Football: Fleetwood 2 - 1 Rochdale

Rochdale were beaten despite taking the lead against Fleetwood Town on a warm day on the Fylde coast on Saturday 21 September.

Rekeil Pyke scored his first league goal of the season in the eighth minute with a neat pivot and shot but the lead only lasted 14 minutes; Danny Andrew stealing in at the back post after a teasing cross from Wes Burns on the right. Striker Ched Evans headed the winner with just minutes remaining to see Joey Bartons side climb to fourth whilst Dale drop one place to seventeeth.

After conceding a late equaliser to Lincoln in midweek, Brian Barry-Murphy was looking for a positive start against a Fleetwood side who are unbeaten at home in the league since February and they got it through Rekeil Pyke. Ian Henderson’s deep cross was headed down by young full back Luke Matheson to Pyke whose great first touch and turn gave him space to fire past Alex Cairns.

The Dale backline have looked jittery in recent games and they almost gifted Fleetwood a way back into the game three minutes after taking the lead. Robert Sanchez’s ball out fell straight at the feet of Josh Morris but the former Scunthorpe man hit wide of the mark from just outside the box.

Ian Henderson came close to a second for Dale. Pyke’s square ball was stepped over by Callum Camps; Henderson looping his shot just over the bar.

Eoghan O’Connell had to be replaced eighteen minutes in by Jimmy Ryan which meant midfielder MJ Williams had to drop into the back four. O’Connell could now be a doubt for the midweek trip to Old Trafford when Rochdale take on Manchester United in the EFL Cup.

The home side levelled in the 22nd minute after a dangerous ball from Burns down the right evaded three Rochdale players before finding Danny Andrew at the back post who steered his shot inside the post.

Fleetwood looked the more dangerous of the two sides and when Andrew’s dipping shot was palmed away by Sanchez, Harry Souttar followed up with a header that landed straight into the hands of the Dale goalkeeper.

With the Fylde coast benefiting from an Indian summer and the temperatures pitch side reaching the mid-twenties, the pace of the game slowed down after the interval with neither side creating many clear cut opportunities.

Substitute Ash Hunter was a threat with his fresh legs and when he sent a cross in from the left for Ched Evans, the former Sheffield United striker will feel he should have done better when he glanced his header wide of the upright.

That was a warning shot for the visitors as with the clock ticking down towards a draw, those two combined again for the winner. An almost identical situation saw Hunter send an in-swinging cross from the left with Evans stealing ahead of Williams to power a header into the bottom corner and claim the three points.

Brian Barry-Murphy and his backroom staff will now start the preparations for the fixture against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night

 

Rochdale: Sanchez, Matheson, O’Connell (Ryan 18), McNulty, Norrington-Davies, MJ Williams, Rathbone, Dooley, Pyke (Morley 49), Camps, Henderson (Andrew 66)
Subsitutes: (not used) Lynch, Keohane, Wilbraham, Tavares

Fleetwood: Cairns, Coyle, Souttar, Dunne, Andrew, Rossiter, Burns (Mooney 82), Dempsey (Madden 61), Coutts ©, Morris (Hunter 72), Evans
Substitutes: (not used) Gilks, Clarke, Biggins, Sheron

Referee: Mr G Salisbury
Assistants: Mr M Jones & Mr P Gooch
Fourth Official: Mr G Liddle

Attendance: 3,229 (650 from Rochdale)