Latics through on pens as Dale can’t break down ten men

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Adam Le Fondre is dismayed after his penalty miss as the Oldham fans celebrate in the background.

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Rochdale 0
Oldham Athletic 0

(Oldham win 4-1 on penalties)

Rochdale and Oldham went the full distance on the night that Ernie Cooksey’s name rang out around Spotland one last time.

It was fitting that a game dedicated to the memory of the ex-Latics and Dale midfielder would be so packed full of incident and passion from both sides, as well as the two sets of supporters.

Like the last competitive fixture at Spotland, the game was decided on penalties, although this time there was to be no happy ending for Dale.

There had already been one penalty missed in the game, Lee Hughes missing for Oldham in the first half. How ironic it was then that Hughes, who questionable should not have been on the pitch, rifled home the winning spot kick after Chris Dagnall and Adam Le Fondre both missed for Dale.

Tom Kennedy had responded to Neal Eardley’s fine penalty with a sublime effort but from then it was downhill as Dagnall blazed over and Le Fondre’s kick met the hands of Mark Crossley.

Those kicks were matched with a perfect four from ten-man Oldham to put them through to round two.

After the game Keith Hill said that the goals will come for his strikers and once again he admitted that his side should have won the game. He said: “Our strikers are a bit like golfers at the moment. A golfer never forgets how to putt but sometimes they just don’t drop but sooner or later they will.

“We haven’t put the ball in the net but these players will score goals, they have proven that, I just don’t want them to get anxious and start snatching at their chances.

“Another day we would have won comfortably and then that’s what happens when you go to penalties, they scored theirs and we missed ours, that’s the way it goes.”

Once the tributes to Cooksey had been paid both teams knew there was a game on and it was a game of which the former Dale and Latics man would have been proud; played with passion and full of incident.

In the first half alone Oldham had a man sent off and missed a penalty.

A pin-point kick from the hands of goalkeeper Mark Crossley found Dean Smalley and his pace was too much for Tom Kennedy and Rory McArdle. Smalley skipped into the box and the latter brought him down and the referee had no choice but to point to the spot.

The Dale fans’ chosen villain for the evening, Lee Hughes, stepped up and Sam Russell went the right way to produce a fine save.

The referee had little choice over the other talking point of the half; the sending off of Craig Davies. Although Hughes could count himself very lucky not to get the red after he stamped on Tom Kennedy right in front of the assistant referee.

The assistant missed the incident but as Nathan Stanton and Davies had a heated discussion over the incident, Davies was seen to throw his head at Stanton in full view of the referee. Davies was red carded, with Hughes looking sheepishly after his team mate as he walked down the tunnel.

Within ten minutes both sides could have taken the lead. Davies fired a point blank header straight at Russell, while Chris Dagnall, at the other end, lost his footing at the crucial moment as he tried to latch on to McArdle’s long ball.

Oldham had the better of the chances, and the play, but couldn’t test Russell until the spot-kick. Chris Taylor fired wide from range and Hughes glanced a header off target from Neal Eardley’s cross.

The Latics became increasingly frustrated and it was no more evident than when Hughes stamped Kennedy.

And so it was that Dale began to create chances at the other end. Debutant Jon Shaw came within a whisker of latching onto Adam Rundle’s low cross, while Sean Gregan came close to deflecting the ball into his own net in an attempt to head away Kallum Higginbotham’s deflected free-kick.

Crossley, however, was only once tested and he responded superbly to the task, tipping away Kennedy’s free kick after Gregan’s foul on Shaw.

Dale began the second half in lively fashion, looking to stretch the ten men. It almost paid off immediately as Kennedy was able to overlap and get a cross in, which was deflected off Eardley onto Dagnall, who looped a header and Crossley did well to tip over.

It was far from one sided stuff however, with the noticeable pace and fitness of the League One players, who were still more than capable of making a game of it.

The heavens opened above Spotland and still chances were at a premium. Adam Le Fondre replaced Shaw in the hope of adding more energy up front for Dale. Shots rained in on Crossley’s goal but efforts from both Le Fondre and Gary Jones failed to test Crossley.

Finally Dale mercilessly carved open the Oldham backline. Rundle and Kennedy linked well to create an opening for Jones’ superb run from midfield. Jones cut back for Dagnall but there was further evidence that the striker has yet to find his shooting boots this season as he fired straight at Crossley.

For the remaining 20 minutes there was nothing between the sides as Dale built to the edge of the Oldham box but then ran out of ideas, while Oldham’s efforts on the counter were kept comfortably at bay.

So it remained until the final minute when Le Fondre earned the last opportunity of normal time. He tried to bend his shot from the left hand edge of the box but it was close enough for Crossley to get a two handed punch away.

Into extra-time and it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell who had the ten men, with limited chances at both ends.

Eardley speculative drive for Latics was the only shot. It was fully 35 yards but superbly struck and Russell was forced to turn it over the bar.

Oldham continued to plough forward as Dale began to slow and substitute Lewis Alessandra came within inches of getting on the end Danny Whittaker’s low cross.

There was little to trouble the scorers in the second period, with McArdle’s header from Clark Keltie’s corner the only attempt in the region of the goal.



Attendance: 5786

Rochdale: Russell, Ramsden, Kennedy, Stanton, McArdle, Keltie, Jones, Rundle (Thorpe 112), Higginbotham (Toner 101) Dagnall, Shaw (Le Fondre 63).
Subs not used: Spencer, Wiseman, Toner, Lambert, Thorpe, D’Laryea.

Oldham: Crossley, Eardley, Hazell, Gregan, Smalley (Stam 58), Allott (Liddell 119), Whittaker, Taylor, O’Grady (Alessandra 68), Hughes, Davies.
Subs not used: Fleming, Liddell, Alessandra, Stephens.

Booked: Hazell, Eardley, Taylor.

Sent Off: Davies.

Attempts: Rochdale 11 (4) Oldham 10 (4)
Freekicks: Rochdale 20 Oldham 12
Offside: Rochdale 5 Oldham 7
Corners: Rochdale 14 Oldham 6