KEITH HILL received several letters during the first few weeks of the season, some offering support for his long-term objectives, others questioning his methods and the ability of certain players.

Whether or not the Dale boss had the time or inclination to reply to that latter group of writers his team’s performance on Tuesday provided ample response to silence those critics coloured by an obsession with short-term thinking and knee-jerk reactions.

Both Will Buckley and Joe Thompson were scintillating to watch as Dale’s cutting edge returned. The manager has spoken at length of nurturing young players, of having the confidence to give them their opportunity to develop and flourish – here were the benefits of such a sound policy. The two 18-year-olds on either wing provided ample evidence in support of Hill’s philosophy.

Of course, it’s all well and good showcasing skills and talent when the team has a five-goal cushion against 10 men – but make no mistake, Buckley and Thompson were running Chester ragged long before the outcome of this contest was decided.

Young Joe desperately wanted in on the second half goalscoring spree – but putting a run of consistently good form under his belt was of far greater importance, and he is well on the way to achieving that after eye-catching displays against Carlisle, Morecambe and now Chester in his last three games.

Both youngsters were pipped to the man of the match award by a player whose unquestionable talent had not shone at its brightest capacity going into the midweek clash – Chris Dagnall. The most gifted striker at the club struggled for top form in the first few weeks of the season, but he was back with a bang and three finishes of the highest calibre.

Once his hat-trick was secured, Chester crumbled.

In the 12th minute he collected a Gary Jones pass, turned sharply past Stephen Vaughan and advanced into the penalty area before curling a beautifully flighted shot beyond the dive of John Danby and into the roof of the net. The goal settled Dale into their stride.

Buckley was inches away with a header from Tom Kennedy’s freekick in the 21st minute and the visitors – who offered precious little as an attacking force in the opening half hour – were down to 10 men in the 28th minute when Glen Rule launched into a sliding tackle that connected with Thompson long after the Dale player had released the ball.

Referee Mark Harwood had no hesitation in showing the Chester man a red card. It was the right decision, though in mitigation the wet conditions played a part.

The game appeared as good as over in the 32nd minute when Thompson glided towards the box, shaped to shoot and instead slipped an intelligent pass into the feet of Dagnall. The striker held off Kevin Roberts and drilled a low shot past Danby to double Dale’s advantage.

Buckley raced away down the left flank and sent a rasping effort into the side netting while on the other side Thompson beat Stephen Vaughan with ease only for his pull back to miss both Dagnall and Lee Thorpe who had made the same runs. Had one held back it would surely have been 3-0.

There was a scare just before half time when an improvised effort from Kevin Ellison, 25 yards from goal, had Sam Russell scrambling across his line to make the save.

After the interval, it seemed normal service had resumed when Buckley weaved his way through the middle only for his clipped effort to be saved. Yet just as Dale threatened to cut loose, Chester were back in the game out of the blue.

A foul on Eddie Johnson by Rory McArdle led to a freekick 30 yards from goal. Ryan Lowe delivered into a packed penalty area and the ball was inadvertently diverted past Russell by McArdle.

Thorpe had a golden chance to restore the two-goal advantage when a poor back pass from Paul Linwood put him through one on one but the big man shot wide of Danby’s post.

Fears that Dale were about to throw away more points having dominated the game were cast aside when Dagnall netted his third in the 59th minute. Controlling Thompson’s low cross and spinning Roberts in one movement, he slipped a near-post shot past Danby.

Chester’s resistance was up. It was four when Buckley’s cross from the left was met by Thompson’s head, the ball taking a big deflection off Thorpe on it’s way into the net and the big man claiming the goal.

The fifth saw Kennedy’s lofted pass met by substitute Adam Le Fondre, who had drifted round the back of the Chester defence. The poacher controlled the ball at waist height before slipping it between Danby’s legs. Within 30 seconds of that goal Buckley got in on the act, turning in Le Fondre’s shot from close range.

Buckley was close to a second when his effort hit the post and in the last few seconds of the game a curling attempt from Ciaran Toner struck the foot of the upright. In the end, Dale could have finished with double figures – but it’s fair to say six represents a return to goalscoring form!