IT WASN'T pretty but Rossendale got back to winning ways after an ugly' VDF Senior Vase victory over Bolton.

Dale were always in control and ran in four tries against a resolute Bolton side.

But in truth it could have been so much more had it not been for the defensive qualities of the visitors.

Dale opened the scoring with an unconverted score by full back Roger Dennison following good work from the forwards. It was just rewards for the home side given the territory and possession in the opening 20 minutes.

The second score came after a poor clearance was fielded by wing Seta Kolinisau on the right. The Fijian flyer made a run across field before finding Dennison who arrowed between the Bolton defence and hammered his way over underneath the posts. The conversion was missed leaving Dale 10-0 in front.

After the break, Bolton replied with a penalty but Dale's pressure led to try number three when fly half Mark Walmersley charged down a clearance and the ball ricocheted into the grateful arms of Stuart Browning who scampered in from less than 15 metres. Replacement full back James Hilliard added the extras for a 17-3 lead.

As the game drew to a close, Dale rounded off the afternoon with a team try down the right hand side of the pitch. The eventual try scorer was Simon Entwistle rewarded for his support work. Again Hilliard converted to leave the final score 24-3.

Coach, David Wood, said: "Winning is everything but it was an ugly win. We made a great deal of handling errors and that kept the score respectable for Bolton. There were a number of positives as we looked at some new combinations. We're a bunch of nice guys' sometimes and we'll need to fix that against Oldham next week."

Team: Dennison, Kolinisau, Wood (Hilliard 50 mins), Diggle, Harper, Walmersley, Browning (Stirrup 60 mins), Goosen, Collins, R. Horrocks, Woodward, Ellinor, Knights (D. Horrocks 50 mins), Entwistle, Elmer.

Dale are back on league duty on Saturday when they entertain Oldham at Marl Pits (ko 3pm).