Build it and they will come

Adam Le Fondre celebrates after opening the scoring

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Rochdale 3 (Le Fondre 34, Howe 49, Higginbotham 72)
Barnet 0

Rochdale all but secured a place in the end of season play-offs on the day that the townspeople showed signs of taking note of what is happening at Spotland.

The build up centred on enquiries from chairman Chris Dunphy as to just exactly what the Rochdale public was doing on match days to pass up the opportunity to see the brand of football Dale are currently producing.

Well tonight they came, they saw and Rochdale conquered, winning a sixth home game in a row. The extra six hundred fans gained since last Tuesday’s game against Notts County might well return, especially if the play-offs are to be the end result of Dale’s centenary season.

Goals from Adam Le Fondre, his 14th league strike of the campaign, Rene Howe and Kallum Higginbotham, both from fine flowing counter attacks. The result perhaps looked better on paper than it did on the pitch but there was plenty to enjoy from both sides.

Le Fondre’s opener came at exactly the right time, while Barnet were enjoying a decent spell, and the gloss came in the second half with tap-ins for Howe and Higginbotham after flowing moves with Adam Rundle at the heart of them with two runs almost the length of the pitch.

Dale can secure their play-off place with a win over Morecambe at home on Saturday.

“The fans were superb,” said Dale boss Keith Hill. “Our core support is superb, especially away from home and now we’re in a position for more people to come and watch us at home. We can only thank them for turning up and give them more reasons to come, like the possibility of getting promoted.

“Tonight was a great game, a great advert for League Two and even for football higher up the ladder perhaps even Championship level. Barnet did not just turn up and watch us, they played the game in the right manner and it was two good teams out there.

“We’re a creative side and I think we’ll always score goals but not conceding any was the huge bonus from tonight.”

Adam Rundle and Tom Kennedy both recovered from knocks on Saturday to make up the Dale left hand side but Hill still saw fit to make one change, Ben Muirhead making way for Adam Le Fondre, with Kallum Higginbotham dropping from striker to right wing.

The home fans were in good voice and appeared strong in number and they saw their side dominate the early stages but without making any chances.

Instead it was the visitors who made the openings while their opponents played the football. Sagi Burton and Adam Birchall both fired comfortably over but Tommy Lee was troubled when Birchall found himself with a free diving header eight yards out after feeding off Burton’s knock down. Lee saved well to his left.

Dale hit back by drawing the save off the half from Lee Harrison. Le Fondre hit a curling effort that had the Barnet keeper at full stretch to turn it round the post.

The game was open, which suited Barnet’s star man Jason Puncheon and Dale’s one attempt turned out to be a flash in the pan as the visitors increasingly found rather large amounts of space on the Spotland pitch. Puncheon was at the heart of all that Barnet did well but it was Birchall on the end of all their chances. He drew another fine save from Lee as the visitors enjoyed their spell of domination mid-way through the half.

No sooner had Barnet settled into the game then Rochdale had taken the lead against the run of play. Rene Howe nodded on a Dale set piece, Jones got a second knock down and Le Fondre was on hand to finish off the bits and pieces.

Keith Hill asked for discipline from his side and for them to keep their shape, with the members of the press listening intently with Hill positioned just behind them in the stand. Make no mistake Barnet looked a decent young side and the Dale backline would have to be on their guard.

The defence did well and had to cope with a re-organisation midway through the half when the injured Simon Ramsden was forced off for Marcus Holness. They would have a job on to keep a clean sheet in the second half, Dale having not kept one at home since a 0-0 draw against Wrexham in early December.

The forwards eased the nerves of the defenders with a superb goal early in the half. Kennedy robbed the ball off Albert Adomah and Dale broke at pace. The doubtful left sided pair combined as Kennedy found Rundle. He carried the ball the length of the pitch, fed a barnstorming run from Gary Jones who squared for Howe. The striker finished calmly after the ball got caught under his feet but in truth he had little choice but to score.

As a contest the game certainly was not over but Dale were able to get the numbers behind the ball that they needed. Barnet were close to getting to back into the things but a flick on from a corner lacked power and Lee was hand to save. Hill was certainly wary of the visitors and asked constantly for his backline to maintain its concentration.

Dale’s best hopes of putting the game to bed would come on the break, that’s where they’re at their best and they came close to creating a textbook third on sixty-five minutes. Gary Jones whipped a superb pass out for Higginbotham who hit the cross first time on the volley. Le Fondre collected but couldn’t lift his finish over Harrison.

The third did arrive and as harsh as it might have been on the plucky visitors, it came thanks to another textbook move. Rundle was again at the heart of it, running through swathes of space in front of the Barnet defence. Howe, like Jones before him, unselfishly squared and Higginbotham completed the formalities.

The visitors had chances to get the consolation their small band of travelling supporters deserved to see. Neal Bishop fired a finely struck shot just over the crossbar and Puncheon stung the hands of Lee from distance. The last minute brought the last chance, Birchall forcing a fine save from Lee, turning the ball over at full stretch.

Attendance: 2,925
Rochdale: Lee, Ramsden (Holness 29), Kennedy, Stanton, McArdle, Higginbotham, Jones, Perkins (Basham 82), Rundle, Howe, Le Fondre (Dagnall 75).
Subs not used: Button, Muirhead.

Barnet: Harrison, Parkes, Nicolau, Leary, Burton, Puncheon, Adomah, Bishop, Porter, Birchall, Thomas (Akurang 64).
Subs not used: Carpenter, St Amie, Grazioli, Carew.

Attempts (on target): Rochdale 7 (5) Barnet 17 (6)
Freekicks: Rochdale 10 Barnet 18
Offside: Rochdale 6 Barnet 1
Corners: Rochdale 6 Barnet 6

Referee: A. Hall