Rochdale 0 - 3 Accrington Stanley

Two stunning strikes by substitute Lee Molyneux helped Accrington to a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Rochdale. The full back’s speculative 30 yard strike nestled in the top right hand corner whilst four minutes later he sent a 30 yard free-kick into the top left. A defensive mix up led to Stanley’s third as they recorded their first win in eight and their first away win since November.

Keith Hill made three changes from the side that drew with Barnet on Saturday. New additions Ritchie Jones and Michael Rose started ahead of Andy Haworth and Kevin McIntyre whilst Ashley Grimes was preferred upfront ahead of George Donnelly.

The first half belonged to the home side as they looked by far the better side.

A sweeping move involving Jones, Grimes, Gornell and Jones ended with a teasing cross but Jones was unable to reach.

The best chance of the first half fell to Kennedy from a Rose left wing cross. The former Stockport man picked out Kennedy but his header was off target when he really should have done better.

Gornell sent an angled drive wide of Rachubka’s right hand post and Grimes’ attempt at curling the ball inside the far post didn’t quite come off as the sides went in at the interval level.

The second half was much the same with Dale creating the half chances but a lack of shooting lead to frustrations in the stands.

Tutte fired wide from 25 yards whilst Gornell saw his shot deflected which took all the power away from the ball.

The game was destined for 0-0 until Lee Molyneux fired Stanley in front in spectacular fashion. The substitute had only been on the pitch 16 minutes when he hit an unstoppable shot from fully 30 yards into the top corner.

The goal stunned the home fans and players alike but it was to get worse just four minutes later. Phil Edwards gave away a needless free-kick with Molyneux stepping up to smash the ball, again from 30 yards, into the opposite top corner to double the lead.

Dale were reeling and with four minutes remaining it was 3-0.

Josh Lillis made a fine save from former England International James Beattie but as he and Shane Cansdell-Sherriff tried to clear, the ball fell to Romy Boco who made no mistake from six yards to finish the scoring.

It’s now just one win nine for Dale who are just six points above the bottom two and will be looking over their shoulder if they can’t pick up points in the coming games.

Keith Hill spoke afterwards: “The fact we don’t look good in front of goal is a worry.

"Jason Kennedy has to score in the first half when he is in front of goal and misses with a header.

"You have to give credit to the opposition because they came with a game plan that worked.

"The result is a real surprise.

"You have to grasp opportunities when they are thrown at you and we haven’t done that tonight and found ourselves on the wrong end of the scoreline.

"The first two goals that they scored are as good as any you will see in any league in the world so hats off but I don’t really care about Accrington, I care about Rochdale. We don’t seem to have confidence in front of goal.

"We managed the ball better than we did on Saturday but the score represents a bad day at the office.

"We have Bobby Grant back at the weekend (after suspension) and we can call upon (new signing) Ian Henderson, so that will make us a better team.”

Attendance: 1780

Rochdale: Lillis, Bennett, P Edwards, Rose, Kennedy, Cansdell-Sherriff, Tutte ©, Barry-Murphy (Logan 80), Gornell (Donnelly 71), Grimes, Jones (Haworth 60)
Subs: (not used) Collis, Rafferty,McIntyre, Pearson

Accrington: Rachubka, Liddle, Hughes (Aldred 11), Winnard, Hunt, Wilson (Molyneux 60), Murphy, Joyce ©, Boco, Gray (Linganzi 60), Beattie
Subs: (not used) Hatfield, Miller, Carver, Dawber

Referee: Mr A Madley
Assistant Referees: Mr D McCallum & Mr P Kettlewell
Fourth Official: Mr B Cropp