Calm Kennedy pinches deserved three points

Wycombe Wanderers 0 Rochdale 1 (Kennedy 90 pen)

Tom Kennedy’s last minute penalty gave Rochdale a fourth win in five away games and moved them close to the League Two play-off spots with games in hand.

It looked as though they might rue missed chances until Kennedy stepped up to give Dale the three points their performance deserved.

Rochdale handed a debut to on loan striker Rene Howe and he missed two glorious opportunities to give Dale the lead either side of half time.

With half an hour to play Howe chested down John Doolan’s clip to the back post but somehow blazed over from seven yards with the Wycombe defence completely out of the game.

There could be little doubt that Keith Hill would be the least happy of the two managers if his Rochdale side had only come away from the Causeway Stadium with a point but a linesman’s flag and cool Kennedy penalty meant the Dale boss left delighted.

A Rochdale cross fell for Wycombe defender Craig Woodman at the back post and he inexplicably dwelt on the ball to allow Ben Muirhead, a second half Rochdale substitute, to steal in and rob him of possession. With Muirhead almost certain to score Woodman brought him down and when the referee failed to give the penalty the linesman raised his flag to his chest and the spot kick was awarded.

Frank Fielding moved early in the Wycombe goal, allowing Kennedy to smash the ball convincingly down the middle, whipping the 251 travelling supporters into a frenzy.

“The performance was magnificent,” said Hill. “We played all the football but we could have been playing all the football while they could have been scoring all the goals, so credit to our defence for not allowing that to happen. We were definitely the better side and we created more opportunities.

“Hopefully this will make [assistant manager] Dave Flitcroft feel a lot better. He’s had an allergy all week because he is allergic to defeat.”

The result, Wycombe’s first defeat at home in the league since the opening day of the season, would be one of bitter disappointment for manager Paul Lambert after they had won five of their last six matches, including a 4-0 win at Mansfield in midweek.

They failed to reproduce that kind of football on what was undoubtedly an off day for their side. Only twice did they come close to scoring. Both came from set pieces. On the hour mark David McCracken got a glancing header on Russell Martin’s free kick but Sam Russell saved superbly, tipping the ball round the post at full stretch.

As the game came towards its conclusion Wycombe sub Stefan Oakes’ free kick had Russell beaten but flew inches past the near the post.

Rochdale had given striker Rene Howe, on loan for the rest of the season from Peterborough, his debut with top scorer Glenn Murray suspended. The striker showed signs of what he could do and he could be forgiven for looking a little rusty after months without any first team football. His second half miss was unforgivable however, and late in the first half he squandered a one on one by hitting a tame finish at Fielding after Gary Jones had played the striker in.

It was by far the best chance of a first half that failed to live up to the expectations of a match between two playoff candidates. Kallum Higginbotham, reinstated to the Rochdale starting 11, was lively and entertaining without being particularly threatening, while Sergio Torres was having a similar impact for the home side.

One of few early attempts came Torres’ way but he fired high and wide from 18 yards.

Rochdale maintained a lot of possession but chances were at a premium. Higginbotham fizzed a couple of balls into the box but the strikers could not latch on and David Perkins, another reinstatement to the Dale side, saw his free kick whistle past an upright with only a touch needed to turn it towards goal.

The referee was at the centre of one or two controversial decisions and by half time the home fans were far from happy with his performance after he had given the visitors the majority of the marginal free kicks. Both sides escaped a booking after poor challenges from Woodman and Nathan Stanton and Higginbotham was booked for diving in at the feet of Gary Holt, although seconds earlier Tommy Doherty had lunged in on Doolan without punishment.

The official hardly endeared himself to the Wycombe support during the second half either, awarding Dale’s spot kick, although both managers agreed that it was one, and then denying Wycombe penalty claims during injury time when Holt went to ground under McArdle’s challenge, although the Dale centre half appeared to get the ball with a firm but fair tackle.

Attendance: 4,493

Wycombe: Fielding, Johnson, McCracken, Woodman, Bloomfield, Doherty (Oakes 66), Holt, Torres (Bullock 65), Martin, McGleish, Sutton (Knight 61).
Subs not used: Douglas, Stockley.

Booked: McCracken, Knight.

Rochdale: Russell, Ramsden, Stanton, McArdle, Kennedy, Jones, Doolan, Perkins, Howe, Higginbotham (Muirhead 70), Le Fondre (Thompson 86).
Subs not used: Spencer, D’Laryea, Holness.

Booked: Higginbotham, McArdle.

Attempts (on target): Wycombe 6 (3) Rochdale 9 (4)
Free kicks: Wycombe 18 Rochdale 17
Offside: Wycombe 2 Rochdale 4
Corners: Wycombe 4 Rochdale 4

Referee: G Ward.