Dale let lead slip in sloppy second half
WIMBLEDON ROCHDALE 1 1 ROCHDALE were denied an away win as Andy Barcham’s second-half leveller rescued a point in Wally Downes’ first game as AFC Wimbledon boss.
Barcham rifled in from the edge of the box midway through the second period to cancel out Calvin Andrew’s first-half effort, keeping the Dons second from bottom in League One.
After a bright start from the Dons, Rochdale started to dominate and edged in front on 35 minutes when Joe Rafferty crossed for Andrew to convert.
The Dons improved after the break and arguably deserved their equaliser, though Dale almost won it late on, an excellent save from Joe McDonnell denying Andrew.
“I’m reasonably pleased with the way that we dominated the first half. There was patience and product with the way that we played,” said Dale boss Keith Hill.
“The game management in the second half wasn’t great. We gave the ball back to the opponents far too much. I don’t know if the conditions hindered us in the second half, but I still expect us to manage the game better than we did.
“I don’t think we played the conditions well and we should have kept the ball better, which put us under a lot of pressure. Those were the plans but there didn’t seem to be that game management from players. I expect all of my players to defend better than we did in the second half. When I’m talking about defending, I’m talking about clean passes and keeping the ball.”