Hockey: Rochdale Seconds 4 - 4 Preston Fourths

Rochdale's Quat Chem Man of the match and hat-trick score Scott Hempsall-Jones

Rochdale Men’s Seconds came away with a share of the spoils in their last home game of the season on Saturday against Preston Fourths - a team still in the hunt for a top three spot.

For the first time in a month Captain Karl Wynn had a full-strength squad to call up on and was looking to end a run of three back-to-back defeats.

Rochdale started with a high tempo and looked to keep Preston under pressure in their own half. A tactic they have employed on several occasions this year.

The midfield centre pairing of Imran Ansar’s experience and Luke Rosebury’s youth was working well and Rochdale were unlucky early on with several good chances.

Last season’s top scorer Scott Hempsall-Jones for Rochdale broke the deadlock when he forced the Preston keeper to commit and gently lifted the ball over him and floated it in to the back of the net.

Preston came back at Rochdale with an attack that lead to a drilled ball across the Rochdale D and and an equaliser at the back post.

Both keepers were earning their keep, particularly Preston’s as he foiled attack after attack from Rochdale, who were having the better chances in the first half .

Bjorne Brauns was quickest to react to a loose ball in the D, and calmly slotted home to put Rochdale back in to the lead.

Preston kept attacking and just before the half time whistle equalised.

A conservative start to the second half by Rochdale saw them pacing themselves and at times allowing Preston to have the ball in their own half. The change in mindset worked and when Rochdale did start to apply pressure, a perfectly weighted ‘slip' from Dean Close to the near post found Hempsall-Jones who fired it past the keeper to regain the lead for Rochdale.

A foul in the Rochdale D gave Preston a short corner., one of many they had been awarded during the game. Preston beat the solid wall in front of them and worked an opening to score and bring the game to 3-3.

Within minutes Rochdale were awarded a short corner for a foul on Ansari ,and Hempsall-Jones dispatched a drag flick that gave the Preston keeper had no chance.

Rochdale couldn’t hold onto the lead and a Preston counter attack ended with a strike from the edge of the D, which deceived Robinson in the Rochdale goal and found the back of the net.

Captain Karl Wynn said: “It games like this why we all turn up; fast paced, end-to-end and 100% commitment both sides.

"Preston were pushing for a top three finish and for us to hold them to a draw in the manner we did says a lot about how far we have come since our promotion.

"It’s our last game of the season next week away at Leyland and we are looking to finish the campaign in style.”

The Quat-Chem man-of-the-match award went to Scott Hempsall-Jones.