Murray puts the knife into Stanley

Rochdale 4 (Rundle 14, Murray 25, 32, Le Fondre 82 pen)
Accrington Stanley 2 (Mullin 70, Mangan 90)

Rochdale extended their unbeaten run to six games with victory over neighbours Accrington Stanley, who are now perilously close to the League Two relegation zone. The home side blitzed a lacklustre Accrington in the first half and took a three goal lead into the break and it should have been more, with Glenn Murray missing out on a hat-trick when his penalty was saved. It was the only thing to blot Murray’s copybook after an exemplary performance of good football with the ball at his feet allied with excellent heading ability.

Rochdale were fast out of the starting blocks and the visitor had no response to their fast attacking other than to frequently kick the attackers up in the air whenever they strayed close enough. Dale attacked at will through the pace of Ben Muirhead down the right and it was he who took the brunt of Accrington’s wild swipes with both players on his flank booked before halftime. Fullback Alan Rogers was lucky to remain on the pitch after another late tackle and manager John Coleman promptly substituted him at the interval.

Muirhead was the man behind Dale’s opener as they broke quickly after clearing an Accrington corner. John Doolan fed the winger, on loan from Bradford, who raced down the right flank and Dale had two attackers against one helpless defender. Adam Le Fondre latched onto Muirhead’s low cross and should have scored but hit the ball straight at Kazimierczak only for Adam Rundle to tap in from the follow up.

Dale looked rampant and were soon two to the good in a first half display reminiscent of that against MK Dons last month at Spotland when they scored three quick-fire first half goals. They managed the same tally here thanks to a Glenn Murray brace. The visiting defence stood and watched as he headed in Muirhead’s free kick and he put the finishing touch to Dale’s best move of the game as they swept forward on the counter attack once more. David Perkins ran at the heart of an Accrington defence that was once again short on numbers, the young midfielder fed Le Fondre who clipped the ball back from the by-line and Murray could not miss to score his fourth goal in as many games.

Dale were rampant and Murray was causing the Accrington back line no end of problems and his marker Michael Welch, like his team mates on Dale’s other players, discovered that the only way he could be stopped was through foul play. The tackles of the Accrington players were never malicious but their counterparts always had an extra yard of pace, which meant tackles were regularly mistimed. Welch could have no excuse, however, when he clambered all over Murray inside the penalty area and the referee had no choice but to point to the spot. Regular penalty taker Le Fondre was kind enough to give Murray a shot at his hat-trick, but Kazimierczak saved the penalty low to his right.

The visitors inevitably made changes at halftime, as Coleman switched to put three up front in the hope of somehow getting something from the game; the Accrington frontline having thus far only registered one harmless attempt on target. Accrington’s formation change seemed to have little affect on the attacking mindset of Keith Hill’s men, however, as they continued where they left off.

Rundle’s superb cross narrowly evaded a diving Le Fondre and the ever-solid Dale captain Rory McArdle, stepping into the role with Gary Jones injured and Nathan Stanton suspended, was denied a first goal since his return to the club when his glancing header was well kept out by Kazimierczak. Dale had the ball in the Accrington net minutes later but the assistant’s flag denied them a goal after Le Fondre bundled the ball home from Murray’s pass.

A fourth goal seemed inevitable for Dale so it was something of a shock when the visitors got themselves on the score sheet. An innocuous looking corner was inadvertently flicked on by Dale midfielder David Perkins and as the ball looped towards the far corner of the goal, Stanley’s top scorer Paul Mullin was on hand to make sure it crossed the line and claim a third goal in three games.

This unexpected setback seemed to dampen the spirits of the home side and for a time they lost their way and came under some unnecessary pressure from the visitors. Manager Keith Hill and Assistant Dave Flitcroft were clearly concerned on the touchline as they constantly asked for increased tempo from the players but in truth Accrington did little to create any tension as Gilks was not tested in the Dale goal.

As soon as the home side stopped going through the motions they were able to grab a fourth goal and secure the win. Murray capped a man of the match performance by turning Welch inside the box and the Accrington defender could only respond by hauling him to the ground; having already been booked the referee was once more lenient in not showing a second yellow card. Le Fondre was feeling less generous given Murray’s earlier miss, and despatched the spot kick himself.

There was just enough time for Lee Crooks, Nathan Stanton’s centre half replacement, who had a solid, if unspectacular, game to show he is not quite up to the standard, or perhaps more accurately, has not quite got the pace of the man he replaced in the Dale starting line up by allowing first Mullin, who somehow blazed over, and then Andrew Mangan to get the better of him. The latter resulting in a consolation goal for Stanley as Mangan finished comfortably past Gilks.

The late goal only gave the score line a flattering look for the visitors who had been outplayed and outclassed. For Rochdale fans, supporting the team is enjoyable again; those that have been put off watching Rochdale in the past would do well to take notice of what is currently happening under Keith Hill at Spotland.

Man of the Match – Glenn Murray – One of Dale’s most consistent performers in the recent run of form, this performance from Murray was the best a Dale striker has put in since Grant Holt and Rickie Lambert were at the club this season. The missed penalty was all that was wrong with a near perfect display for this level of football.

Attendance: 3433

Rochdale: Gilks, Ramsden, Crooks, McArdle, Goodall, Muirhead, Perkins, Doolan, Rundle (Prendergast 66), Le Fondre, Murray (Dodds 90).

Subs Not Used: Edge, Comyn-Platt, Turnbull.

Booked: Perkins.

Accrington: Kazimierczak, Cavanagh, Edwards, Welch, Rogers (Richardson 46), Todd, Grant (Mangan 46), Proctor, Whalley, Boco (Harris 68), Mullin.

Subs Not Used: Doherty, Almeida.

Booked: Rogers, Welch, Whalley, Edwards, Cavanagh.

Attempts (on target): Rochdale 12 (7) Accrington 6 (3)
Free kicks: Rochdale 25 Accrington 23
Offside: Rochdale 8 Accrington 2
Corners: Rochdale 5 Accrington 8

Referee: R Shoebridge