Rochdale 2 (Thorpe 2, Le Fondre 59 pen) Luton Town 0 (Full Time Report)

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Lee Thorpe celebrates his second minute opener.

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Rochdale moved up into third in the Coca Cola League 2 with a comfortable 2-0 victory against bottom side Luton Town, keeping their first clean sheet since the opening day against Grimsby Town in the process.

Thorpe’s early header and Le Fondre’s 58th minute penalty were enough to see the points stay at Spotland.

In all fairness Dale never really looked in danger of conceding, in fact Sam Russell wasn’t called into action until the 80th minute on a freezing cold afternoon at Spotland.

Dale boss Keith Hill said after the game: “It was a good game to be honest, we started like electric and deserved a goal and we could have increased the lead, but we didn’t and Luton found themselves back in the game towards the end of the first half.

"We got what was for me a penalty, which made it 2-0, and we kept a clean sheet, so I'm sure everybody is delighted.

"Sam made a good save, had that gone in we could have been facing an onslaught towards the end but instead we ran out comfortable winners against an awkward side to play against”

Jon Shaw and Mark Jones were dropped from the side that started the FA Cup game in midweek, Hill preferring Thorpe and Adam Rundle whilst Clarke Keltie kept his place in the starting 11 alongside Gary Jones, whilst Ciaran Toner and Chris Dagnall returned from slight injuries but had to make do with a place on the bench.

Hill’s side were straight out of the traps and took the lead after just 90 seconds when Adam Le Fondre’s quickly taken free kick had Scott Wiseman clear down the right flank. The full back’s inch perfect cross was met by the diving head of Lee Thorpe who beat The Hatters keeper Conrad Logan from inside the 6 yard box.

Thorpe should have doubled Dale’s lead 8 minutes later when Buckley played a neat ball into Gary Jones whose flick put the veteran striker through on goal but Logan was quickly off his line to close Thorpe down and the striker lofted the ball over the top of the goal.

Mick Harfords’s Luton rarely threatened but striker Chris Martin worked space for himself just before the half hour mark but shot horribly wide from 25 yards.

A worrying sight for Hill was the sight of captain Gary Jones hobbling off the pitch after tweaking his knee ligaments in a 50/50 challenge with Hatters defender Michael Spillane. The Dale backroom staff will assess the damage over the weekend but Ciaran Toner came on and did a sterling job alongside Keltie in the middle of the park.

Dale had a penalty appeal turned down after Keltie’s effort appeared to strike the hand of Luton’s Gnakpa but referee Bratt waved away any appeals on an afternoon that the man in the middle seemed to want to be centre of attention.

Just short of the hour mark Hill’s side were awarded a penalty after McArdle was pushed by Roper as the 2 players awaited a Kennedy corner much to the amazement of the Luton fans and management alike. Le Fondre picked up the ball and neatly dispatched the spot kick to give Dale a 2-0 lead.

Lee Thorpe had further chances to cap his man of the match award with further goals but couldn’t find the target as Dale pushed for more.

Le Fondre also had chances to add to his tally but his half volley on 76 minutes fizzed just over the bar.

The visitors offered very little as an attacking threat but did create one clear chance that perhaps they should have netted from.

A McVeigh cross from the right was met by substitute Dean Talbot but his bullet header was kept out by a world class save from Sam Russell low down to his right hand side with the follow up shot from Gnakpa well over the bar.

The referee Bratt dished out 7 yellow cards and awarded 41 free kicks in a game that didn’t have a bad challenge in the whole 90 minutes and as the final 10 minutes approached he flashed yellow cards to all and sundry. Firstly Wiseman and Stanton were booked for dissent, as was Logan for Luton, with the cries of you don’t know what your doing ringing out.

In the dying moments of the game sub Chris Dagnall fed fellow sub Joe Thompson whose shot was smartly saved by Logan.

Dagnall, Thorpe, Toner, Keltie and Kennedy provided some terrific one touch football but the quintet couldn’t provide the finishing touch. The move brought a ripple of applause though from the Dale faithful, who appreciated what they saw.

The full time whistle was met with huge cheers as the home fans left Spotland knowing their side had climbed into the third automatic promotion spot and, with confidence high in the Dale camp, they will believe they can stay there.

It’s two long away trips in the next seven days, firstly Gillingham in the league followed by Forest Green Rovers in the second round of the FA Cup next Saturday. 

Teams:
Rochdale: Russell, Wiseman, Stanton, McArdle, Kennedy, Buckley (Thompson 82), Jones (Toner 50), Keltie, Rundle, Thorpe, Le Fondre (Dagnall 78).

Luton Town: Logan, Gnakpa, Roper, Spillane, Keane, O’Connor, Jarvis, Hall, McVeigh, Martin, Gallen.

Referee – Mr S Bratt

Corners: 4-1
Shots on: 4-3
Shots off: 8-5
Fouls: 16-25
Cautions: 2-4 (Dale: Stanton & Wiseman) (Luton: Logan, Jarvis, O’Connor, Martin)