Rochdale 0 - 4 Scunthorpe

Nine man Rochdale crashed to a heavy home defeat on a night to forget for Keith Hill’s side. A dominant first half performance meant nothing when Scunthorpe took the lead five minutes before the break.

Rochdale captain Olly Lancashire was shown a second yellow card on 68 minutes and he was followed for an early bath just six minutes later by Jack O’Connell after he was adjudged to have felled Jimmy Spencer inside the area. O’Connell saw a straight red card and Winnall stepped upto double the advantage.

Two late goals from Spencer and Syers condemned Dale to defeat.

Hill was forced into one change from the side that beat Exeter 3-1 on Saturday, with Rhys Bennett replacing the injured Joe Rafferty in the starting 11.

The opening exchanges were fairly even in terms of chances for either side, but Dale were by far the better footballing side.

Hawkridge drilled a shot over the bar early on whilst Slocombe had to be at his best to deny Cummins three minutes later. Hogan’s cross was wonderfully controlled by Cummins who with his second touch volleyed towards the top corner but the visiting keeper pushed the ball away.

Dale survived an early scare when a mistake by Eastham was capitalised on by Winnall as he lifted the ball over Lillis but a linesman’s flag saved the defender's blushes.

Bennett was next to go close with a misplaced cross that saw Slocombe scurry backwards to tip over the bar.

Some of the football on show from Dale was sublime and a 30 plus passing move ended with Lund turning the ball home, but he was denied by an offside flag.

With a goal looking more and more likely for Dale, it was a shock when Scunthorpe took the lead. A right wing corner was headed back across goal by Mirfin, and central defensive partner Canavan was on hand to turn the ball home for a scrappy opener.

Rochdale started the second half as they had ended the first and again looked the better side.

Substitute Bastien Hery slid a delightful ball through to Done but the winger couldn’t capitalise.

The beginning of the end as far as Dale were concerned came on 68 minutes. Already booked, Lancashire felled Winnall as the visiting striker countered a Dale attack. Referee Harrington had little option but show the Dale captain a second yellow card.

Things got worse for Dale when they were reduced to nine men just six minutes later. Jack O’Connell challenged Jimmy Spencer inside the area and initially the well placed official didn’t see anything wrong with the challenge but his assistant was flagging furiously and signalled a penalty kick. The referee then went with his assistant’s call and had no option but to send off O’Connell for a professional foul. Winnal stepped up and sent Lillis the wrong way.

With the game over as a contest, the nine men of Dale tried to repel the Scunthorpe onslaught but were beaten twice from left wing crosses. Firstly, Spencer was on hand to turn the ball beyond Lillis and then in stoppage time, Syers netted the fourth with an almost identical goal.

Keith Hill refused to talk about the referee’s performance after the game saying: “I want to draw a line under that game and move on.”

Rochdale: Lillis, Bennett, O’Connell, Lancashire (c), Eastham, Rose, Lund (Molyneux 75), Tutte (Hery 57), Henderson, Hogan, Cummins (Done 57)
Subs: (not used) Thomson, Vincenti, Dicker, Bunney

Scunthorpe: Slocombe, Ribeiro, Dawson (c)(Nolan 29), McAllister, Mirfin, Canavan, Burton (Spencer 65), Hawkridge, Adelakum (Noble-Lazarus 83), Syers, Winnall
Subs: (not used) Iwelumo, Severn, Waterfall, Byrne,

Referee: Mr T Harrington
Assistant Referees: Mr M Duncan & Mr P Wright
Fourth Official: Mr B Toner