Fleetwood Town 0 - 0 Rochdale

Fleetwood Town 0 - 0 Rochdale

Rochdale kept a fourth clean sheet in a row as they battled for a well earned point that keeps them top of League Two. Antoni Sarcevic fired over from seven yards in a tight first half whilst Matty Lund's acrobatic effort hit the post for Dale after the break.

Buoyed on a by a sell out away end, Keith Hill’s Rochdale side were looking to extend their lead at the top but were up against a Fleetwood side needing a win for their push for automatic promotion.

The first half was a very nervous affair with neither side wanting to give too much away to the opposition.

Fleetwood broke through the Dale backline on a couple of occasions as Dale rode their luck a little.

Sarcevic’s quick break saw the Dale defence back off but he dragged his shot wide.

Former Dale striker David Ball was causing one or two problems down the right and when he beat Matt Done his cross was perfect for Sarcevic but he fired horribly over from seven yards out.

Dale started the second half more positively and went close nine minutes after the restart. Rafferty’s deep cross was headed back into the mix by Henderson with Lund acrobatically turning the ball beyond Maxwell but against the post.

Fleetwood’s main threat came through the on loan Iain Hume. The veteran striker was a real thorn for the Dale defence with his close control and quick movement. A long ball from the Maxwell, the Fleetwood keeper, evaded everybody with Hume latching onto it but his attempted lob over Lillis lacked height.

Hill threw on Joe Bunney with 20 minutes left on the clock and the youngster got straight into the action. A breakaway down the right had Dale three attackers versus one defender with Henderson clear; Bunney opted to go for goal but his shot fizzed across the face of Maxwell’s net and wide.

The game became stretched towards the end with both sides pushing for the goal to take all the points.

Matty Blair’s curling shot was well saved by Lillis.

At the other end Vincenti couldn’t direct his header on target after a Done cross.

A point each was a fair result and with the score lines elsewhere matching that of Dale’s, Hill’s side maintain their two point cushion at the top whilst the gap to fourth placed Fleetwood remains at nine points with six games left to play.

Attendance: 4,261

Rochdale: Lillis, Rafferty, Lancashire (c), Bennett, Done, Rose (Cavanagh 74), Lund, Allen (Kennedy 87), Vincenti, Henderson, Donnelly (Bunney 70).
Subs: (not used) Thomson, Eastham, Porter, Cummins

Fleetwood: Maxwell, Roberts (c), Pond, Goodall, McLaughlin, Blair (Evans 87), Sarcevic (Parkin72), Taylor, Ball (Matt 87), Hume.
Subs: (not used) Davies, Murdock, Schumacher, Jordan

Referee: Mr M Naylor
Assistant Referees: Mr P Dermott & Mr G Hilton
Fourth Official: Mr R Johnson