Le Fondre shines as pleasing pre-season goes on

Adam Le Fondre celebrates with Gary Jones and Adam Rundle after scoring Dale's third goal

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Rochdale 3 (Rundle, Le Fondre 2 (1 pen))
Huddersfield Town 0

Rochdale are going nicely through the gears in the build up to the start of the season. They built on the result and performance against Oldham on Tuesday night with their finest display of pre-season thus far with a three goal demolition of a full strength Huddersfield side.

Talk has turned from worrying about how much Dale might miss Glenn Murray for the season’s opener at Peterborough to whether or not he can force his way back into the side after an excellent display up front by Dagnall and Le Fondre. The latter was the shining light, with his pace, touch, skill and not least his tremendous work rate causing problems for the Huddersfield defence throughout the afternoon, with even the experienced ex-Premiership defender Frank Sinclair unable to contain him.

Le Fondre’s first goal, Rochdale’s second, summed up the attitude and willingness of the striker to put in tremendous amounts of hard work. The goal also summed up Matt Glennon’s start to the match as Huddersfield goalkeeper. Dale pressure rushed Sinclair into a back pass and Glennon sliced his kick across the six yard box, Le Fondre had run forty yards to charge down what could easily have been a lost cause but his effort was rewarded when he gleefully prodded the ball home.

Glennon had already done little to inspire his nervous looking defence in the way that the first goal was conceded. Le Fondre was fouled thirty yards out and Ben Muirhead and Adam Rundle stood over the free-kick, Glennon was clearly expecting a cross and did not bother to erect much in the way of a wall. The Huddersfield keeper was then caught totally of guard, in expectation of the cross, when Rundle curled the ball round the two-man wall and into the bottom corner.

Dale continued to attack the shell-shocked visitors whose defence was at sixes and sevens and already two goals down just minutes into the match. Sinclair was next to add to the error catalogue when he lost possession on the edge of the box to Gary Jones and he fed Dagnall, whose shot sailed inches wide.

Huddersfield finally managed to settle themselves midway through the half and enjoyed a period of sustained possession but the Dale centre halves were at the top of their games so chances were at a premium. Rory McArdle and Nathan D’Laryea put in some no-nonsense defensive interceptions as Huddersfield built up some patterns of play that proved their League One status, compared with their thus far Sunday League standard of defending.

Still it was Dale who were creating all of the chances through a more direct style of sharp interchanges. Lee Crooks fed the ball for Le Fondre to chest into Muirhead’s path but his first-time volley was straight into the arms of the keeper, who still managed a slight spillage to the delight of the Dale fans behind the goal who were taking great joy from Glennon’s antics.

Rochdale were dominating the shooting statistics with Huddersfield failing to trouble the goal attempts column, never mind the score-sheet; Dagnall curled a shot inches wide with Glennon beaten and Le Fondre got round the keeper but found the angle too tight as his shot trickled agonisingly across the six yard box.

However, there was still one problem to arise for Dale manager Keith Hill in the form of another injury when Lee Crooks was forced off with a knock. Hill said after the game that everything about it was perfect preparation in terms of performance but the build up of injuries was becoming a worry. He said: “We’re really concerned with the injuries we are picking up. Crooks has got a bit of a thigh strain and it’s important that we get these players fit as soon as we possible can. That is the real concern today, not the game itself, the performance etc, but the injuries we’re picking up.”

Dale’s third came from the penalty spot, won and scored by Le Fondre after he was felled by Joe Skarz and Dale were coasting, despite the loss of Crooks, going into the half time interval.

After the break Dale continued their dominance with a display in the art of possession football; playing in some tidy triangles, especially on the left wing with Tom Kennedy linking up well with substitute winger Rory Prendergast and getting continuous support from the midfield pair, Jones and Doolan.

Dagnall and Le Fondre’s willingness to harry and chase after everything meant Dale were defending from the front and when the back men were called upon they coped comfortably even up against the experienced Huddersfield strike force of Andy Booth and Danny Cadamarteri. D’Laryea’s was the stand out performance in the back four, with his reading of the play and willingness to put his body on the line no more evident than when he rifled Jon Worthington’s cross away from the six-yard box with both strikers prowling.

The only clear chance for the visitors came in the dying moments when somehow James Spencer clawed away Cadamarteri’s shot from point blank range; it may have been more through luck than judgement that the ball evaded the net but Spencer could do no more than to make himself big and stick out a hand in reaction.

Tuesday night sees Dale travel to Conference side Droylsden for their penultimate pre-season fixture, kick-off 7.30pm.

Man-of-the-match – Adam Le Fondre – The striker was a class above and the more performances he puts in like this the more the undisclosed fee that was paid to secure his services will seem an absolute bargain, no matter what his actual cost was.

Rochdale: Spencer, Ramsden, Kennedy, McArdle, D’Laryea, Muirhead (Watt), Crooks (Doolan), Jones, Rundle (Prendergast), Dagnall (Higginbotham), Le Fondre.

Huddersfield: Glennon, Holdsworth, Skarz, Collins, Mirfin (Clarke), Sinclair, Brandon (Schofield), Worthington, Beckett (Booth), Cadamarteri, Kamara.

Attempts: Rochdale 11 Huddersfield 4
Freekicks: Rochdale 15 Huddersfield 17
Offside: Rochdale 4 Huddersfield 3
Corners: Rochdale 6 Huddersfield 7