Altrincham 3 - 0 Rochdale

Date published: 13 February 2024

Rochdale lost to Altrincham at the J Davidson Stadium on Saturday (10 February).

The match was rearranged having been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch in January. With heavy rain again in the days before this game was played it was late Saturday morning, following a pitch inspection, that the referee gave the go ahead, however the pitch was heavily sanded in large areas.

Back in the Dale starting line-up were Cian Hayes, having rejoined Dale on loan from Fleetwood, George Nevett, back from injury, and Kairo Mitchell, replacing Kyle Ferguson, Jimmy Keohane and Ian Henderson who were on the substitutes bench.

Early in the first half Dale had most of the possession but failed to score from any of the chances they created, the best of which was a good chance for Kairo Mitchell but his header went just wide of the post.

Altrincham came more into the game as the half progressed and on loan Dale goalkeeper Tiernan Brooks was called on to save Dale on a number of occasions, including a superb triple save.

It appeared the game was going to be goalless at half time until just before the break as Brooks, having done well to divert an Eddy Jones shot onto the post, could do nothing when Amaluzor, who was first to react to the loose ball, fired his shot high into the Dale net.

Half time: Altrincham 0 - 1 Rochdale

Dale started the second half as they had the first, with plenty of possession, and came close to equalising when Sinclair's header from an East free kick went just wide of the post.

The game was won by Altrincham midway through the second half in the space of a minute as they scored twice to leave Dale on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline.

Isaac Marriot gained possession in midfield before passing to Conn-Clarke, he played in Linney and he doubled the score when he hit a low drive past Brooks in the Dale goal.

Just a minute later Conn-Clarke got his name on the score sheet latching on to a cross from Marriot.

Dale came close to getting a goal back when a Nevett header from a free kick hit the post and bounced back across the goal line. The ball looked to have crossed the line before Altrincham keeper Matt Gould clawed it back but referee Steven Copeland disagreed. The ball then landed at the feet of Dale's D'Mani Mellor but his shot from close-range went over the bar.

Speaking after the game, Dale manager Jim McNulty conceded that Altrincham deserved to win, but felt the 3-0 score was harsh on Dale.