Shrewsbury 0 Rochdale 1 (Thompson 62)

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Shrewsbury v Rochdale - Saturday 13 March 2010

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Joe Thompson's headed goal, two minutes after leaving the substitute's bench, was the difference between Rochdale and Shrewsbury.

The scoreline did not reflect the nature of the game, which Rochdale dominated 70% of, but they could not find a match clenching second. They held out comfortably to go nine points clear at the top of the division, their task aided by the sending off of Shane Cansdell-Sherriff.

The sides went into the break goalless despite the visitors dominating almost the entirety of the first half. Tom Kennedy hit the woodwork twice and David Button was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers but Dale could not find a key opening goal against a Shrewsbury side that hardly saw any of the ball in the Rochdale half of the field.

Dale made a steady start and almost happened upon a freak early goal. The Shrewsbury defence stood static as Tom Kennedy's right foot cross drifted into the six yard box and David Button was at sixes and sevens as the ball bounced up and came back off the post.
Dale won three corners in the opening ten minutes and the visitors already looked comfortable with the ball at their feet. There was nothing else to trouble Button however, and Frank Fielding was the first goalkeeper to be tested as he turned Benjamin van den Broek's rising drive over the top.

Having survived the scare the visitors pushed on and Chris O'Grady, Chris Dagnall and Kallum Higginbotham started to busy themselves in and around the Shrews box. Button was called into action when Dale worked the ball to Gary Jones on the edge of the box and the Shrews keeper was forced to turn the shot away.

The visitors continued to dominate and Dagnall might have made more of a one on one from a tight angle after his run into the box was found by Higginbotham. The striker took a touch and looked to fire the ball under Button but the keeper stood firm and did well to gather as Dagnall and O'Grady looked for the scraps. Minutes later Jones had a shot deflected narrowly wide before Jason Taylor stung the hands of Button.

The final act of the half saw Dale come within an inch of taking a lead that they would have deserved into the break. The opening 45 minutes finished as it started as Tom Kennedy again hit the woodwork, pinging a free kick off the top of the bar.

The start to the second half was a scrappy affair, which certainly seemed to suit the home side as they saw more of the ball and finally found a foothold from which they could get forward more frequently.

The woodwork was struck for a third time in the game when Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, the former Dale defender, stooped to head Lewis Neal's corner against the foot of the post. The ball came back to Cansdell-Sherriff but he couldn't wrap his foot around the volley and fired wide.

Dale had struggled to replicate their first half dominance in the second but they forged ahead when Joe Thompson, who had only been on the field for a matter of minutes, nodded in Tom Kennedy's free kick at the back post.

Having taken the lead the visitors pushed for a match clenching second. Fine moves saw Thompson and Jason Kennedy both put into goalscoring positions but the goalscorer's finish was a high and Kennedy's limp.

Shrewsbury's uphill task was compounded when Cansdell-Sherriff dallied in possession, was robbed by Dagnall and then recklessly hauled Dagnall down. The referee had little choice but to show the most blatent of red cards.

Dale would have to guard against complacency but for a ten minute period it seemed only a matter of time before they got a second. Jones and Dagnall stung the hands of Button but the goal did not come and the visitors would have to survive the nervous nineties to hold out for the win. There was a last minute corner to contend with, for which David Button came forward, but Kris Bright headed the ball high and wide and that was that.

Attendance: 6081.

Shrewsbury: Button, Skarz, Coughlan, Dunfield, Langmead, Cureton (Simpson 85), Robinson, van den Broek (Leslie 73), Neal (Bright 59), Cansdell-Sherriff, McIntyre.
Subs (not used): Murray, Hooman, Neal, Bradshaw.

Sent off: Cansdell-Sherriff.

Rochdale: Fielding, Wiseman, T. Kennedy, Stanton, McArdle, Taylor, J. Kennedy, Jones, Higginbotham (Thompson 60), O'Grady, Dagnall.
Subs (not used): Arthur, Toner, Howarth, Obadeyi, Flynn, Holness.

Booked: O'Grady.

Attempts (on target): Shrewsbury 4 (1) Rochdale 14 (7)
Free kicks: Shrewsbury 12 Rochdale 19
Offside: Shrewsbury 2 Rochdale 4
Corners: Shrewsbury 7 Rochdale 5

Referee: A D'Urso.