Stockport stunned by rampant Rochdale

Stockport County 2 (Elding 32, Dickinson 35)
Rochdale 7 (Murray 4, 53, Goodall 11, Rundle 15 pen, Muirhead 17, 46, Dagnall 89)

Keith Hill’s Rochdale revolution was catapulted into seventh heaven when his side travelled to Edgeley Park and smashed more goals past Stockport than any other visiting side had achieved in the ground’s history. By the time the home team realised they had a football match to take part in, Dale had already raced out of the starting blocks, made a mockery of any Stockport resistance and were so far in front, the game was over – or so everyone in the ground thought.

Stockport fans, like their team, were shell-shocked and Dale fans were in delirium - Rochdale had scored four goals in the opening seventeen minutes . Glenn Murray scored the best of them, the opener on four minutes; he ran at the Stockport goal from forty yards out,  beat the full back, turned inside the last defender and finished with ease.

Defender Alan Goodall headed the second from Ben Muirhead’s corner and Adam Rundle hit the third from the penalty spot; Stockport keeper Wayne Hennessey hadn’t had the best start to his afternoon having already picked the ball from his net twice and it turned to disaster when he dropped what should have been a regulation catch from an innocuous Dale free kick and as he scrambled to retrieve the loose ball he hauled down Murray for a clear penalty.

The opening assault wasn’t over. Adam Rundle attacked down the left and got to the by-line. He cut it back for Murray but he missed his kick; no worry for Dale though, they had players queuing up to get on the score sheet and Ben Muirhead appeared at the back post and added his name to the list by smashing the ball high into the roof of the net.

And yet by half time the game was truly back on when Dale gifted them two goals before half time.

Tony Dinning’s free-kick was lobbed harmlessly into the Dale box but goalkeeper Matthew Gilks made a hash of things - Anthony Elding got an innocuous looking flick on the ball but it turned into a goal when Gilks planted himself in no-man’s land and the ball loooped over his head.

Stockport's glimmer of hope,  turned to the strong whiff of an unlikely comeback when they scored a second goal minutes later. John Doolan worked hard to clear to the halfway line, the ball came back to Adam Rundle, who switched off brain before attempting a suicidal back pass, the ball going straight to Elding who cut it back for strike partner Liam Dickinson to tap in.

Dale went in for the kill as soon as the second half kicked off and the scoreboard behind the Dale fans read 6-2 within eight minutes of the restart, Stockport starting as badly in the second period as they had the first.

Rochdale’s second half performance was magnificent. John Doolan and Lee Crooks commanded the midfield, retaining possession and consistently setting up Dale attacks.

The opening goal of the second half summed up Dale’s excellent team play, retaining possession, before releasing the ball to Simon Ramsden, advancing from full back down the right. Ramsden hit a diagonal cross, Murray hung in the air and nodded the ball to Muirhead who despatched a textbook volley into the net from twelve yards out.

Murray got a deserved second to ensure that Dale fans could celebrate for the final half hour.

Muirhead returned the favour by supplying the goal as Murray nodded in the Dale winger’s corner.

This sparked Stockport’s best spell of the game, they occasionally attacked and managed not to concede a goal for over half an hour!

The quiet spell brought a chance for Dale boss Keith Hill to show the depth of what is now a strong squad. Glenn Murray, who was withdrawn, left the field to a standing ovation from the 1074 Rochdale fans; the Stockport fans magnanimously appluading the Dale striker off the pitch and Stockport manager Jim Gannon made a point of shaking his hand; “Murray was unplayable today,” Gannon said after the game.

Just as it looked as if the Dale fans would have to settle for six, Chris Dagnall, on his return from nearly three months out with a broken bone in his foot, to the delight of his team-mates, scored with his only touch as a late substitute. Steve Turnbull had been allowed to run unchecked well into the Stockport penalty area before being challenged, however, his blocked shot fell to Dagnall who smashed home the seventh to put Dale into the Stockport County record books.

Man of the Match Glenn Murray - Rochdale had about six candidates but when the opposing manager declares that you are “unplayable”,  you deserve the man-of-the-match award - scored two, the first of which was magnificent, set up Muirhead for Dale’s fifth and won the penalty for the third.

Attendance: 6,697

Stockport: Hennessey, Nolan, Owen, Williams, Rose (Griffin 52), Pilkington, Taylor, Dinning (Le Fondre 46), Rowe, Dickinson (Raynes 75), Elding.

Subs not used: Lewis, Bramble.

Booked: Nolan, Taylor.

Rochdale: Gilks, Ramsden, Stanton, Crooks (Turnbull 80), Goodall, Muirhead, Perkins, Doolan, Rundle, Dodds (Reet 77), Murray (Dagnall 88).

Subs not used: Edge, Jackson.

Booked: Crooks.

Attempts (on target): Stockport 9 (7) Rochdale 16 (15)
Free kicks: Stockport 15 Rochdale 15
Offside: Stockport 3 Rochdale 1
Corners: Stockport 7 Rochdale 10

Referee: D McDermidd.