Late Equaliser Denies Dale at Barnet

Rochdale Match Report by Jan Harwood

Barnet 1 - 1 Rochdale

Despite not turning in a particularly good performance Rochdale looked to be heading for all three points at Underhill after Grant Holt’s first half strike. It took until the 87th minute for Barnet to find the net and Rochdale manager Steve Parkin was left to rue some missed second half chances as his side lost two points rather than gained one.

Similar to Rochdale’s last defeat at Boston, the performance of the match official again came under scrutiny. Referee, Mr Stroud, denied Dale two penalty shouts after Gareth Griffiths was twice held back in the area, as the big centre half came up to attack for corners. The official could also have denied Barnet their equaliser for what could easily have been a foul on keeper Matthew Gilks, but it was not to be and Barnet snatched a late share of the spoils.

Steve Parkin stuck with the 4-3-3 formation that saw his side beat Mansfield at home last weekend and the only change in personnel was an enforced swap of Tommy Jaszczun for Alan Goodall who has flu. It was clear by the formation that the Rochdale side had not come to Underhill to defend but that was something they had to do quite a lot of in a below par first half display. However, with their attacking formation they were able to create openings at the other end.

The first of these efforts came on seven minutes after a tight opening spell. Scott Warner hit a well-timed shot from the edge of the box after Jamie Clarke’s free kick was cleared past the 18-yard line. Ross Flitney in the Barnet goal did well to save, diving to his right.

Barnet looked dangerous in attack throughout the first half, taking advantage of Rochdale’s three-man midfield by using both wings to their advantage, exposing the Dale full backs and allowing numerous crosses into the box. However, Gilks was seldom troubled with some excellent Griffiths defending denying the home side attempts on goal. However, more good wing play allowed Barnet their first clear opening after Nick Bailey beat Jamie Clarke down the Barnet left. Ben Strevens was unlucky to prod his shot wide after sliding onto Bailey’s cross.

Rochdale could have opened the scoring on twenty-five minutes when a free kick was awarded in Rickie Lambert territory. Twenty-five yards out and Lambert struck an excellent attempt round the wall and only the crossbar denied the front man his 6th of the season.

With half an hour played Rochdale were forced to make a substitution when Neil Brisco, who was a doubt before the game after he ‘popped’ his shoulder in training in midweek, suffered a re-occurrence of the same injury in what seemed a fairly innocuous challenge. Parkin threw miniature midfielder Gary Brown into the mix in Brisco’s stead. The youngster settled well into Rochdale’s formation, showed some calm touches under pressure and looks set for a successful future at Spotland.

Not long after Brown had entered the fray, Rochdale took a perhaps unexpected lead. Brown himself earned Rochdale a corner which was whipped across by set-piece specialist Lambert. To everyone’s immediate surprise Rochdale’s goal-machine Grant Holt found himself unmarked and he thanked the Barnet defenders by powering home a header, which means the striker has scored in each of Rochdale’s last seven matches.

Barnet were not troubled by the goal and they continued to press down the flanks. Louis Soares was causing numerous problems down the right and Rochdale were fortunate that the Barnet strikers could not capitalise on some of his superb crosses. Last ditch defending and poor Barnet finishing meant that Rochdale carried their 1-0 lead into the interval.

Barnet continued where they left off after the break and an excellent run by Damien Batt gave him a shooting opportunity but the left back fired high and wide. Barnet continued to enjoy the better of the play but after an hour Rochdale finally began to enjoy some possession and had their best spell of the game.

Dale created plenty of opportunities and could, and perhaps should, have put the game beyond the home side. In fifteen minutes of excellent Dale play Lambert and Holt both missed good chances and Rochdale had their two penalty claims turned down. On two occasions Anthony Charles prevented Gareth Griffiths from getting his head to two corners by testing the elasticity of the Dale defender’s shirt. It was clear that Griffiths was being impeded but the referee chose to smile in the face of Griffiths’ appeals.

Lambert’s opening came after good work by Holt who had pulled out to the left hand side. Holt got to the by-line after beating his man and fired in a low cross to Lambert at the near post who had made a good run and lost his marker. The former Stockport man should have done better than to prod his shot wide with the goal gaping. Minutes later the roles were reversed when another Lambert corner caused Barnet problems and Holt again found himself free, only this time his header was straight at Flitney. However, disaster struck for Dale minutes later when Holt picked up a fifth yellow card of the season, resulting in a one-match suspension for Dale’s goal scorer. After a free kick had been given on the edge of the box, Holt hit a shot over the bar meaning a yellow card was incurred for playing on after the whistle had gone. However, the booking looked harsh as Holt shot just a second after the whistle had been blown

Following Dale’s spell Barnet had two chances of their own. Streven’s over-head kick looked spectacular but was easily dealt with by Gilks. However, Barnet’s second attempt resulted in a far more gilt-edged miss. Jamie Clarke was stupidly caught in possession and Barnet charged forward. When the ball was pulled back to Dean Sinclair on the penalty spot an equaliser seemed by far the most likely outcome but he did his best impression of a rabbit-in-headlights and blazed the ball over the bar.

Dale created one more opening before being left with the task of soaking up Barnet’s last gasp five minutes of pressure. An excellent run by Blair Sturrock, who had beaten the offside trap on numerous occasions throughout the second half, enabled the striker to latch on to Lambert’s flick. With the Barnet keeper rushing out to meet him Sturrock lofted the ball over Flitney but wide of the mark. Surely the better option would have been to take a touch past the oncoming keeper who would either have brought Sturrock down for a penalty or left a simple tap-in.

Five minutes later and Barnet were level, a deserved equaliser coming in unfortunate circumstances for Rochdale. Tony Gallimore needlessly conceded a corner with only 4 minutes remaining and the ball was only half cleared back to the right hand side where Bailey was fouled. The resulting free kick was pumped high into the box and Gilks spilled the ball under pressure from three Barnet players who had all lost their markers. The ball dropped to Grazioli and he made no mistake with his header into the top corner.

Rochdale will be disappointed with the manner and the timing of the equaliser but a draw in the end was a fair result as Barnet looked dangerous in attack all afternoon. However, Rochdale could have put the game to bed in the second half and with Barnet’s threat seemingly exhausted Dale could easily have taken three valuable away points from their visit to London. Rochdale will look to maintain pressure on the top sides when Oxford visit Spotland on Tuesday night, however, the side may find it difficult to win without star-man Grant Holt.