Dagnall makes hero’s return to push Dale towards play-offs

Rochdale v Rotherham

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Rochdale 4 (Jones 30, Dagnall 81, 86, 90)
Rotherham United 1 (Joseph 7)

Chris Dagnall made a ‘Roy of the Rovers’ return to the Rochdale side, coming off the bench to score a hat-trick in under ten minutes and fire Dale into the thick of the play-off race.

The striker, absent since September through injury, put Dale to within a point of seventh placed Chesterfield after they suffered defeat away to Bradford.

The game was almost a carbon copy of Rochdale’s victory at home to Accrington last Sunday. The visitors took the lead only for Dale to peg them back before half time and then put the Millers to the sword after the break.

Rotherham took an early lead when Marc Joseph nodded in Peter Holmes’ corner.

Gary Jones levelled on the half hour mark, latching on to Rene Howe’s pass and producing a calm finish.

The stage was set for Dagnall when he replaced Adam Le Fondre with twenty minutes left to play. At the time Rotherham were on top but Rochdale never looked back after Dagnall turned in fellow substitute Lee Thorpe’s centre from six yards out.

Dagnall’s dream return was completed via a deflected finish off goalkeeper Andy Warrington and then a sublime left foot curler into the far corner.

“That is what Chris Dagnall is all about,” said Rochdale boss Keith Hill. “He might not have been training enough but this was a must win game and at 12.45 he’s knocking on my door and asking ‘what’s the script?’ After that he’s written his own script.

“He was pleased just to be back in the squad but then he’s gone on to win us the game.

“It was an open game and both sides created opportunities. Both sides wanted to win in the right manner and in the end that suited us.”

The hat-trick hero said: “No-one could have written it. I was just eager to get back involved, to score three goals is just a bonus. For the third I just took the ball back inside and saw a big gap and as soon as it goes in you just think ‘this was your game’.”

Rotherham manager Mark Robins admitted that Rochdale deserved the victory: “We were soft once they had scored and I just felt they wanted the result more than us at times. In the end the better side won today.”

Rochdale made one change to the side that lost at Notts County on Saturday, Ben Muirhead replacing Chris Basham on the right wing, but the big surprise was seeing Dagnall’s name among the substitutes. Most thought that Dagnall’s presence was simply an incentive for the two starting strikers, Le Fondre and Howe, to up their games in the knowledge that Dagnall was close to a return. Little did anyone in the ground know what was in store.

Dagnall’s pitch-side presence almost paid immediate dividends as Le Fondre should have opened the scoring inside five minutes. Muirhead crossed and Le Fondre got a second bite of the cherry after his first attempt was blocked but he could only fire wide from six yards out.

Rotherham took the lead against the run of play when Joseph turned in a corner after the home defence failed to clear their lines and they could have extended their lead when Dale keeper Tommy Lee failed to collect a cross and Simon Ramsden was forced to head Peter Holmes’ header off the line.

Rochdale had struggled to create anything after their bright opening but scored an excellent equaliser with half an hour gone. Le Fondre flicked on a long ball and Howe fed the ball into the area for Jones to finish convincingly beyond Warrington.

The home side should have taken a half time lead when Howe latched onto Muirhead’s through ball with only the keeper to beat but he could only fire the ball straight into Warrington at the near post, when a finish across the keeper or even a square ball for Le Fondre, looked the simpler option.

Both sides enjoyed spells of pressure during the second half but with the game still locked at one each the stage was set for Dagnall to make his comeback.

With ten minutes to go Adam Rundle found Lee Thorpe in the Rotherham box and he showed a cool head to pass across the six yard box for Dagnall to take a touch, turn, and fire beyond Warrington.

There was a touch of fortune about Dagnall’s second but the move was worthy of a goal. The striker fed off Basham’s pass and outpaced two defenders. His shot hit Warrington but looped up and into the Rotherham net.

If that goal was a bit lucky then Dagnall’s third was all down to sheer skill. Tom Kennedy floated a superb long pass into the striker. Again Dagnall turned back inside the last defender and then fired an unstoppable left foot finish into the far corner of Rotherham’s net.

The headline writers were purring after Dagnall’s opening goal but even pure fantasy writers would have struggled to come up with a plot in which a player absent through injury for seven months, fired a nine minute hat-trick to push his side ever closer to the end of season showdown.

Attendance: 2,985

Rochdale: Lee, Ramsden, Stanton, McArdle, Kennedy, Muirhead (Basham 54), Perkins, Jones, Rundle, Le Fondre (Dagnall 68), Howe (Thorpe 65).
Subs not used: Thompson, Holness.

Booked: Thorpe.

Rotherham: Warrington, Tonge, Mills, Coughlan, Joseph, Yates (Taylor 52), Harrison, Hudson, P Holmes (Ross 77), D Holmes (Newsham 60), O’Grady.
Subs not used: Cann, Green.

Booked: Harrison, P Holmes, Taylor.

Attempts (on target): Rochdale 11 (6) Rotherham 9 (6)
Free kicks: Rochdale 15 Rotherham 17
Offside: Rochdale 6 Rotherham 3
Corners: Rochdale 3 Rotherham 5

Referee: A Woolmer.