FALLIBILITY among foes preserved Scarborough's Division Three standing after they tumbled at Rochdale to their heaviest defeat of the season.

The Seasiders shipped four goals for the first time this campaign but held on to fifth place as the same pointless fate befell Macclesfield, Barnet and Peterborough.

The most alarming aspect of the 4-0 slip-up at a sleet-and-sun-blessed Spotland was the speed of Boro's disintegration after a promising start.

Scarborough this afternoon had an immediate opportunity to erase their third defeat of 1998 when Scunthorpe United were the visitors to the McCain Stadium.

But manager Mick Wadsworth may have been forced to make changes to shore up a defence that could be without Jason Rockett and Paul Heckingbottom, both casualties from Saturday.

Rarely have Boro made such an assured opening on their travels and they might have capped that with a fourth minute goal but Neil Campbell's weak finish was not what Steve Brodie's measured pass required.

The game was less than ten minutes old when Campbell and Paul Heckingbottom teamed up to get behind the Rochdale back line, but referee Alan Wiley opted to ignore the advantage and blow for a foul on Brodie.

Former Darlington striker Robbie Painter then daubed his mark on the game with a goal in each half before a crude challenge from John Kay denied him a hat-trick chance.

Dale's first goal owed as much to knee injury victim Rockett's immobility as Painter's eye for goal.

Receiving the ball on the left the striker cut back from the touchline, leaving Rockett floundering, before lifting a shot over Boro 'keeper Tony Elliott.

Scarborough's good start now a distant memory, the hosts applied the pressure to a creaking Boro backline.

Painter's 59th minute second goal, a guided header from a superb cross on the run by full-back Andy Fensome, forced the visitors to push forward on a rescue mission.

However, only self-destruction ensued as substitute Troy Bennett's calamitous back header presented Graham Lancashire with an easy opportunity to lob Elliott.

Scarborough became uncharacteristically ragged in the remaining minutes as the hosts unhinged them with ease.

Any of several chances could have provided a fourth goal, which eventually fell to Andy Farrell as Elliott and Gareth Williams hesitated in the face of Paul Carden's centre.

Seasiders' boss Wadsworth admitted that his team had suffered a "bad day at the office" but refused to roast his players for their performance.

"We played quite well in the first half and gone in 1-0 down but in the second half we have been poor. The defending at times was very poor indeed. Sometimes you have a bad day at the office," said Wadsworth.

"We have let ourselves and the supporters down. I will put it behind me fairly quickly. We are still in a healthy position. The results have been fairly kind to us."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.