Fans Pay More For Dull Draw

Rochdale 0 Chester City 0

Rochdale fans experienced their first of the controversial premium pricing games at home to Chester and the quality of football certainly did not merit the price increase. The costs were increased for the game due to extra policing requirements but the extra officers could have stayed at the station; the fans were all in a state of slumber for the majority of the game, only to be annoyingly awoken in the final ten minutes by some erratic refereeing decisions.

The visitors came closest to taking the points through Dave Artell’s first half header that cannoned off the cross bar, whilst the home side never got into their stride and John Danby was hardly required in the Chester goal. Rochdale lacked the drive and the passing in midfield to exert any constant pressure, the absence of Jon Doolan was a major factor, as Ernie Cooksey, for all his effort, simply did not use the ball well enough.

Rochdale’s three-pronged attack that worked so effectively against Darlington misfired. Sako was out of sorts, Barker was nowhere to be seen, and Dagnall was not receiving the ball in the right areas. It was not until the introduction of Clive Moyo-Modise midway through the second half that things livened up for the home side. Modise’s pace gave Dale an extra asset and the crowd were roused in the final quarter as Dale pushed for an undeserved winner.

It was Modise who came closest to giving Dale the win after the game finally sprung to life in the last fifteen minutes. The exciting young forward picked the ball up inside the Chester box, turned his man and gained some space to shoot but Kevin Sandwith was on hand to superbly block the substitute’s low shot.

Earlier in the half Morike Sako had a couple of half chances for Dale but he must have replaced the shooting boots he had on against Darlington last Friday. His first attempt came from the left after good link up play between Barker and Cooksey but Danby comfortably saved Sako’s shot. The second came from the opposite side after Chester striker Greg Blundell had an aberration and passed the ball straight through for the Dale striker but this time his attempt flew wide of the post.

In the first half Chester dominated as Rochdale took the full length of the half to get out of the starting blocks. The best of their early chances, during a period in which Dale’s defence was kept constantly on its toes, fell to Laurence Wilson after he beat Simon Ramsden to a superb near post Jon Walters cross, but he blasted high and wide on the volley when he should have done considerably better.

The Dale defence continued to live precariously; Nathan Stanton managed to block a close range Blundell volley and it was from the resulting corner that Artell hit the frame of the goal at the back post.

Rochdale survived and Chester failed to cause any further problems in the second half, which meant it was up to the home side to give at least one set of supporters something to cheer about. The Dale fans were most vocal in appealing for a late penalty and for shouting for Jamie Hand to be sent off after he lashed out at Gary Jones whilst the Dale man was the on the floor; Hand got away with just a booking for the offence.

The penalty cries came from the resulting free kick as two Chester defenders clambered all over James Sharp in their bid to clear the ball. Steve Parkin said after the game that his side might have had a penalty but he also argued that, based on his side’s performance, they probably did not deserve one.

The referee waived away the claims but he did give Dale two late free kicks on the edge of the Chester area. Danby was poised ready for his first real test of the game but he need not have worried as Goodall and then Crooks seemed to have their sights set for the Dale fans behind the goal, as both of their efforts sailed, somewhat impressively given the short range of the shots, two or three metres over the crossbar.

The two free kicks rather summed a disappointing afternoon at Spotland given the impressive nature and the hype that surrounded last week’s thrashing of Darlington. Thankfully Dale have two away games to follow this; Steve Parkin’s men seem a lot more comfortable on their travels, whilst the home fans will demand more bang for their extra bucks after this showing.

Steve Parkin was similarly frustrated with his side’s performance. He said: “I think with the performance it was definitely one point gained. It was a dull performance that lacked any quality at all. Nobody expected us to play like that after the result at Darlington last week, we were full of confidence but we had no spark today. We have treated the away fans to some terrific performances over the last few weeks and it is time we did the same at home.”