Dale rise to the
JIMMY McNulty, Ian Henderson and Alex Dobre were Walsall’s tormentors as Rochdale climbed off the bottom of League One with a 3-0 victory at the Banks’ Stadium.
Dale’s first win in four games saw them bump rivals Bury down to the bottom of the table, leaving them nine points off safety with as many as four games in hand on fellow strugglers.
McNulty opened the scoring on 20 minutes with a rare strike – his first in six seasons – ensuring the visitors held a halftime lead.
Henderson, scorer of six goals in six games in the cup run, doubled the lead with a heavily deflected second-half effort and loanee Dobre bagged a sublime debut effort to wrap the win.
The Saddlers, whose fans confusingly called for the head of manager Jon Whitney despite midtable status, were deservedly beaten.
The early stages were uneventful, Josh Lillis haring out of goal and clearing just ahead of Julien Ngoy’s run the only real scare.
Dale forged in front on 16 minutes, Walsall’s inability to lay a finger on them summed up by the goal.
Inman’s corner drifted to the back post, where McNulty rose without challenge to loop a header into the bottom left from 12 yards.
The home side and their supporters were guilty of under-estimating their opposition, the players so shocked to concede they failed to respond and fans too quick to lambast their team.
They did, eventually, mount a riposte on the half-hour as Ngoy planted a powerful strike on goal that stung Lillis’ palms and forced Harrison McGahey to hurriedly clear the rebound.
Counter-punching through wing-backs is a feature of Hill’s philosophy, Matt Done breaking down the left and watching his deflected effort fizz just wide of the right-hand post.
Ryan Delaney headed wide from the subsequent corner as the defender, a resounding success since arriving in January, came close to a second.
But Whitney’s men ended the half on top, Lillis first forced to low to his left to deny Kieron Morris’ awkward shot and then spring right to parry a George Dobson drive.
These clear-cut chances would have made Rochdale wary of a second-half surge, but none came.
Walsall had a number of free-kicks deep in Dale territory but the delivery didn’t threaten.
The second came on 71 minutes and it was no less than they deserved, Henderson bagging an 84th goal for the club in fortuitous circumstances.
A fluid move saw Camps slip Henderson into the box, his attempt curl into the far corner blocked by Jon Guthrie but the ball cannoned back off the striker and flew into the net.
The extended lead came under immediate threat minutes later with a penalty awarded against Delaney, adjudged to have fouled substitute Amadou Bakayoko on the right side of the box.
‘You want to win by clear margins and one goal in English football is not a clear margin’
But not for the first time on the night, Lillis came to Dale’s rescue with a superb flying save to his right to prise Erhun Oztumer’s spot-kick out of the bottom corner.
Amid a flurry of action,