Dale left feeling let down at London Road
KEITH Jill felt his Rochdale players were ‘let down’ by inadequate officiating in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Peterborough.
Hill praised the spirit and heart of his side after seeing both Joe Rafferty and Donal McDermott dismissed either side of the interval at London Road.
The home side also had a man dismissed by the card happy Chris Sarginson. Posh were 2-1 up at that stage, still had a man advantage and despite Dale’s best attempts, an equaliser proved beyond them, Peterborough going on to make it 3-1 in the 84th minute.
“I think we were let down today. We just want a fair opportunity and a fair representation, and I’m not blaming Peterborough for us not having one today.
“It’s not all about winning. It’s about trying to salvage something when you’re up against everything and I witnessed that from the players, which gives me great heart and great belief.
“The score-line could have been upwards of three when we go down to eight outfield players but they never gave in and they gave everything.
“But again, I believe that Peterborough were awarded an unfair advantage but I don’t blame my players for that unfair advantage.”
Niall Canavan dropped out of the starting XI through injury, Jim McNulty coming back in to partner Keith Keane in the heart of the defence, while Mark Kitching was replaced by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
Hill sprung a surprise by fielding Ian Henderson at right-back and Calvin Andrew left-back with Rafferty back in his defensive midfield role behind Callum Camps and Jamie Allen, McDermott in the hole and a front pairing of Mendez-Laing and Joe Thompson.
Neither side came into the clash in the best of form, but there was determination evident in both teams to put that right.
Marcus Maddison struck the crossbar with a well flighted free-kick while Paul Taylor and Tom Nichols both tested Ben Wilson with angled drives.
For Dale, Camps’ powerful run and shot underlined their intent, while Allen really should have been awarded a penalty after going to ground in the penalty area.
Posh stopper Luke McGee was forced into his first real save of the afternoon when McDermott sent a low shot across the face of goal while a combination of Keane and Wilson contrived to keep out Michael Bostwick’s header, the goalkeeper initially saving his attempt and then Keane clearing off the line when the ball ricocheted towards goal.
When Nichols headed Maddison’s delivery straight at Wilson, it seemed the evenly contested first half was going to end all square –which would have been a fair reflection of the game up to that point.
But the final few minutes of the half ended in calamity.
Firstly, Peterborough scored from a Maddison corner in the 36th minute, Baldwin holding off his marker and poking the ball wide of Wilson.
Two minutes later, Posh had a second. Leo Da Silva Lopes advanced down the right flank and cut a pass back towards the edge of the area, behind both Nichols and the backtracking Dale defence. However, Nichols reacted quickest, landing on the ball with time and space to pick out the bottom corner of Wilson’s net.
Dale lifted their heads and grabbed a lifeline when Mendez-Laing brilliantly picked out the run of Thompson and he slipped a neat finish past McGee to reduce the deficit for the visitors in the 40th minute.
But just as the game appeared finely balanced going into the interval, Dale’s hopes were dealt a significant blow when they lost Rafferty. He was pulled up by Sarginson was manhandling Maddison, his second bookable offence.
Harrison McGahey replaced Thompson at the break as Hill shuffled things around. But having had just seven minutes to adjust to the changes, Dale were forced to rethink yet again as McDermott saw red for a challenge on Baldwin.
With Keane having also been booked, and conscious of the referee’s card-happy display, Hill replaced the experienced defender with Kitching as Dale set about the task of finding an equaliser with just nine men.
Understandably given their two man advantage, Peterborough sought a third goal but were brilliantly repelled by the stubborn Dale rearguard.
Wilson earned his corn with a couple of fine saves to deny Maddison and the goalkeeper later out-foxed Bradden Inman in a oneon-one contest.
The third red card of the day was issued to Posh skipper Baldwin 15 minutes from time for a professional foul on Henderson, hauling the Dale man to the ground as he was about to drift round him and run on into the area unchallenged.
Still just the one goal to make up and now with more even numbers in terms of playing personnel, Dale pushed for a late leveller and went close when Andrew blasted an effort into the side netting.
But in committing men forward Dale left themselves vulnerable to the counter attack and Peterborough made the result safe six minutes from time when Inman slid a delivery to the back post and Taylor hammered home his side’s third.
McGee, Smith, Baldwin, Tafazolli, Hughes, Da Silva Lopes (Mackail-Smith, 62), Inman, Bostwick, Maddison, Nichols (Morias, 86), Taylor. Subs not used: Angol, Tyler, Chettle, Binnom-Williams, Samuelsen
Wilson, Henderson, Keane (Kitching, 57), McNulty, Andrew, Rafferty, Camps, Allen, McDermott, Thompson (McGahey, 46), Mendez-Laing (Cannon, 76). Subs not used: Logan, Noble-Lazarus, Rathbone, Vincenti
C Sarginson 4,457