Howe books play-off place for Dale

Goalscorer Howe claps the Dale fans at the final whistle

20 More Image(s) In Gallery

Rochdale 1 (Howe 66)
Morecambe 0

Rochdale booked their place in the end of season play-offs with a 1-0 win over Morecambe and manager Keith Hill now has his sights set on a top three finish.

Rene Howe scored the goal midway through the second half in a game that Rochdale dominated but struggled to convert their chances.

Morecambe defended stoutly, which prevented Dale from getting many clear cut chances, but they offered little in attack and once Howe had hit the net the result was never really in doubt.

With Stockport and Hereford both losing Dale are right in the mix for finishing in the automatic promotion places even though those two sides have a game in hand.

“We have got the points on the board,” said Hill. “It would be a real bonus but a bonus that we are going for while it is still achievable.

“There’s a sense of achievement after today but there is still a lot to play for and we can not celebrate too much tonight.

“Today was just about getting the goal as Morecambe put a lot of men behind the ball. I felt we were always going to win once we’d scored.”

Hill was forced into making one change from Tuesday night’s win over Barnet. Marcus Holness came into the right full back position in place of Simon Ramsden, who suffered a dead leg on Tuesday. Holness himself was forced off midway through the first half, in place of Nathan D’Laryea, who again impressed in another emergency call up into the side.

It was a difficult afternoon for Rochdale not helped by the windy conditions at Spotland. They enjoyed almost all of the possession and played some nice football around the Morecambe box but chances were at a premium until Howe’s crucial strike.

The first half was a quiet affair which was only energised when young goalkeeper Scott Davies was forced into two fine saves and Morecambe cleared the ball off the line in the space of thirty seconds.

Rene Howe burst through on goal and Davies was out quickly to block his shot. The ball fell for Adam Rundle. Davies blocked his shot once more but when the ball fell for Howe he looked certain to score when he flicked the ball over Davies but Jim Bentley was on hand to clear the ball off the line.

David Perkins stung the hands of Davies as he looked for a goal against his former club, while at the other end Morecambe’s only real chance of the match fell for Craig Stanley, who blazed over the bar after Tommy Lee, in the Dale goal, could only tip a corner to the back post.

Dale upped a gear at the start of the second half and it brought them the winner. Kallum Higginbotham was a constant threat and he went close when he cut in from the left hand side and fired a shot inches past the far post.
Howe had an opportunity to open the scoring minutes before he did but his shot at Davies was weak. Soon after, he made no mistake. He collected the ball with his back to goal ten yards out, stole a yard on his marker, a fired a shot beyond Davies that went into the net via Henry McStay on the line.

Dale pushed for the second to make certain of the points. Perkins continued his efforts to thwart his former side. He blocked a shot on the edge of the Dale box and then carried the ball the length of the pitch before rifling a shot just past the post.

A superb interception by McStay, diverting the ball over the bar from close quarters, prevented a certain second for Dale as Howe looked to square the ball for a tap-in for substitute Chris Dagnall.

The gloss should have been put on the win in the last minute when Dagnall put fellow sub Ben Muirhead completely in the clear. The finish looked simple, with a gap available at the near post, but the winger struck his shot straight at Davies.

Attendance: 3706

Rochdale: Lee, Holness (D’Laryea 42), Kennedy, Stanton, McArdle, Higginbotham, Jones, Perkins, Rundle (Muirhead 62), Le Fondre (Dagnall 78), Howe.
Subs not used: Button, Montrose.

Booked: Holness.

Morecambe: Davies, Yates, Bentley, Stanley (Newby 72), Hunter, Curtis, Baker, Allen, Blinkhorn (Lloyd 72), McStay, Adams.
Subs not used: Artell, Burns, Jalal.

Booked: Yates, McStay.

Attempts (on target): Rochdale 17 (9) Morecambe 3 (0)
Freekicks: Rochdale 20 Morecambe 9
Offside: Rochdale 1 Morecambe 4
Corners: Rochdale 8 Morecambe 3

Referee: J Moss.