Rochdale 2 (Thorpe 10, Dagnall 16) Carlisle United 2 (Bridges 4, Madine 71) (Rochdale win 4-3 on penalties) - Full Time Report

Rochdale went through to the next round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy on penalties after putting in a performance that showed a marked improvement on Saturday’s defeat to Dagenham.

Rochdale came from behind to lead at half time but Gary Madine’s deflected strike took the tie to spot kicks.

Carlisle were in front as early as the fourth minute when Michael Bridges fired convincingly home but Dale were in front when Lee Thorpe powered home a header and Chris Dagnall danced past the keeper to finish.

“That was much more like it,” said Keith Hill after the game. “I wanted a performance today and a response to Saturday and the players did that. We were up against a very good Carlisle side, who wanted to play in the right manner and it made for a very equal contest.

“I was really disappointed after Saturday but we got back to basics and all in all it was a good advert for lower league football.”

The change in Dale strike force was the major reason for the turnaround in the home side’s fortunes. Not only did Lee Thorpe and Chris Dagnall get on the score sheet, they ran the Carlisle defence ragged, Thorpe winning every header and Dagnall busying himself in and around the Carlisle box.

As expected Rochdale boss Keith Hill has rung the changes to a side that put in an abject display against Dagenham at the weekend.

Hill made five changes in total, with a complete overhaul of his attacking options; Lee Thorpe returning from suspension to come straight into the starting line-up alongside Chris Dagnall.

Within four minutes the game had seen more action than the Dagenham travesty, the main difference being that that was all it took before the visitors to take the lead.

Chris Dagnall had squandered a reasonable chance for Dale as his shot cannoned off Richard Keogh before Carlisle were able to score with their first attack.

The pace of Jennison Myrie-Williams allowed him to skip past Marcus Holness on the Carlisle left before cutting back for Michael Bridges to finish convincingly into the top corner.

The game turned into a positive sizzler when Lee Thorpe netted his first goal of the season to equalise for the home side. Adam Rundle, cropping up on the right wing, whipped in a perfect cross for Thorpe to power an excellent downward header beyond Ben Williams.

All of a sudden whatever Keith Hill had to say in the dressing room after the game against Dagenham was beginning to bare fruit. Although the visitors only had themselves to blame as Dale took the lead. Evan Horwood left a backpass woefully short and Chris Dagnall preyed upon the mistake. The striker took it past Williams, but it was Dagnall’s next touch that made the goal, taking it back inside a despairing Danny Livesey and finishing into the empty net.

The change in strike force was paying obvious dividends. Thorpe was giving the Carlisle defence more than enough to think about, while Dagnall busied himself looking for the taller striker’s knock downs.

Two further moves carved the United defence open and they had Williams to thank for keeping the score down as the Carlisle stopper produced strong saves from Joe Thompson and Gary Jones.

Carlisle’s pace in attack meant they never looked far from an equaliser against a nervy looking back line. Sam Russell had to be quick off his line to smother Danny Graham’s clip after Bridges had played him through beautifully.

They say the best form of defence is attack, so Dale, with some delightful build up play, chose to busy themselves at the other end of the pitch. It should have brought more goals. All of sudden space appeared from nowhere for Thorpe to shoot inside the box but the big man drilled wide.

Minutes later Carlisle gave further evidence that they are yet to perfect the art of knocking the ball back to their keeper as this time Keogh presented Dagnall with a gift. The striker looked to be clear but chose to cut the ball back and although Jones and Thompson were in the vicinity, they were never really in a position to score.

The end-to-end nature of the encounter continued as Carlisle’s strong attacking performance went on. They should have been level when Bridges peeled off to find space eight yards out once more but his finish was much less efficient.

The visitors came on strong in the second half and they would have been level but for an excellent Russell save. A combination of Bridges and Graham carved the Dale backline open. The pair exchanged passes, one a back heel from Graham to put Bridges in, and Russell did brilliantly to tip the ex-Leeds man’s shot onto the post.

The open nature of the cup encounter continued and it was Dagnall, who continued to show an impressive return to form, who was on the end of the next Dale chance as he latched onto to Thompson’s long pass to go clear. The angle was tight, and Williams did well to save the low shot with his legs.

Dale were back in the ascendency and Rundle was the next man that should have extended their lead as he hung back on the penalty spot to receive Thompson’s cut back. The winger got his shot all wrong, miscuing it well wide.

Rundle’s wing play was better than his finishing as he stole a march along the Carlisle by-line, beating two men and getting all the way to goal before Williams was able to scramble his cross-come-shot out for a corner.

Carlisle’s threat looked to have subsided but from nothing they drew level when substitute Gary Madine struck from range and the ball clipped Marcus Holness to wrong foot Russell and take the ball right into the top corner.

Dale were straight back looking for the win as torrential rain teamed down. Shots from Adam Le Fondre and Rundle were fired narrowly wide before Le Fondre drew a fine save from Williams, tipping his powerful drive over the crossbar.

The misses left for a tense finish as Carlisle pushed for a late winner and crosses rained in on the Dale goal in not dissimilar fashion to weather. Russell was able to punch clear anything that came his way and penalties would decide what had been a very enjoyable encounter.

Dale were up from the first kick after Grant Smith hit the post and then Clark Keltie rifled in an unstoppable penalty.

Their lead was maintained as Le Fondre responded to Bridges’ effort with an equally emphatic kick. 

Danny Carlton and Gary Jones, Gary Madine and Ciaran Toner then exchanged penalties and Hackney hit the woodwork to send Dale through to the next round.

Attendance: 1608

Rochdale: Russell, Holness (Keltie 90), Kennedy (Wiseman 45), Stanton, McArdle, Rundle, Jones, Toner, Thompson, Dagnall (Le Fondre 79), Thorpe.
Subs (not used): Higginbotham, Spencer.

Carlisle: Williams, Horwood, Livesey, Graham (Madine 63), Carlton, Thirlwell (Smith 27), Joyce, Myrie-Williams (Hackney 71), Gowling, Bridges, Keogh.
Subs (not used): Raven, Howarth.

Attempts (on target): Rochdale 15 (7) Carlisle (11) (3)
Free kicks: Rochdale 9 Carlisle 12
Offside: Rochdale 5 Carlisle 5
Corners: Rochdale 8 Carlisle 6

Referee: N Miller.