Hartlepool United 0 - 2 Rochdale

Hartlepool United 0 - 2 Rochdale
Chris O'Grady watches Craig Dawson's shot beat Hartlepool keeper, Scott Flinders, for Dale's second goal

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Rochdale made it 3 wins in a row with a deserved 2-0 victory over Hartlepool United. Captain Gary Jones slotted home Dale’s first midway through the first half from a Nicky Adams cross and Craig Dawson sealed the points early in the second period when he slammed home an Adams corner.

Keith Hill was forced into making one change from the side that beat Plymouth with Matt Done replacing Brian Barry-Murphy who was suffering from back spasms.

The home side were looking to bounce back from a 5-2 defeat last weekend in a game which they led 2-0 and they started this game very brightly. A flowing move inside 4 minutes saw Larkin cushion the ball off his chest for Monkhouse to volley but Fon Williams pushed the ball over his bar, from the flag kick, the Dale stopper was again called into service when he had to scoop the ball away from his goal line after a powerful header looked destined to break the deadlock.

Hill’s side still looked like they were on the coach in the opening 15 minutes but gradually got into the game with full back Robbie Williams flashing a right foot shot towards Flinders’ goal but the keeper gathered.

Part of Dale’s armour this season has been their ability to hit opponents on the counter attack and their first chance in this game resulted in the opening goal. A ‘Pool’s attack broke down with O’Grady picking up the ball inside his own half before releasing Adams down the inside right channel. The winger angled a perfect ball into the area towards the on rushing Jones who slotted home for his 18th of the season.

The goal seemed to sap the confidence from the hosts and Hills men attacked at will; particularly down the centre of the pitch. Jones couldn’t quite reach a delightful through ball whilst Done managed to pick up another such through ball before laying off to O’Grady but the big number 19 fired over the bar and the score remained 1-0 at the break.

Rochdale will have been expecting Hartlepool to come at them with a roar from the re-start but the roar was more of a whimper as Dale continued their dominance. Adams was having plenty of joy down the right whilst Done; in a free role was seeing plenty of the ball. Dale did have the ball in the back of the net 7 minutes into the second period but the assistant referee flagged for an offside. Done jinked his way into the box but saw Flinders beat away his shot onto the head of Atkinson who steered the ball home only to have his celebrations cut short.

A mêlée in the Pools area almost saw Dale double their lead after Done and O’Grady both had shots blocked on the line but the visitors weren’t to be denied for long. The last gasp defending from Mick Wadsworth’s side resulted in a corner which Adams whipped over and Dawson smashed home from inside the area to double the Dale delight.

The next half hour saw the game ebb away with Rochdale showing complete control. O’Grady had a deflected shot saved in the only real moment of note in front of goal up until the final 5 minutes of normal time.

The home side pushed forward in search of late route back into the game and Fon Williams denied them with a fine save. Second half substitutes McSweeney & Boyd linked well on the edge with Boyd slotting the ball towards the bottom corner but somehow, Fon Williams managed to push the ball away low down to his right.

A flurry of corners put the Dale backline under pressure but they stood strong as shots and headers fired in but couldn’t penetrate the Dale defence.

Fon Williams let a Boyd shot slip through his grasp but the stopper managed to get back and clear before the ball crossed the line in the last action of an entertaining game.

Dale move up to 8th in League One; 7 points outside the playoff’s with 1 game in hand. Safety is secured but a run of good results could see Rochdale’s first season back in the third tier of English football extended by a few more games.

Manager Keith Hill said: “I think that was a great advertisement for League One football and I think we were the better side, and that’s not taking anything away from Hartlepool. I’ve got a lot of respect for Mick (Wadsworth – Pools manager) and for Hartlepool but we were the better side.

"I think after the first 5 minutes we kept the ball well, the first goal was a counter attack which was superb. We have kept that 3rd clean sheet in a row after 3 losses so I’m really pleased with the lads.

“Jason Kennedy is doing really well, we are looking for him to play down the centre through Chris O’Grady which allows Gary Jones to get forward. I thought the wide players were excellent tonight.

“Robbie Williams has come in a and done well, you tell that he has played higher at the Huddersfield’s, the Barnsley’s, the Blackpool’s of this world. It’s a pity that I can only pick 11 on a match day as the players sitting on the bench probably deserve to be playing too.

“I’m really pleased we have the points we have got from the games we have played, we are safe now; we have got 54 points – we are definitely safe now. It’s up to us now to make sure we finish the season strong and we win as many games as we can. We can make a lot of dints in a lot of teams that are looking to get promoted.

“We have come a long way from the opening game of the season when we drew 0-0, it’s a progression. Some people think that footballers and managers are thick; well we’re not. Maybe not academically clever; some are but they can dispense information very quickly and put it into practice. Hartlepool were low on confidence after last week’s heavy defeat, we have been there ourselves after the MK Dons defeat.

“ I think the Chairman’s really happy that he didn’t get a call on Thursday (end of the loan window), we haven’t spent the extra revenue and I hope that can be carried over to next season.

“The supporters were magnificent tonight and I hope they don’t think I was being ignorant when they wanted a wave and I was sat up in the stand on not on the touchline. I feel I can get a better vantage point from up in the stand and can calculate half time team talks better from up there. I have got a manager in Dave Flitcroft on the touchline and I can get information to the players through him.”

Att:3081 (349 away)

Rochdale:  Fon Williams, Wiseman, Holness, Dawson, Williams,
Adams, Jones (c), Done, Kennedy, Atkinson (Joe Thompson 85), O'Grady.

Subs (not used): Edwards, Akpa-Akpro, Josh Thompson, Widdowson, Dickinson, Gray

Hartlepool United: Flinders, Haslam, Collins (c), Hartley, Horwood, Yantorno (McSweeney 70), Gamble, Liddle, Monkhouse, Donaldson (Boyd 63), Larkin (Behan 73)

Subs (not used):Rafferty, Humphreys, Mackay, Murray


Referee: M Brown
Ass Referee's: M Griffiths & B Khatib
4th Official: AR Holmes