Loss blamed on

ACOMBINATION of ‘chaotic’ decisionmaking from his players and referee Brett Huxtable saw Keith Hill’s Rochdale suffer defeat at AFC Wimbledon.

The Dale chief highlighted Keith Keane’s firsthalf dismissal as the turning point in the match, the incident compounded by a poor spell of defending from the visitors which allowed the Dons to score three quickfire goals early in the second period.

Though Callum Camps made it four goals from his last four games and Jamie Allen struck the foot of the post, Dale had too much to do to turn the contest on its head.

“I’m disappointed with the way the first half turned out, considering the way that we started the game, the way that we dominated and the chances that we created.

“It became a little bit chaotic and I think that was a combination of refereeing decisions and our players falling for the old one-two, if you like.

“I’m also disappointed with the opening 10-15 minutes of the second half when you’re trying to make sure that you don’t concede when you’re down to ten men against a team who are really good at set-plays.

“Individuals have let us down on set-plays but those same individuals haven’t really let us down for most of the season.

“I had to change the team two minutes before kick off. Joe Bunney was not supposed to play, so to roll him out, fair play to him.

“I can’t explain what happened in that first 15 minutes of the second half and after I made the substitutions I thought we were more than competitive. We scored a goal, but it was very disappointing from a lot of aspects. I am disappointed, but I can recover from disappointment – it’s a football match.”

Matty Lund returned to the starting line-up after missing the previous two games on international duty, but Hill was dealt a blow in the warm up as Niall Canavan pulled up. That meant Joe Bunney was restored to the team – the manager had wanted to hand him a rest, conscious of the fact he had only just returned from injury and had featured in the last three games.

Despite the late reshuffle, Dale opened well. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing saw an effort blocked while Calvin Andrew was foiled by the desperate Dons defence.

Mendez-Laing’s drilled delivery across the face of goal evaded all, a turn and shot from Henderson was deflected over the bar and Mendez-Laing lobbed goalkeeper James Shea only to see his attempt bounce the wrong side of the post.

Getting closer all the time, Henderson struck the woodwork with a fine strike before the Dons mamaged their first effort of note, Conrad Logan saving Lyle Taylor’s 34th minute shot.

The game turned away from Dale in first half stoppage time when Keane was shown his second yellow card of the game. Though Hill had no qualms with that decision, he was frustrated by Keane’s first booking, which he felt was a fair challenge.

The Dons were quick to make them pay. Sean Kelly stooped to meet a corner and head home on 53 minutes before Taylor seized on a poor clearance to sweep the ball home two minutes later.

And when Andy Barcham was brought down by Lund in the 58th minute, Parrett added the third from the spot.

Dale recovered with a couple of substitutions, Rafferty and Cannon replacing Lund and Bunney.

Camps pulled one back in the 65th minute, Shea making a hash of his attempt to save the midfielder’s 25-yarder.

Four minues later, Allen’s curling shot thumped the foot of the post – hbut the Dons regained their composure and saw the game out.

Logan, McGahey, Keane, McNulty, Bunney (Cannon, 61), Allen, Lund (Rafferty, 59), Camps, Henderson, Andrew, Mendez-Laing (Rathbone, 66). Subs not used: Vincenti, McDermott, Wilson, Davies