Murray might have won it but stuttering start goes on

Murray might have won it but stuttering start goes on

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Rochdale 1 (McNulty 17 og)
Macclesfield Town 1 (McIntyre 22 pen)

When Glenn Murray nodded down a far post corner as the game neared half time, all eyes were on the referee’s assistant after Macclesfield goalkeeper Tommy Lee scrambled the ball away. Had the ball crossed the line? The well placed official denied Murray, who was convinced that the ball had gone in. It was the closest Rochdale came to winning a game that they edged on chances but did not do enough to earn three points.

One of the main reasons that the win did not come Rochdale’s way was thanks in no small part to the antics of their centre back Guy Branston, who needlessly shoved Martin Gritton over inside the Dale box to concede a penalty just six minutes after Rochdale had deservedly opened the scoring. Kelvin McIntyre was more than grateful to put the stamp on Branston’s gift by slamming the spot kick into the top corner.

Branston showed his frustration by taking some of it out on Macclesfield players at the opposite end when advancing forward for Dale corners and one foul too many meant the referee had little choice but to book the Peterborough loanee and Keith Hill promptly substituted him at half time for what he called “tactical” reasons. “It was a definite penalty,” said the Dale boss, “It was right on the edge of the box but as long as it was inside then we can have no complaints.”

Rochdale started the game brightly with wingers Adam Rundle and Ben Muirhead restored to the side as Keith Hill reverted back to the 4-4-2 formation which served them so well last season. Muirhead was Dale’s most threatening attacking outlet but it was all about the strikers in the first two minutes as Dale should have taken an early lead. Chris Dagnall robbed Jimmy McNulty in Macclesfield territory and ran at goal before disguising a perfect reverse pass to Murray who had as much time as he cared to take over the shot but showed his current lack of confidence by hitting it straight at Lee.

Rochdale did not let the miss deter them and Murray nearly scored again when he stole between defender and goalkeeper and got his head to the ball, only for Luke Dimech to get back and clear as the ball bounced slowly towards goal.

The home side took the lead when a free kick was taken quickly after a foul by Dimech on Dagnall on the edge of the Dale box. John Doolan fed Adam Rundle on the left and his low cross was deflected into his own net by McNulty.

Macclesfield had thus far offered nothing to test Dale goalkeeper James Spencer, which would make Branston’s blatant push all the more frustrating for Keith Hill. Spencer’s first and perhaps only real action in the entire afternoon was to retrieve McIntyre’s penalty from the back of the net.

The football itself might well have pleased Hill as much as Branston’s foul would have displeased him, it was certainly an improvement on what Dale have produced in the league thus far, but there was a far more pressing concern on his mind after the game; the length of the Dale injury list.

Of most concern will be the injury sustained by Dagnall midway through the first half in which he seemed to twist his knee in a fairly innocuous challenge. Dagnall went down in agony, pounding the floor with pain but he managed to get up after a lengthy delay and he was deemed fit enough to continue, but within five minutes it was clear that the striker could barely run and he was forced off in place of Adam Le Fondre.

Keith Hill said: “I can’t say I’m pleased to have scrambled a point because we let Macclesfield back in the game but the main point is the injuries. We’ve got two tough games coming up where we travel to Shrewsbury and Darlington as underdogs. We will go there trying to pick up points with the players we have available. Chris Dagnall has a knee injury – we’ve got a few of them in the squad. We need to evaluate it as soon as possible and obviously we don’t want him missing for any games. John Doolan has picked up a knock and Kelvin Lomax has also got a knee problem so it might be a case of dipping into the loan market again this week.”

In the second half, following a couple of chances for the home side, Macclesfield began to show signs that they would be capable of punishing Dale’s misses by snatching the three points for themselves. Francis Green had the best opportunity and in truth it was Macclesfield’s only real chance when he put a free header straight at Spencer but their second half football at least had the potential to carve out openings, unlike in the first when they were an attacking non-entity.

“It could have gone either way,” said Keith Hill, “the way the chances went.” Still if the best chance of all had been converted Rochdale would have taken the points. Le Fondre cut the ball back from the by-line towards Murray but the ball evaded him and two defenders in a near post scramble, only to fall perfectly into the path of Adam Rundle who only had to find the corner of the net from eight yards to score instead of slice the ball wide as he somehow managed to achieve.

Those are the sort of chances that simply have to be taken to win games, whilst Macclesfield, despite a much more resilient display by them than they achieved at Spotland in April when Dale destroyed them by five goals to nil, are a side that simply have to be beaten by teams with any playoff aspirations; Rochdale are still playing as though those aspirations are a long way from being made a reality.

Attendance: 3066.

Rochdale: Spencer, Lomax, Kennedy, McArdle, Branston (Crooks 46), Doolan, Muirhead, Perkins, Dagnall (Le Fondre 34), Murray, Rundle (Prendergast 73).
Subs not used: Russell, Jones.

Booked: Branston, Lomax, Doolan.

Macclesfield: Lee, Edghill, Dimech, McNulty, McIntyre, Reid (Wiles 72), Dunfield, Murray, Thomas, Gritton, Green (Evans 90).
Subs not used: Brain, Regan, Hadfield.

Booked: Edghill, McIntyre, Dimech.

Attempts (on target): Rochdale 8 (4) Macclesfield 4 (2)
Freekicks: Rochdale 11 Macclesfield 12
Offside: Rochdale 2 Macclesfield 3
Corners: Rochdale 12 Macclesfield 1

Referee: A Haines.