Inman free to provide Dale with ideal fillip

ROCHDALE boss Keith Hill was delighted with the first-half performance which ultimately earned his side the three points against relegated Burton Albion.

Hill saw Bradden Inman score twice inside the first 22 minutes to give his side early control.

His first was a firsttime effort from the edge of the box after an astute knock down from Ian Henderson, while the big man then set up Inman for a second 12 minutes later.

But the home side hit back in the second half and halved the arrears through Liam Boyce after 71 minutes.

Marvin Sordell was denied three times by Josh Lillis in the Dale goal, but there was nothing he could do when Boyce scored from close range after Lucas Akins’ shot had been parried into his path.

“I am pleased with the performance in the first half and the grit and determination in the second half. The result is superb but we want to see the first half mirrored in the second half and that is the only disappointment,” Hill said.

“We dominated the first half and had the opportunities. In the second half, Josh Lillis came to our rescue and they kept us camped in a bit but we pushed all the way. Some of our football in the first half was superb. We ended up surrendering the ball too much in the second half, which is what I am concerned about.”

Brewers manager Nigel Clough was left to rue a poor opening to the game as his side had to try to come from two goals down after just 22 minutes. But he felt that his side showed enough later in the game to be able to take positives.

Clough said: “I am very, very pleased with the performance but extremely disappointed with the result.

“The first 15, 20 minutes cost us the game but from that point on I was delighted with the way we played and we created enough chances to win about three games.

“When you give goals away in these conditions, the opposition get a lot of confidence and it’s difficult when you are chasing the game when it is as warm as it is.

“Second half, we started with more intent and Ben Fox came on and we looked a bit better balanced. Marvin [Sordell] could have had three or four goals and he will put them away over the course of the season.

“It is incredibly disappointing to lose the first game but when you are looking for a pattern of play for the season then you saw that in the second half.”