Rochdale 1 Everton 4 - Full Time Report

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Jo comes away from Scott Wiseman.

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A strong Everton side comfortably beat Rochdale at Spotland, but Keith Hill could be pleased with the football his side played.

An entertaining opening half at Spotland saw both sides play some tidy football.

The visitors opened up an early two goal advantage thanks to a cross-come-shot from Shane Duffy and an own goal from Dale centre half Craig Dawson. Dale pulled one back from the penalty spot after Chris Dagnall was felled but the Toffees restored their cushion thanks to a class finish from Jo.

Jo completed the scoring late in the second half, but Dale continued to play some neat stuff and perhaps deserved a closer scoreline at the finish.

The Premier League outfit fielded an all star line-up and they started the game strongly.
Louis Saha fired a couple of efforts wide, from a horribly struck free kick and a better
header that whistled just past the post, before the FA Cup finalists took an early lead.
Everton won a corner after Saha's shot was deflected and Shane Duffy whipped a low ball in that deceived everybody and found the bottom corner.

The goal sparked some life into Dale, and they enjoyed their own bright spell and a couple of chances of their own. Gary Jones fired just wide after a whipped free kick fell kindly for the Dale captain, and Thompson brought a good save from Iain Turner after Duffy gifted possession to the make-shift striker just outside the box.

Everton recovered from a shaky spell to double their lead. Leighton Baines fired in a low
cross and in his attempt to clear Craig Dawson could only catch the ball with his studs and divert it beyond his own goalkeeper.

Dale continued to play some tidy football against their more illustrious opponents and they got a deserved goal from the penalty spot after Duffy tripped Chris Dagnall in the box.
Dagnall took the kick himself and convincingly beat Turner.

The visitors did not allow their two goal advantage to slide for too long and Jo showed his class, as the Manchester City striker made a perfectly timed run into the box and matched it with an excellent finish, drilling the ball low across Kenny Arthur and in off the far post.

Within seconds of the re-start Everton could have extended their advantage, and Jo should have had his second as he burst clear in the box and beat Arthur with a dinked finish. The crowd awaited the inevitable only for Nathan Stanton to nick the ball off the line.

Dale looked to take advantage of the let off and a fine move saw Jones earn a yard in the box and drill a low left foot shot that Turner did well to turn around the corner. They should have brought themselves back into the proceedings as Dagnall raced clear to face Turner, only for the striker to fire his attempted chip straight at the keeper.

With half an hour to play Keith Hill introduced two trialists in the shape of defender Marlon Broomes and left winger Nathan Woolfe and both performed tidily in place of Dawson and Kallum Higginbotham respectively.

The game petered to a mundane finish, as friendlies are prone to do. Everton substitute James Vaughan should have hit his side's fourth late on as he latched onto Leighton Baines' deep cross but Arthur appeared large in front of him and somehow kept the header out. The visitor's did get a fourth as Jo latched onto a poor Scott Wiseman pass to round the keeper and score.

Some of Dale's youth team were given ten minutes against some of Everton's illustrious names, an experience that they won't forget in a hurry, while six of Dale's regulars were given their first full game of pre-season.

A couple of half chances for Dale brought the game to a close and Gary Jones came close to a goal to go with his man of the match performance, with a volley going just past the post with Turner beaten.

Rochdale: Arthur, Wiseman (Brizzell), T. Kennedy, Stanton (Brown), Dawson (Broomes), J. Kennedy (Byrne), Thompson, Jones, Dagnall, Buckley, Higginbotham (Woolfe).

Everton: Turner, Neville, Hibbert, Lescott, Baines, Cahill (Baxter), Fellaini, Jo, Saha
(Vaughan), Wallace, Duffy (Coleman).