LILLIS BLUNTS BLADES’ PUSH
SUPER stopper Josh Lillis was the difference at Spotlands according to his former manager Nigel Adkins, as goals from Peter Vincenti and a fairytale finish from Grant Holt ended Dale’s Sheffield United hoodoo.
Sheffield United were looking to make it eight out of eight in this fixture, but Rochdale goalkeeper Lillis had other ideas, putting in a man-of-the-match performance to deny the promotion-pushing Blades any chance of back-to-back victories.
Substitute Vincenti gave Dale an unexpected lead just after the hour mark, before Holt sealed the victory with his first goal back in a Rochdale shirt.
And Blades boss Adkins praised Lillis, a goalkeeper he had signed whilst managing at Scunthorpe in 2006.
“Josh Lillis put in an inspired performance, but I thought that we were dominant and on the front foot and that we created chances, but at the end of the day it is about scoring goals, and Lillis was fantastic in stopping us doing that,” he said.
“We can't hide away from anything, the endeavour was there, the passion was there from the players, but we have to give Rochdale credit and the goalkeeper has made some great saves and they’ve got a well deserved victory.
“We’ve got to believe we can still go and do this and get promoted, on another day we could have gone in three or four up at half-time, but we didn't take our chances.”
After seven minutes a Lillis fingertip denied the Blades an early lead after top-scorer Billy Sharp connected well with a whipped Ryan Flynn cross.
From the resulting corner a flicked header through a barrage of players clipped the Rochdale post before being bundled away by Ashley Eastham.
In a lacklustre first half the best chance fell to Che Adams after 15 minutes when the 19-year-old striker tried to lob Lillis, but the Dale stopper made another great full stretch save to keep the scores level.
A ballooned Dale clearance five minutes before half-time then fell to Adams, who took himself through one-on-one and forced Lillis into action again.
And Rochdale broke the deadlock on 65 minutes when Vincenti’s curling shot had the better of George Long and the exAldershot man tucked away his eighth of the season.
With just under ten minutes left striker Holt slid in for the Cinderella finish, connecting with a Michael Rose corner for his first goal since returning to Spotlands.
Rochdale boss Keith Hill said: “It’s football, sometimes you win sometimes you lose, and it’s based on the decisions you make and I think we made some very good decisions here.
“I thought Josh Lillis was on top form and made some outstanding saves.
“It doesn’t always work out when you come back like Grant Holt has, and like I’ve said in the past it is like going out with an exgirlfriend. It is just not always the same. But he’s done exceptionally well.”