Abysmal Dale Display Leads to Defeat

Rochdale 0 Wrexham 1

Fans were looking forward to what was only Rochdale’s third Saturday home game since the new year following the away win at Macclesfield but they couldn’t wait for the game to end after a desperately poor performance resulted in another home defeat; stretching Dale’s winless home run to over four months.

It seemed impossible to think that the same eleven players could turn in such a contrasting display to that of the Macclesfield game but they managed it comfortably; conceding a typically sloppy goal, creating very little and having a man sent off to compound the misery.

A Wrexham side low on confidence and in poor form were there for the taking early on but Dale never looked like getting after their opponents and both sides started the game as badly as each other on the beach that is the Spotland playing surface. Half chances from crosses were all that Dale could muster as both Lambert and Cooksey failed to trouble Ingham with their headed attempts.

In typical fashion, Rochdale’s opposition found the goal with their first attempts at creating anything that closely resembled pressure. The Dale defence collapsed under the first breezes of a Wrexham attack; an unmarked Andy Holt found an unmarked Matt Derbyshire who passed the ball home from close range, the goal was as easy as it has been hard for Steve Parkin to resemble any sort of back line that looks capable of keeping a clean sheet. Both sides continued to go through the motions up to a half time whistle that could not come soon enough.

Dale continued to show no sign of troubling the score line in the second period despite having the better of the possession. Eventually, Dale awoke Wrexham keeper Ingham from his slumber, but the crowd remained unmoved. A superb Lambert cross forced Ingham to earn an amount of his wage packet by saving superbly from a goal bound Christie header.

Following this rare Dale attempt, calamities continued at the other end as Dave Bayliss was sent off for a second bookable offence following a late tackle on Derbyshire. The Wrexham fans jeered as their own defender, on loan at Spotland, left the field. This meant the end of what little attacking endeavour Dale had to offer and the rest of the afternoon was spent watching if Wrexham could make the game safer than their one goal lead already was. Derbyshire should have had his second when he beat an AWOL Gilks to the ball but he could only find a man on the line with his attempt and then struck the foot of the post after the ball rebounded to him.

With the entertainment over on the pitch, if it ever started, attentions were turned to a young fan, who ran across the pitch to the Rochdale dugout and propelled his season ticket at the Rochdale manager in disgust at yet another poor home display. An unacceptable action in any circumstances but it highlighted another unacceptable Rochdale performance in front of fans who must expect much more for their hard-earned money.