Penalties Paint a Perfect Picture

Rochdale FC

Wrexham 1 Rochdale 1 (3-5 Pens)

Five immaculate penalties put Rochdale through to the Second Round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in a shootout against Wrexham after the two sides cancelled each other out in normal time, Matt Crowell equalising for the home side after Chris Dagnall’s opener for Dale. The tie went to penalties and Dale went through thanks to five perfect spot kicks and Matthew Gilks’ save from Chris Llewellyn’s attempt.

Dale went into the half time break a goal to the good after dominating the first half for long periods against a home side who perhaps gave the visitors too much respect; Rochdale having won at the Racecourse earlier in the season. Both sides had a few sights of goal in the half but in truth neither keeper was troubled until Mike Ingham was wrong footed in the Wrexham goal by Chris Dagnall’s deflected shot from the edge of the box and he watched helplessly as the ball went into the bottom corner.

Rochdale deserved their lead after dominating the possession and earlier drawing a couple of decent stops from the Wrexham keeper. Ingham did well to gather Jones far post volley under pressure from Dagnall and saved with his feet from Moyo-Modise, who made a lively first start of the season, after superb work by John Doolan to storm past three men and thread a wonderful ball through for the young striker with the outside of his right boot.

Wrexham were not without their chances at the other end but the closest they came to troubling Gilks was from a superb Josh Johnson ball which dissected the Dale keeper and covering centre half Jon Boardman but Llewellyn could not scramble the ball home and Boardman recovered well to clear the danger.

The first half proved to be the virtual none event that many fans fear during the early stages of this competition. With only two sides of the ground open and only 1209 fans concerned enough to turn up there was a hardly any atmosphere inside the Racecourse as the game played out like a reserve team fixture.

Things changed for the better in the second half as the home side made a fight of it and put the Dale defence under pressure. The home crowd responded to their team’s second half performance. Wrexham began to get a grip in midfield with Mark Jones putting on a superb display and at times dictating the game, whilst Llewellyn proved to be an increasing nuisance up front.

The home crowd awoke to back their team as they were incensed when their side were not awarded what looked a certain goal after Matthew Gilks made a mess of collecting a harmless Matty Done cross. The Dale keeper spilled the ball horribly towards goal and it must have been at least a foot over the line before he scrambled it clear. Time seemed to stand still as everyone looked to the linesman but he was unmoved and play continued. The home fans, quite rightly, went ballistic.

At the other end Dale had two great chances to double their lead before Wrexham got back into the game. Chris Dagnall was on the end of both chances. First he raced onto a beautiful Lee Crooks through ball, which split the Wrexham back line in two. Dagnall nudged the ball beyond Ingham as he came out but his touch was heavy and his off balance shot towards the roof of the net was superbly headed clear by the covering Ryan Valentine.

Brilliant work by Keith Barker brought Dagnall his second chance. A superb low cross into the six-yard box was crying out to be nudged in by Dagnall but he must have taken his eye of the ball as it hit him and fell into Ingham’s arms.

Minutes later and Wrexham had the equaliser their second half display had warranted. Jones was rewarded for his endeavour in charging down a Jon Boardman clearance and then cutting the ball back to the edge of the box for Crowell to produce a carbon copy of Dagnall’s earlier goal as his shot was deflected past a helpless Gilks.

Rochdale had one last chance to win it from Barker’s finely struck volley on the turn but Ingham produced an excellent save and Barker was once again denied the first goal that he so much deserves in Dale colours.

A draw was probably a fair reflection after Wrexham’s improved performance in the second half but the tie could have been over before their cruelly deflected equaliser had Dagnall taken one of his two golden opportunities.

So to penalties and you would do well to see five finer spot kicks than those taken by the Dale players; Jones, Doolan, Goodall and Barker all despatched theirs with considerable aplomb. The three that Wrexham scored were equally clinical but when their second effort by Llewellyn was saved to Gilks’ right it was down to Dagnall to secure the win and he sent Ingham the wrong way to put Dale through and send the meagre 79 away fans home happy – despite its various name changes the League Trophy is still unpopular with fans in the early stages. A couple more wins for Dale in the competition and they may begin to turn their heads.

Steve Parkin spoke about his side’s penalties after the game. He said: “We had a chat on the pitch. I think that all too often the takers are just left to their own devices. I said to them if you’re not confident in taking one, then don’t take one. If you’re confident to take one and if there’s a decision between placing it and smashing it, then you smash it; a couple did that and it paid off and we’re delighted to go through.”

Following another away success Parkin made a rallying cry to the Dale fans to flock to Sincil Bank this Saturday for Rochdale’s visit to League Two high-flyers Lincoln City. It promises to be an enthralling encounter and the manager is certainly looking forward to it. He said: “It’s a game we’re really looking forward to. We’re probably not expected to win but we intend to go there and get our sleeves rolled up and make it a cracking game so any Dale fans who are considering going, please make the journey because hopefully we can make it a memorable one.”

* Rochdale have been drawn at home to Crewe Alexandra in the second round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, to be played in the week commencing 30 October.