Rochdale 1 - 2 Rotherham United

Rochdale’s knack of being consistently inconsistent reared its ugly head as they went down to a last minute defeat at home to promotion hopefuls Rotherham United.

Ashley Grimes’ sixth goal in five games gave John Coleman’s men the perfect start to the New Year but two late goals from Rotherham broke the hearts of the Dale faithful who have seen two wins and two defeats over the festive period.

Unsurprisingly, John Coleman opted for the same 11 that beat Bradford on Saturday and the home side hit the ground running with the first couple of chances.

A sweeping Dale move ended with Gornell’s first time shot firing over and the striker might have scored moments later but for some brave defending.

The visitors thought they had scored but Phil Edwards cleared Mullins’ header off the line and when Kari Arnason’s header from a right wing corner crashed back off the underside of the crossbar, the travelling fans appealed in vain that the ball had crossed the line.

Josh Lillis had to be at his best when Peter Cavanagh inadvertently diverted a through ball to Frecklington but the Dale keeper was quick off his line to push the ball over the bar.

With the Dale goal living a charmed life; it was something against the run of play when Dale scored. A good bit of skill down the right by Rafferty made space to square to Grimes whose fist touch was sublime to take him past a defender. The striker, in a rich vein of form at present, coolly lifted the ball over Warrington to score.

The second half looked like a training ground exercise of attackers versus defenders as Rotherham pressed for an equaliser. Aided by a strong wind, Steve Evans’ men were camped in and around the Dale box for the whole second half.

On the rare foray forward by Coleman’s men, Andy Warrington wasn’t troubled.

An aerial bombardment was the order of the day from the visitors and when Rochdale failed to clear a corner, Kayode Odejayi was on hand to force the ball home.

Dale’s defence looked to have done enough to earn a point but when they tried a counter attack, the move broke down and Rotherham broke themselves. Phil Edwards did brilliantly to deny Odejayi but whilst prone on the floor, the defender managed to kick the ball but only to the feet of Frecklington who picked out the unmarked Cameron. The substitute had all the time needed to pick out the top corner from 18 yards to seal the points.

Jason Kennedy saw his spin and shot blocked bravely deep into stoppage time and with virtually the last kick of the game, goalkeeper Josh Lillis joined the attack for corner but couldn’t connect.

Dale slip to 12th in League 2 and with the transfer window now open, the Dale boss will be looking to strengthen for the second half of season assault on the play off’s.

Attendance:3408

Rochdale: Lillis, McIntyre, R Edwards, Rafferty (Bennett 70), P Edwards, Tutte, Kennedy, Cavanagh,Grimes (Donnelly 76), Gornell, Grant
Subs: (not used) Barry-Murphy, Smith, Craney, Adebola, Putterill

Rotherham: Warrington, Arnason, Mullins, Taylor, O’Connor, Bradley, Pringle (Revell 69), Odejayi, Agard (Cameron 57), Frecklington, Ridehalgh
Subs: (not used) Sharps, Thompson, Walker, O’Connell

Referee: Mr S Atwell
Assistant Referee: Mr P Kettlewell & Mr J Hunt
Fourth Official: Mr D Handley