Energy sapped
THE exertions and emotions of the derby victory against Bury appeared to have caught up with Rochdale on Tuesday as they fell to their first defeat in ten matches.
With six successive League One victories behind them going into the game at the County Ground, confidence was high among the travelling contingent – but Dale were unable to produce the energy to match their self-belief.
Manager Keith Hill later suggested that, with the benefit of hindsight, he might have fielded a different starting line-up.
But it would have been difficult to drop anyone in light of Saturday’s fine display against the Shakers and naming an unchanged side was understandable on Hill’s part.
It was a cagey opening to the match and little was created during that period, Dale’s most interesting passage of play ending with Steven Davies finding Ian Henderson on the right and the Dale captain firing a shot-cumcross over the face of goal and wide of the far post.
With 24 minutes on the clock the home side broke the deadlock with their first effort on target. The goal came from a setpiece, Dale failing to clear their lines sufficiently from a Sean Murray free-kick, allowing Ellis Iandolo to find Darnell Furlong who fired into the bottom corner of Josh Lillis’s net from the edge of the area.
Rocked by conceding their first goal in five games, Dale were quickly left with the proverbial mountain to climb as the Robins doubled their advantage eight minutes later.
Conor Thomas split the Dale defence with a superb pass to release Nathan Delfouneso in behind the backline and with just Lillis to beat. Delfouneso showed great composure to slip the ball coolly past Lillis for his first of the season.
It could have been worse for Dale, Swindon close to a third when Iandolo’s glancing header from another Murray setpiece flew narrowly wide.
Still, things might have worked out differently had Joe Bunney’s stinging drive found the right side of the post – as it was Swindon took a two-goal advantage into the interval.
Not surprisingly, Hill changed things at the break. On came Andy Cannon – fresh from a fine cameo against Bury – to replace Davies, while Oliver Rathbone came on for Nathanial Mendez-Laing.
With renewed energy about them, Dale began the second half with much more purpose about their play. They immediately started to ask questions of the Swindon defence in a way they hadn’t during the opening 45 minutes, and just sixty seconds into the half they were given a golden opportunity to halve the deficit.
John Goddard was adjudged to have brought down Joe Rafferty inside the area, giving skipper Henderson the chance to repeat his derby day heroics from the spot.
However, up against a goalkeeper in Lawrence Vigouroux who had saved a penalty in his previous game, Henderson was denied on this occasion, Vigouroux reading his attempt to smash the ball into the roof of the net, getting a strong hand to the ball and pushing it over the top.
Swindon had a couple of half-chances with Iandolo firing a drive inches wide, while Anton Rodgers’ free-kick dropped the wrong side of the post.
But in the main, Dale were doing most of the probing in the second half with Swindon content to sit deeper on their twogoal lead.
And with the clock running down and the Robins offering little by way of openings for the visitors, the game entered a niggly phase which broke up any momentum Dale were building.
Samni Odelusi came on for Matt Lund to inject some pace and trickery, but Dale’s bid for a late comeback was dealt a hefty blow in the 74th minute when Bunney was sent off. The forwardcum-left-back was on the end of a clumsy challenge from Furlong and referee Gavin Ward took exception to his reaction to the challenge.
Callum Camps went close with a long-range effort that Vigouroux kept out and the goalkeeper’s excellent display was capped by a brilliant save in time added to deny Calvin Andrew.
Swindon had bagged their third by that stage, Nathan Thompson glancing home Rodgers’ freekick.
Lillis, Rafferty, Keane, Canavan, Bunney, Camps, Lund (Odelusi 64), Henderson, Mendez-Laing (Cannon 45), Andrew, Davies (Rathbone 45). Subs Not Used: Logan, McGahey, McDermott, Morley.