Poor first half performance - Dale slump to second consecutive defeat

Rochdale 1 - 2 Lincoln City

In a game between two physical sides there are always going to be some strong tackles and some skirmishes, what you hope for during such situations is that the match officials will try and keep the physical element from becoming ill-tempered but referee Mr Booth could not manage this throughout the afternoon, his constant whistle blowing merely served to anger the players and fans and when his ultimate solution to the problem was to send Gareth Griffiths off for an incident that was seemingly unseen by everyone, bar the referee and his assistant, Dale fans and players were feeling let-down and hard done by.

However Rochdale did little to help their own cause in a first half which saw them concede two goals against a well-drilled Lincoln outfit that started the game with some good football against the non-starting home side that could seldom get the ball off the visitors in the opening half hour. If it was the point of the officials in the first half to show that they had definitely turned up, it was the complete opposite for Rochdale as Lincoln bossed the opening exchanges.

 Spectators were left with a ringing in their ears at half time, not due to the atmosphere, although it was another good turn out by the locals at Spotland, but due to the referee’s whistle being blown so often. Rochdale struggled against a referee that blew for every incident, whilst Lincoln took it in their stride. The match officials stopped both sides from producing any form of flowing football and Lincoln were the better equipped to combat it. It’s a well known fact in League Two that Lincoln do not need to play football in order to play football such is the style of the beautiful game that Keith Alexander has instilled into his Lincoln side.

The visitors first chance came with just over five minutes played; Robinson missing the target with his header following Brown’s flick on. A decent opportunity and Robinson should have done better in his attempt to open the scoring, a definite warning shot across the Rochdale bows showing that they better hurry up in removing themselves from the starting blocks. Rochdale’s failure to do so meant Lincoln were not so friendly with their fire the next time around and took the lead with fifteen minutes gone. This time Robinson meant business, glancing Keates’ corner into the net whilst the Rochdale defenders were seemingly stuck to the grass in the Sandy Lane goal area.

Finally Rochdale realised they were in a game and began to create some chances of their own and they earned themselves a corner with half an hour played. Jamie Clarke went over to take and then waited for the usual pre-corner ritual to ensue before delivering the ball across. There was pushing and shoving in the box as players jostled for position awaiting the ball. Then to everyone’s surprise the linesman from the opposite half, some seventy yards away, called the referee over for a chat. The referee returned, whistle in mouth (by now a less surprising sight!) and gestured for Gareth Griffiths to leave the box, and after some discussion, to leave the field altogether for apparently issuing an arm to the face of a Lincoln defender. What had the linesman spotted from his distant vantage point? No-one else could understand, no Lincoln player had appealed or gone down under the challenge, yet off Griffiths trudged, much to his bemusement. The referee may have been looking to stamp some authority on a fixture that could have brimmed over following a brawl minutes earlier in which Ernie Cooksey was heavily involved; either that or some officials with hawk-like optical skills had turned up at Spotland.

Whatever the referee’s excuse was for giving Griffiths his marching orders, the Rochdale back line could provide none when they conceded a second goal, having survived just 6 minutes with 10 men. Lincoln looked to take the game to the home side who were clearly reeling following their lead centre-half’s dismissal. Lee Cartwright was easily beaten following a short corner and Derek Asamoah headed along the by-line before his cross was eventually turned in by Brown after the Dale defence failed to clear the ball from their six-yard box after some somewhat pitiful attempts to get the ball away.

Rochdale began to come out on top of any injustices that they may have been feeling and for the rest of the half they created some good chances that could have reduced their arrears and gone someway towards changing the game. The Rochdale crowd responded by getting behind their team in the face of adversity and Grant Holt had a hat-trick of chances before the break. He turned well in the box to create the first but his shot lacked the power to trouble Marriott. Next he could not find the target as he fired over the bar from the edge of the area after a smart one-two with Lambert created the chance. Finally, the best opening of the lot went begging, a free-kick evaded all bar Holt at the back post but the striker perhaps was not expecting it and put the ball wide with the fans already cheering for what looked like a certain goal. Rochdale had it all to do in the second half but a good end to the first gave them optimism that they might yet get something from the game despite the odds being stacked against them.

The early second half signs were encouraging; the defence looked fairly solid in the face of Lincoln counter attacks, whilst the midfield and strikers were attacking at every opportunity, the introduction of Scott Warner adding some bite to the now three-man midfield. Holt made the first chance by himself, beating two before troubling Marriott into a clumsy looking save. His strike partner Lambert was next to try his luck but again the strike lacked venom; however it looked as though a goal, and a life-line, were not too far away.

They got their deserved reward on fifty-four minutes through Ernie Cooksey. Marriott saved well as Holt bore down on goal but the ball went straight to Cooksey who smashed the ball home, giving the grounded keeper no chance. Lincoln could not recreate their possession keeping football of the first half and Rochdale pressed for an equaliser as Lincoln felt the pressure involved in gaining their first away win of the season. Lambert’s flick on from a free-kick gave Holt another chance but again Marriott was on hand.

Lambert had been largely ineffective throughout the afternoon but it was still surprising, or perhaps more disappointing, to see him replaced by Sturrock, given Lambert’s free-kick prowess, but Rochdale contain to press. Cooksey was next to fire but again Marriott was equal to the task and it was becoming increasingly unlikely that Rochdale would find the elusive equaliser that they perhaps would have deserved given the spirit of their second half display.

Whilst the performance of the referee will remain the major talking point, Steve Parkin was the first to admit that his side’s performance was not good enough in the first half and it was that as much as anything that cost them the points. However, the second half showing offered much encouragement and if they take that into next week’s fixture against Brentford in the FA Cup, they have a decent chance of progressing into round two despite the high calibre the opposition. However, they may have trouble against the Brentford strike-force with a patched up defence; Gareth Griffiths now faces a three match ban for the ‘phantom elbow’ incident.