Cup run ends
ROCHDALE succumbed to a second-half blitz from Tottenham Hotspur – but boy did they make a big impression before their run to the fifth round of the FA Cup ended in the Wembley snow.
Dale, appearing at the national stadium for only the second time, put in a first-half performance bearing several hallmarks of the thrilling 2-2 draw at Spotland.
In a first period marred by confusion over the use of VAR, Stephen Humphrys cancelled out Son Heung-Min’s opener with Spurs having two efforts chalked off on review.
It made for thrilling – if at times farcical – viewing.
It meant Dale headed in at half time with genuine hopes of causing a major upset having already granted many a travelling fan’s wish by giving them something to cheer about.
Okay, the second half was one-sided, but over the 180 minutes, Dale did a magnificent job of flying the flag for lower league football.
Fernando Llorente’s goal 73 seconds after the restart punctured the League One side’s hopes of frustrating the hosts, the Spaniard completing a hat-trick within 13 minutes.
Son struck again on the hour mark and substitute Kyle Walker-Peters netted in injury-time but Keith Hill’s side did not disgrace themselves in a third-ever fifth round appearance.
The Premier League giants, chasing top-four status and a deep run in the Champions League, paid the third-tier strugglers due respect with a strong team selection.
Erik Lamela, who had a big impact in the first game as a substitute, had the ball in net after just five minutes only to be denied by VAR.
Lamela tapped home the rebound after Son’s shot had been saved by Josh Lillis, with the referee asked to disallow the goal amid suggestions of a foul on Harrison McGahey.
Just as at Spotland, Andy Cannon nicked the ball from Son to launch an attack and Humphrys thumped into the tackle to rob Moussa Sissoko.
A ball over the top found Matt Done on ten minutes, who controlled and fired just wide of the right-hand upright with two defenders in chase.
Light snow began to come down midway through the first-half as the Dale defence was peppered with consistent counter-attacking.
It was breached on 23 minutes, Lamela feeding Son who drifted inside past Joe Rafferty and McGahey to fire firmly into the bottom righthand corner.
Three minutes later, Done tugged Kieran Trippier down the right and a free-kick was given; again, Paul Tierney’s decision was overturned and instead a penalty awarded.
Son tucked home the penalty but stuttered in his run-up, the referee rightly disallowing the spot-kick and booking the South Korean star.
As if the half hadn’t delivered enough excitement, Humphrys sent the 5,000 Rochdale fans into
‘The players have got to recover from it and make sure we take care of our league football’
dreamland on the halfhour.
A clipped ball through from Cannon found the Fulham loanee, who drew Michel Vorm out of goal and chipped calmly into the bottom-right; joining