Barnet 0 - 0 Rochdale

A scrappy game ended in a goalless draw on a bitterly cold afternoon in North London.

Barnet thought they had taken the lead midway through the second half when the ball crashed back off the underside of the crossbar and Dale had a big penalty claim waved away by referee Sarginson as Rhys Bennett appeared to be shoved inside the area.

Hill named an unchanged side from tgat which beat Torquay last weekend. That meant Bennett continued at right back and Cansdell-Sherriff in the heart of defence.

The first half was a non event. George Donnelly had the best half chance of the opening 45 minutes but he missed his volley at the crucial point with Andy Haworth unable to finish the follow up.

Playing up the famous Underhill slope in the second period, Dale had the first shot on target early in the second half but Donnelly’s left footed effort lacked pace.

A quickly taken free kick by the home side led to a chance for Yiadom. The winger cut inside McIntyre to create space but shot over.

Barnet, managed by footballing legend Edgar Davids, pushed on as they sensed they could sneak ahead.

Byrne’s misplaced cross almost caught Lillis out but the stopper was on hand to tip over.

The tricky Dani Lopez went close with a glancing header as Hill’s side stood firm.

Rochdale’s best chance of the game fell to Terry Gornell who forced a fine save from Stack when he tipped a ferocious shot over the bar to keep the game goalless.

The travelling supporters from Rochdale were calling for a penalty when Bennett was appeared to be pushed inside the area when challenging a header but nothing given by the officials to the frustration of the Dale players.

The closest either side came was with 11 minutes remaining. A Byrne right wing cross was headed by Dale’s Bennett but thankfully it crashed off the underside of the crossbar with Lillis clawing the ball away.

During the first minute of stoppage time, Kennedy went close with a first time volley after Andrew Tutte’s drive was blocked.

In the end, a point was a fair result against a Barnet side who have started to take a few points in recent games.

With defensive frailties a major problem for Dale in recent weeks, Keith Hill will be happy with a third clean sheet in five games since returning as manager, but will want more from his forwards with the goals drying up.

Hill spoke afterwards: “The result was better than the performance. The performance was ugly.

"The pitch looked better than it was, the pitch was ugly too.

"I thought we more than coped with the opposition and I'm really pleased with that.

"The lads are really down and I’ve told them they shouldn’t be.

"We are building and we have now had three clean sheets out of five.

"We didn’t look anywhere near a threat which is disappointing but we are looking solid as a team.”

Attendance: 1870 (202 Rochdale fans)

Rochdale: Lillis, Bennett, P Edwards, McIntyre, Kennedy, Cansdell-Sherriff, Tutte, Barry-Murphy (Rose 62) Gornell, Donnelly (Grimes 62), Haworth (Jones 68)
Subs: (not used) Collis, Rafferty, Logan

Barnet: Stack, Fuller, Byrne, Yiadom (Vilhete 80), Hyde (Beattie 68), Weston (Kamdjo 73), Johnson, Stephens, Davids, Lopez, N’Gala
Subs: (not used) Brown, Gambin, N’Toko, Barnes

Referee: Mr C Sarginson
Assistant Referees: Mr S Meredith & Mr C Powell
Fourth Official: Mr M Wilkes