Wednesday win thoroughly deserved - Hill on Carling Cup defeat

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Chris Dagnall was short-changed by the Wednesday defence at Hillsborough.

Rochdale manager Keith Hill admitted that his side were well beaten in the first round of the Carling Cup at Sheffield Wednesday.

Goals from Etienne Esajas and a brace for Jermaine Johnson sealed victory for the Championship club and Hill said that Wednesday were good value for the victory.

The Dale boss said that Esajas's wonder volley set the tone for the rest of the evening. "It was an unbelievable goal, Premier League standard if anything, and they thoroughly deserved the win," Hill said. "There is a massive gulf between us and Sheffield Wednesday.

"Occasionally you can get the better of Championship opposition but Sheffield were excellent. Probably in the preparation and the way they played they took the game very seriously. They didn't take for granted that they were going to go out there and perform and they taught us a lesson if we're being perfectly honest. They're a very good footballing side and they turned up with an attitude to win tonight.

"There have been occasions where there has been upsets but I thought there was no chance of an upset tonight.

"It was a marvellous first goal and after that they controlled the game, they didn't give us many opportunities and they were thoroughly professional."

The Dale boss said after Saturday's draw at Port Vale that his side may have been guilty of trying to score the perfect goal, and that an element of that crept into Dale's play again last night.

He continued: "We took one too many touches when we did get chances and then the opportunity disappears. We had a chance to get back into it at the end of the first half but then the third goal at the start of the second half just totally kills the game off. It was just keep ball from them after that and they are very good at doing that and it's very frustrating for us."

Despite the defeat, Hill knows that a first league win at home to Aldershot at Spotland on Saturday will leave the Wednesday loss a distant memory. "Tuesday night was just a one off game it doesn't really make any significant damage to our season," he said.

"It would have been nice to have a cup run but our main priority is to try and be as competitive as we can in the league. I'll be more concerned if we're having a similar sort of conversation after Saturday's match against Aldershot."