FA Cup: Rochdale 0 - 4 Huddersfield Town

Calvin Andrew had to leave the field with a suspected depressed fracture of the cheek bone

Rochdale went out of this year’s FA Cup in the fourth round at the hands Huddersfield Town. Huddersfield are currently in the play-off places of the Championship and their quality showed through as they comfortably went through to Monday’s draw.

The game could have been so different had Peter Vincenti and Ian Henderson took first half chances with the score at 0-0 but a goal just before the interval for Huddersfield debutant Collin Quaner deflated Rochdale. Three second half goals, from Izzy Brown and two from Michael Hefele sealed their passage through.

Rochdale's injury hit squad was dealt another blow when Calvin Andrew had to leave the field after just ten minutes after a sickening clash of heads with Huddersfield’s Mark Hudson. The Dale manager Keith Hill later saying it looked like a depressed fracture of the cheek bone. Mark Kitching, who signed on loan from Middlesbrough this week, replaced Andrew for his debut.

Despite that set back, Dale were the better of the two sides in the first half and had two glorious chances to open the scoring.

Peter Vincenti rose unchallenged seven yards out to meet a Rueben Noble-Lazarus cross but his header flashed over when he should have done better.

Ian Henderson went close. The striker intercepted a short back pass from Hudson before rounding stranded keeper Joel Coleman outside the area but with two defenders racing back on the line, Henderson rushed his shot and fired into the side netting.

Huddersfield stepped up a gear before the half time whistle and their pressure told.

Elias Kachunga warmed the hands of Conrad Logan with a long range shot.

Former Dale loanee Harry Bunn’s free kick towards the back post saw defender Hudson fire a shot just over the bar.

From the goal kick, Dale keeper Logan hit the ball straight to Dean Whitehead who quickly played in Brown. Brown raced at goal and unselfishly laid the ball to debutant Quaner who slotted home. Despite looking in an offside position the goal stood.

The second half certainly belonged to Huddersfield, who managed the game superbly.

A free kick from out wide saw a tangle of bodies inside the box with McGahey adjudged to have tripped Martin Craine. Chelsea loanee Brown dispatched the penalty sending Logan the wrong way.

Second half substitutes Aaron Mooy and Michael Hefele combined to add a third. Mooy’s free-kick was perfect for Hefele whose weak header somehow squirmed through the hands of Logan at his right hand post.

The fourth goal was a quality counter attack with Quaner turning provider as he squared for Hefele to score his second and Huddersfield’s fourth.

The defeat will soon be forgotten as Rochdale concentrate on the league but the long growing injury list will be a concern for the Dale manager.

Rochdale: Logan, McGahey, Keane, McNulty, Rafferty, Camps (c), Allen (Redshaw 68), Noble-Lazarus (Mendez-Laing 67), Vincenti, Andrew (Kitching 12), Henderson.
Subs: (not used) Diba, Canavan, McDermott, Taylor.

Huddersfield: Coleman, Craine, Stankovic, Hudson, Holmes-Dennis, Kachunga (Hefele 46), Whitehead (Mooy 69), Billing, Bunn (Hogg 46), Brown, Quaner.
Subs: (not used) Ward, Smith, La Parra, Wells.

Referee: Mr O Langford
Assistants: Mr C Akers and Mr S Meredith
Fourth Official: Mr A Haines

Attendance: 7,431