Rochdale 1 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday

Rochdale 1 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday

Rochdale went out of the FA Cup at the fourth round after a 2-1 defeat to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

After a goalless first half, the game sprang to life after the interval with The Owls taking a two goal lead through Mattock and Onyewu; both from corners.

Michael Rose halved the deficit with a stunning volley on the hour mark before Joe Mattock saw red for a second yellow card. Dale pressed but couldn’t break down a stubborn Wednesday defence.

The Dale boss made six changes to his side from the midweek draw at Chesterfield. Rhys Bennett was preferred at right back whilst Ashley Eastham replaced the injured Olly Lancashire. Peter Vincenti earned a recall whilst Jamie Allen came into the centre of the park after Gary Dicker left the club. Michael Rose captained the side, Joe Bunney dropped to the bench.

In terrible weather conditions, the tie got underway with a packed Spotland making for a great atmosphere.

Wednesday started brighter but couldn’t really capitalise on their possession.

A free kick on the edge of the area posed a threat after Esatham’s foul but Nuhiu shot into the wall.

A lucky ricochet looked to have given Lavery the chance of a shot although brave defending saw the ball clear.

As the half wore on, Dale started to get a foothold and had two glorious chances to break the deadlock. Firstly Vincenti’s free header went just wide after Rose’ cross and then Done was denied brilliantly by Martinez in the Wednesday goal when clean through.

The visitors piled on the pressure in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Onyewu saw his header come back off the post, hit Lillis and go out for a corner. Maghoma was played in seconds later but a great block by O’Connell kept the scores level.

Wednesday, with a strong wind behind them, made Dale pay at the start of the second half when they scored twice in the space of nine minutes. A left wing corner was turned in by Mattock with defender Onyewu doubling the advantage from another flag kick. Dale’s defence didn’t deal well with Maguire’s corner and when the ball dropped at the feet of Onyewu, the American made no mistake from six yards.

Many with a Wednesday persuasion probably thought it was game over but that was far from the truth. Henderson’s free kick was brilliantly tipped away for a corner from which Dale scored. The ball was headed away but only to Rose who, after taking one touch to steady himself, unleashed an unstoppable volley to liven up the home faithful.

The travelling masses were biting their finger nails for the last 25 minutes when full back Mattock was dismissed for a pull on Henderson. Having already been booked in the first half, Mattock was sent for an early bath.

With the man advantage, Dale peppered the Wednesday area but their backline stood firm. Rose’ free kick was tipped over in the closest Dale came to earning a replay.

So the old cliche of ‘concentrate on the league’ is certainly true of Rochdale who head into the game at Northampton on Tuesday just two points off leaders Scunthorpe.

Attendance: 8,240

Rochdale: Lillis, Bennett (Camps 75), O’Connell, Eastham, Done, Rose (c), Allen (Donnelly 59), Vincenti (Cummins 66), Lund, Henderson, Hogan.
Subs: (not used) Thomson, Rafferty, Hery, Bunney

Sheffield Wednesday: Martinez, Palmer, Mattock, Loovens (c), Maguire, Maghoma (Coke 81), Semedo, Onyewu, Lee, Lavery (Helan 66), Nuhiu (Johnson 78).
Subs: (not used) Kirkland, McPhail, Llera, McCabe

Referee: Mr S Hooper
Assistant Referee: Mr J Hunt & Mr N Sharp
Fourth Official: Miss A Fearn