Seconds give leaders a scare
ROCHDALE Mens 2s had a tough test on Saturday at Oulder Hill – visitors Formby Mens 3s are the current league leaders and undefeated with a 100 per cent record.
The game was competitive from start to finish and Rochdale took the lead 15 minutes in when Josh Robinson picked up a cross from Andy Meanock, turned the defender and slotted the ball in to the bottom corner out of reach of the Formby keeper.
The game continued to flow from end to end, but it was Formby who equalised after Rochdale keeper Dave Edwards came off his line to meet the on coming Formby striker. The ball got slipped out of Edwards reach to the far post where all it needed was a simple tap in.
Formby had come with a mixture of youth and experience and it began to pay dividends. Rochdale were not getting tight enough, allowing Formby to turn the defence. With ten minutes to half time, this led to Formby taking the lead. A break down the Formby right, finished with a shot, Edwards again had no chance to save.
Right from the start of the second half it was clear Rochdale had been given a dressing down during the break. They got a lot tighter and began to win 50/50 balls, their whole game lifted and the Rochdale central midfield partnership of Imran Ansari and Asif Omar began to put Formby on the back foot. This more aggressive style paid dividends with a series of short corners, one of which saw Rochdale captain Karl Wynn drive a ball to the back post where Bjorne Brauns finished neatly.
Neither team wanted to settle for a draw, Formby wanted to keep their record in tact and Rochdale wanted prove a point after just winning promotion last year. But it was Formby’s experience that proved decisive. With less than 3 minutes on the clock and following another great save from Edwards, it was Formby who capitalised as the ball smashed in to the back of the net. Rochdale didn’t give up and came close right at the end of the game to earning a point, but the ball drifted just wide of the mark.
Captain Karl Wynn: “We didn’t get taught a lesson today, but we can learn a lot from it. Formby played a much better tactical game than us and played as a complete unit. We pushed them all the way and perhaps were unlucky not to get a draw.
“One things for sure, Formby won’t be relishing the return game, they had to battle hard here today”.
The Quat-Chem man of the match went to Asif Omar who took the game to Formby and competed from one D to the other.