|
Match Report |
Wrexham gave up their
undefeated record at home following a disappointing second half display
as Rochdale turned around a 1-0 half time deficit to take all three
points with two goals in the second half.
The game started well for Wrexham with Chris Llewellyn opening the
scoring after only eleven minutes but two mistakes in the second half
allowed Rochdale to leave the Racecourse with all three points courtesy
of a brace from their top scorer Chris Dagnall.
Wrexham showed no changes from the side that defeated Hereford on the
weekend with Rochdale making one change after Mark Jackson was ruled out
as expected and he was replaced by Gary Brown in defence.
Rochdale started the game in good spirit following their first away win
of the season at Boston on the weekend but the early corner awarded in
their favour came to nothing and Wrexham successfully cleared the
danger.
Chris Llewellyn dragged a shot wide for Wrexham after he escaped the
Rochdale defence and Steve Evans fired over from Ferguson’s corner as
Wrexham began to exert some control over the game with ten minutes gone.
Wrexham did not have to wait much longer for the opening goal with Chris
Llewellyn opening the scoring a minute later. Rochdale failed to deal
with the ball in from Jones down the right and hesitancy between the
full back and the centre half allowed Chris Llewellyn to collect the
ball down the left side of the area and his quick turn and shot went
under Gilks in the Rochdale goal.
Rochdale should have been back on level terms within five minutes when
Dale took a free kick quickly to the far post where Keith Barker was
unmarked but he could only steer the ball into the arms of a grateful
Ingham.
Rochdale enjoyed the better of the possession during the first half but
really failed to carve out any guilt edge opportunities. The visitors
had a good opportunity when Sako found himself in space down the wing
but the ball into the box was disappointing and this set the theme for
the remainder of the half, as both teams lacked quality in the final
ball to create an opening.
Crowell fired a free kick over the bar for Wrexham and Mark Jones did
the same when he had a shot from the edge of the area. Wrexham did look
threatening when they used Done down the left although shots on goal
remained at a premium. Mark Jones ended up in the book for taking a free
kick before the referee had blown his whistle and his second attempt
went high and wide when he was eventually allowed to take it.
Rochdale had shouts for a penalty turned down in the thirty fourth
minute when Goodall fired in a cross at the body of Evans and Valentine
but the referee waived play on by indicating that the ball had struck
the chest of the Wrexham defenders.
Wrexham invited pressure on themselves
when Ingham failed to deal with an awkward back pass at the expense of
the corner and further indecisive defending from Steve Evans resulted in
the ball not being cleared but Wrexham managed to hold out until half
time.
With no changes during the break, Wrexham started a lot better in the
second period and forced an early corner following good work by
Llewellyn in front of the Kop. Darren Ferguson curled the ball into the
centre of the area where the header from Danny Williams lacked any power
to beat Gilks.
Rochdale broke quickly from the corner and got the goal their first half
display deserved three minutes following the restart. Wrexham looked to
be in control of the situation with a Rochdale player forced out to the
right side of the area but a slip by Steve Evans allowed Gary Jones to
pick out Chris Dagnall and he made no mistake with a shot from inside of
the area.
Wrexham continued to struggle after the break with the strikers finding
it increasingly difficult to hold the ball up and this resulted in
Darren Ferguson and Matty Crowell being over ran in midfield.
Wrexham did force the next chance just after the hour mark when on loan
McAliskey linked up well with Ferguson and his shot on the volley was
parried by Gilks at the base of the near post and he was able to smother
the ball before Llewellyn could pounce.
Wrexham made a change a minute later with Matty Done replaced by Josh
Johnson but the Trinidadian winger struggled to make an impact on the
game. The change did allow Mark Jones to occupy a more central role and
one of his runs at the Rochdale defence was cynically brought to an end
with a challenge from behind. To make a complete mockery of the current
rules the Rochdale defender did not end in the book yet Jones picked up
a caution in the first half after taking a free kick too early. Rather
disappointingly, Matt Crowell hit the resulting free kick into the wall
as another opportunity went begging for Wrexham.
It got worse for Wrexham with twelve minutes left when Dagnall scored
his and Rochdale’s second of the night after Michael Ingham spilled a
long range shot from Goodall and Dagnall followed up well to turn the
rebound past Ingham.
Wrexham tried to respond and another bad foul on Mark Jones went
unpunished by a referee who was receiving agro from both set of
supporters. Jones curled the resulting free kick to the far post where
Gilks did well to claim the ball whilst travelling through a crowd of
players.
Jon Newby and Mike Williams were introduced late on with Danny Williams
pushed into midfield but Wrexham failed to cerate any chances and almost
conceded a third but this time Ingham did well to hold onto a shot from
the right side of the area.
Wrexham had one opportunity during the four minutes of injury time when
Steve Evans climbed well to head a Ferguson free kick to the far post
but the ball was too far in front of Llewellyn for him to be able to
steer it on target. |
|
Match Reaction |
|
To
follow... |
|
|
Match Notes |
| Venue |
Racecourse Ground |
| Attendance |
3,577 |
| Half Time |
Wrexham 1 Rochdale 0 |
| Referee |
SJ Bratt (West Midlands) |
|
|
Other Match Reports |
|
Wrexham
Dragons: Final Whistle Podcast
BBC:
Wrexham 1-2 Rochdale
Rochdale FC: Wrexham 1 - 2 Rochdale
TEAMtalk: Dagnall double earns Dale points
Wrexham FC: Wrexham 1 Rochdale 2
Wrexham MAD: Wrexham 1 Rochdale 2 |
|
League 2 Results |
|
Bury 2
Accrington Stanley 2
Grimsby 1 Hartlepool 4
Macclesfield 1 Chester 1
Mansfield 1 Darlington 0
Milton Keynes Dons 3 Torquay 2
Notts County 1 Stockport 0
Peterborough 1 Barnet 1
Shrewsbury 1 Walsall 1
Wycombe 1 Swindon 1
Boston United 1 Lincoln City 0 (Wednesday)
Bristol Rovers 2 Hereford 1 (Wednesday)
Wrexham 1 Rochdale 2 (Wednesday) |
|
League 2 Table |
|
|
|
P
|
GD
|
PTS
|
|
1 |
Walsall |
11 |
13 |
24 |
|
2 |
Lincoln City |
11 |
8 |
23 |
|
3 |
Wycombe |
11 |
8 |
23 |
|
4 |
Swindon |
11 |
7 |
23 |
|
5 |
Milton Keynes Dons |
11 |
5 |
22 |
|
6 |
Notts County |
11 |
4 |
20 |
|
7 |
Torquay |
11 |
2 |
17 |
| 8 |
Shrewsbury |
10 |
10 |
16 |
| 9 |
Darlington |
11 |
3 |
15 |
| 10 |
Hartlepool |
11 |
0 |
15 |
| 11 |
Peterborough |
11 |
-3 |
15 |
| 12 |
Wrexham |
10 |
-3 |
15 |
| 13 |
Accrington Stanley |
11 |
0 |
13 |
| 14 |
Mansfield |
11 |
-1 |
13 |
| 15 |
Hereford |
11 |
-3 |
13 |
| 16 |
Rochdale |
11 |
-1 |
12 |
| 17 |
Chester |
11 |
-3 |
12 |
| 18 |
Bristol Rovers |
11 |
-5 |
12 |
| 19 |
Barnet |
11 |
0 |
11 |
| 20 |
Stockport |
11 |
-6 |
11 |
| 21 |
Grimsby |
11 |
-8 |
11 |
|
22 |
Boston United |
11 |
-8 |
10 |
|
23 |
Bury |
11 |
-6 |
8 |
|
24 |
Macclesfield |
11 |
-13 |
4 |
|
|
Next Game |
|
Hartlepool
United (a),
Coca Cola League 2
Saturday 30
April 2006, Kick Off @ 15:00 |
|
83'
63'
83'
83'
63'
83'