Macclesfield 0 Rochdale 1 (O'Grady 60)

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Dale players applaud the supporters at the final whistle.

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Chris O'Grady's scrappy goal, his 18th of the season, was the difference between Rochdale and Macclesfield.

Dale enjoyed almost of the play but Macclesfield defended resolutely and the visitors were made to work hard for a victory that extends their lead at the top to five points with two games in hand on second placed Bournemouth.

The visitors should have put a gloss on the result, Chris Dagnall missing an open net from four yards out in injury time, but they held out to make a return to winning ways.

Rochdale were unable to find an opening goal in a first half that they dominated at Moss Rose. For the most part it was attack against defence with 90% of the half played out in the Macclesfield half. But Dale could not convert their possession into many chances. The clearest opportunity came to Gary Jones, who should have scored rather than blaze over when free inside in the box.

Rochdale's midweek defeat to Bradford prompted some changes to the starting line-up and a change in formation from Keith Hill. Dale pushed three men forward, Will Atkinson joining Chris O'Grady and Chris Dagnall in a front three, with Jason Kennedy returning to form a three man midfield with Jason Taylor and Gary Jones. Hill hoped to bolster a backline that had looked shaky in midweek by swapping Nathan Stanton for Rory McArdle in the centre of defence, while Tom Kennedy and Scott Wiseman were asked to advance forward at any given opportunity.

Early on there was little to separate the two sides. A pot shot each defined the opening twenty minutes, Ricky Sappleton firing over the top and Gary Jones finding the safe hands of Jon Brain.

Steadily Dale grew into it and they enjoyed a lot of the possession inside Macclesfield territory, the home side not getting within 50 yards of the Rochdale for a ten minute period midway through the half. There was plenty of space for the visitors to launch their attacks but they did not get in behind Macclesfield until the game was half an hour old. When they did they should have scored. Dale broke and Gary Jones had the freedom of the penalty of the area when O'Grady slid him in. The Dale skipper took a touch and then blazed high and wide with the goal at his mercy.

Macclesfield saw more of the ball towards the end of the half but they never looked like posing a threat to Frank Fielding in the Rochdale goal. There was nothing to suggest that Dale could not continue as they had in the opening 45 and find a goal that would win them the game.

Indeed, they came close to a half time lead as O'Grady spun of Nat Brown and sent a low cross into the six yard box for Dagnall. The striker's initial touch was blocked and the ball spun up off Dagnall before going behind.

It was more of the same in the second half and it seemed just a question of whether or not Dale could prize the home side open one more time to get the goal they needed. While the score remained at nil-nil it was of course always possible that Macclesfield could steal a goal from a rare venture into the Dale half. They came close to taking an unlikely lead when a corner dropped to Colin Daniel at the back post but he did not get the clearest of strikes and Will Atkinson cleared the ball behind.

Dale heeded the warning and went up the other end and got their lead. Jones and Atkinson combined inside the Macclesfield box. Jones was tackled but the ball fell for O'Grady, whose initial shot was kept out by Brain, but the ball looped up off the Dale striker and in.

With the goal advantage Dale were able to push for more as gaps started to appear in Macclesfield's defence. Craig Dawson came close, heading over the top from a free kick after O'Grady was felled by Brown.

Suddenly the home side were roused into taking the game to the visitors for the first time in 70 minutes of football. Matthew Tipton gave them some attacking impetus from the bench and Dale had to be alert at the back to hack a couple of half chances clear.

The home side's best chance of an equaliser always looked as though it would come from a set piece and they had their chance when Fielding flapped underneath a corner and the ball came to Craig Lindfield at the back post but the substitute skewed his shot horribly over the top.

Dale could have made sure of the points with two minutes to go as Jason Kennedy found space in the box, and would have doubled Dale's lead but for an excellent block by Sean Hessey. As it was Dale had four minutes of injury time to survive. Again they should have doubled their lead during that time but somehow Dagnall missed an open net from four yards. O'Grady drove into the Macclesfield box and supplied the peachiest of crosses into the six yard box. Dagnall seemed to just allow the ball to hit his legs, thinking it couldn't go anywhere but into the net, and he looked on disbelieving as it squirmed wide.

That left Dale with a further minute to see the game out and Macclesfield could not create the chance to punish Dagnall's miss.

Attendance: 2462.

Macclesfield: Brain, Reid, Brown, Hessey, Brisley, Butcher, Bell, Draper (Bolland 78), Sappleton, Wright (Tipton 64), Daniel (Lindfield 70).
Subs (not used): Veiga, Rooney, Sinclair, Kompany.

Booked: Draper.

Rochdale: Fielding, Wiseman (Stanton 52), T.Kennedy, McArdle, Dawson, Taylor, Jones (Obadeyi 87), J. Kennedy, Atkinson (Toner 87), O'Grady, Dagnall.
Subs (not used): Arthur, Flynn, Higginbotham, Haworth.

Booked: Atkinson.

Attempts (on target): Macclesfield 6 (1) Rochdale 8 (3)
Freekicks: Macclesfield 11 Rochdale 11
Offside: Macclesfield 1 Rochdale 2
Corners: Macclesfield 5 Rochdale 4

Referee: S Bennett.