Strikers struggle in stalemate

Hereford United 0
Rochdale 0

Two of the League Two form teams battled out a goalless draw at Edgar Street with both sets of strikers missing chances to give their sides all three points. Rochdale and Hereford had both won their last two matches and have been banging in plenty of goals between them in recent weeks and either side could have extended that run if their strikers had shown some extra quality.

It was not for lack of trying that this game finished goalless. Admittedly the first half made for desperately poor viewing, especially for the visitors whose decision-making and passing were well below the standard they have set themselves recently. Chances were hard to come by; Dale did nothing to trouble Wayne Brown, perhaps struggling in the absence of their captain Gary Jones, who will spend the rest of the season on the sidelines after fracturing a bone in his knee in Tuesday night’s victory over Torquay.

The home side set about squandering the few chances that their better football was able to create. Indeed their strikers had set their stall out for the afternoon from an early stage, finding some excellent goal scoring positions but then failing, somewhat miserably, to find the net.

Finishing headers will be on the Hereford training session to do list next week. Alan Connell headed over the bar from close range as the home side created late first half opportunities that should have seen them take the lead, whilst Steven Guinan headed straight at Dale keeper Matthew Gilks from Andrew Williams’ cross. In fact Guinan’s finishing could do with some all round fine-tuning after failing to make contact with Connell’s dink across the six yard box with the goal gaping.

The Bulls gave Gilks more headed catching practice in a much more entertaining second half, Connell again placed his free header straight into the arms of the grateful Dale keeper after Hereford’s best attacking outlet, Danny Thomas, got the better of Gary Brown on the left touchline.

The visitors were transformed into a much more potent threat in the second period with their most penetrative looking player plying his trade on the opposite flank. Adam Rundle was constantly looking to get at the Hereford full back on the left of the Dale midfield and he could have added a goal to his impressive performance on his recall to the side. Brown produced a superb save to turn away the winger’s low half volley at the back post and a second effort was blocked after David Perkins had picked out Rundle once more from the rebound.

It was end-to-end stuff, in complete contrast to the opening period, and Matthew Gilks had to maintain his fine form of Tuesday evening to keep another clean sheet. The Dale keeper was the only man on his team not caught napping when the home side took a quick free kick that sent Connell clear, Gilks turning away the Hereford striker’s low strike with his right leg.

Rochdale’s best chance of a winner arrived minutes later with the open style of the second half continuing at pace. An excellent turn by Glenn Murray, who is fast becoming one of Rochdale’s most important players with his consistently excellent displays, inside the Hereford box had him in on Brown’s goal but, unselfishly and with excellent vision picked out the supporting Le Fondre who would have done nothing but score had he not lost his footing at the vital moment and the ball was eventually blocked on the line by Dean Beckwith as the grounded Frenchman looked to scramble the ball home.

Guinan’s frustrating afternoon up front for Hereford continued when he aimed yet another header straight at Gilks after the home side’s best build up of the second half resulted in Ben Smith finding Guinan at the back post and minutes later the struggling striker waltzed into the Dale box but the ball got caught under his feet and Dale somehow managed to clear.

Both keepers had to be at their best in the dying minutes as the front men finally managed to find their range; Dale sub Lewis Dodds found Murray in the home penalty area and his low curled drive was superbly turned away by Brown once more whilst the last action of the half saw Matthew Gilks block another Guinan effort from close range.

Ultimately then, this became a tale of missed chances. A goalless draw seemed inevitable after the poor first half but a much livelier second could have seen either side win it, the game should have had goals but both sets of strikers very much had off days. It could not really be said that the defences won out, as both looked shaky at times, but with a large slice of help from their goalkeepers’, both managed to keep clean sheets.

If Hereford will be practicing their finishing in training this week, Rochdale would do well to practice their corners. They gained 17 of them at Edgar Street, a quite remarkable amount for an away side, and yet they did not create a single clear opening from any of them.

Dale manager Keith Hill saw it as a well-earned point for his side. He said: “For only the second game in my tenure we didn’t score, but we kept a clean sheet. We came here to win the game but if we weren’t going to win it we had to make sure that we didn’t lose. There were opportunities for both sides but in the second half I thought we showed what we were capable of. The players were especially tired after three games in a week but they earned a point and it’s a positive result.”

Man of the Match – Adam Rundle – The young winger has been limited to appearances from the bench since the arrival of Rory Prendergast but Rundle has been an excellent replacement in the last two wins and he justified his place in the starting line up here as he was at the heart of Dale’s second half improvement. His hard working performance was summed up when he ran the length of the pitch on a last attack in the dying minutes.

Attendance: 3090

Hereford: Brown, McClenahan, Beckwith, Rose, Purdie, Williams, Smith, Jennings, Thomas, Connell (Sills 78), Guinan.

Subs not used: Thompson, Ferrell, Travis, Mkandawire.

Rochdale: Gilks, Brown, Stanton, McArdle, Goodall, Muirhead, Perkins, Doolan (Crooks 64), Rundle, Le Fondre (Dodds 75), Murray.

Subs not used: Edge, Prendergast, Buckley.

Booked: Stanton.

Attempts (on target): Hereford 12 (6) Rochdale 12 (6)
Free kicks: Hereford 18 Rochdale 13
Offside: Hereford 4 Rochdale 3
Corners: Hereford 7 Rochdale 17

Referee: P Miller.