Le Fondre Party in Five Star Showing

Rochdale 5
(Le Fondre 5, 62, Ramsden 10, Prendergast 16, Etuhu 84)
MK Dons 0

If a spectator with no knowledge of the league two table had been told after this game that Rochdale were struggling towards the foot of it, whilst opponents MK Dons were pushing for promotion, they would believe that it was a flagrant lie. Rochdale, lying in the relegation zone before the game, dominated it from first whistle to last and scored five without reply.

A month ago Rochdale manager Keith Hill took charge of the team for the first time against Milton Keynes and his side battled hard and did not deserve a 2-1 defeat. They extracted sweet revenge emphatically as a shell shocked Dons side found themselves three goals down with just fifteen minutes played; Dale took the game to them from the off and had hit three seemingly before their opponents had realised the game had begun.

It was Keith Hill’s new boys that added the required gloss, Rochdale having battered Bristol Rovers in similar fashion in their last fixture but without grabbing a goal. Rochdale fans will be hard pressed to recall another game in which so many Rochdale debutants had such good games. Adam Le Fondre, on loan from Stockport and in the team because of an injury to Chris Dagnall, scored twice, both with tidy finishes, Rory Prendergast caused trouble on the left and also bagged a debut goal, whilst David Perkins, the real jewel in the crown, was superb throughout since his introduction in place of Simon Ramsden early in the first half.

For the majority of the first half the two sides were evenly matched with chances difficult to come by, but that was of no concern to the home side; they were already three goals clear and Le Fondre could have had four goals with his first four touches in a Rochdale shirt. In the first minute he drew a smart save from Lee Harper with a downward header, he scored with his second chance, latching onto Rory McArdle’s long clearance and finishing emphatically into the bottom corner, he then hit the bar with a looping header and could have had a second when he latched onto Gary Jones’ lob into the box, Harper blocked his shot, but Ramsden was on hand to tap in.

With MK Dons manager Martin Allen already tearing his hair out on the touchline, he was having palpitations when left-back Dean Lewington gifted the ball to John Doolan on the Rochdale right, and he went clear and sent in a superb low cross that had Dale players queuing up to put it in; the ball evaded Le Fondre and Glenn Murray but midweek signing Prendergast was on hand to finish at the far post.

A red-faced Martin Allen marched down the tunnel at the break and there probably was not much paint left on the walls of the dressing room after he had finished lambasting his side. He made all three substitutions at half time, including the introduction of Leon Knight, a high profile midweek signing from Swansea but if Rochdale feared that MK might have come out in the second half a different team then that fear was ill founded. Knight did not get a chance as Rory McArdle and Nathan Stanton superbly marshalled him in the Dale back line.

Dale’s fourth wrapped things up with just over an hour played and it was the pick of the goals. Perkins picked the ball up in the left-back position and stormed forward, beating players at will on a sixty yard burst that opened things up on the right hand side. The young signing from Morecambe, showing no signs that the step up a league would be anything of a problem, fed John Doolan and another excellent low cross was turned in by Le Fondre.

Le Fondre was insistent that he had scored a hat-trick when his shot was cleared off the line after good work by Kelvin Etuhu, bursting forward and finding the Stockport man at the far post but the assistant referee on the far side was unmoved despite the Frenchman’s appeals but Dale fans did not have long to wait for their side’s fifth.

A fine late cameo by substitute and another debutant, Rueben Reid on loan from Plymouth, culminated in a fine assist for the final goal. He held the ball up and turned his man on the halfway line before feeding Etuhu, who raced onto the ball and finished calmly by putting the ball through the legs of keeper Harper.

Keith Hill’s revolution at Spotland continues and any fears that he hadn’t the experience to sign the players the club needed to lift them away from trouble were well and truly blown away in the manner of the win. The performances of the four debutants, who were backed up with equally fine displays from the regulars would have the neutral scratching his head over Dale’s league standing. Le Fondre’s finishing, Doolan’s all round game and Perkins’ tenacious display will all be remembered fondly but it will be the all round team performance that lives longest in the memory; not one of Dale’s players had less than an excellent game.

Man of the Match
John Doolan – This season John Doolan has won over the Rochdale fans by showing them signs of what he is capable of; here he did that for ninety minutes. He did not concede possession once, his range of passing was superb as he offered himself to the man on the ball almost without fail and he made two assists with excellent low crosses that were crying out to be put into the net.

Attendance: 2,493

Rochdale: Gilks, Ramsden (Perkins 36), Goodall, Stanton, McArdle, Jones, Doolan, Prendergast (Rundle 81), Etuhu, Le Fondre, Murray (Reid 72).

Subs Not Used: Rigby, Crooks.

Booked: Stanton, Jones, Etuhu.

MK Dons: Harper, Stirling, Lewington, Butler, O’Hanlon (Knight 46), Lewington (Edds 46), Dyer, Wilbraham, Andrews, McGovern, Platt, Taylor (Smith 46).

Subs Not Used: Baines, Diallo.

Booked: Edds.

Attempts (on target): Rochdale 16 (9) MK Dons 6 (2)
Free kicks: Rochdale 20 MK Dons 19
Offside: Rochdale 5 MK Dons 2
Corners Rochdale 3 MK Dons 7

Referee: N Swarbrick