spotland on Monday afternoon.

Chances were few and far between as the two well-organised defences came out on top. Brett Pitman and Gary Jones exchanged shots in the opening exchanges, both off target before Rochdale's Tom Kennedy had the first on-target attempt after 26 minutes, a curling free-kick comfortably saved by Shwan Jalal.

While Rochdale enjoyed the lion's share of possession, Bournemouth had a couple of half chances before the interval. Jason Pearce headed Alan Connell's cross wide on 35 minutes and Connell had a good chance himself soon after but failed to connect with Pitman's cross.

After the break, Chris O'Grady's pulled shot was on target but he was unable to generate enough power to trouble Jalal, while at the other end Frank Fielding offered a scare when he completely missed a back pass, a bobble on the uneven Spotland surface almost embarrassing him.

Sammy Igoe's 30-yard shot from nothing had Fielding back-peddling and beaten, but the effort sailed over the crossbar.

Chris Dagnall's smart turn and shot was saved by Jalal while O'Grady's blast at goal was deflected wide by Pearce.