Derby day delight for ten man Dale!
It was derby day delight for ten man Rochdale on Saturday as they inflicted a 1-0 defeat on local rivals Bury at Spotland.
Scott Hogan’s 35th minute goal separated the two sides in a game controlled by Dale, despite being down to ten men for a large part of the match following Peter Vincenti's sending off for a second bookable offence three minutes after Hogan’s goal.
Manager Keith Hill named an unchanged eleven for the match, with Graham Cummins the only change to the squad which lined-up against Oxford United last weekend. Reece Gray made way for the new loan striker.
The atmosphere inside Spotland was what you would expect from a derby day as 5616 supporters turned out for the encounter.
The teams were equally as fired up for the occasion and the match started in a high tempo fashion, with the play end to end.
Bury won several early corners, which failed to materialise into any clear cut opportunities, while Scott Hogan dragged a shot wide of the target on four minutes after some quick passing play split the Bury defence.
After a relatively even opening period, Rochdale began to take control as the game settled, and some intricate passing caused problems for the Shakers’ back four.
And it was on 18 minutes that Dale had the best opportunity of the game so far.
Matthew Lund fed a sublime ball from midfield out wide to Hogan who had started making a run down the left hand flank. He used his pace, which proved to be a massive asset all afternoon, to leave the Bury defence chasing, and he went through one on one with goalkeeper Trevor Carson. Hogan’s end shot went past the upright.
Dale continued to shade the game, and shortly before the half hour mark, Carson pulled off a fantastic save to deny Peter Vincenti who smashed a powerful header on target after getting on the end of a Brian Barry-Murphy corner. A follow up effort was cleared off the line.
A goal always looked likely for Rochdale, and it came on 35 minutes through Scott Hogan. Vincenti’s initial header from a corner was blocked on the line, but Hogan managed to get a boot on the end of the re-bound to poke the ball over a packed line to give Keith Hill’s side a derby day lead.
GOAL: ROCDALE 1-0 BURY (Hogan, 35 minutes)
The euphoria of going a goal ahead took a dent just three minutes later however, after Vincenti, who had been impressive for Dale, was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence.
RED CARD: Peter Vincenti sent off for a second bookable offence, 38 minutes
Rochdale re-grouped quickly and saw out the half to take a lead into the interval.
HT: ROCHDALE 1-0 BURY
There were no changes for Rochdale at the break, as Manager Keith Hill stayed as was for the start of the second half.
Despite being down to ten men, Rochdale looked comfortable as they worked as a unit to nullify any Bury threat, which left the visitors hitting a brick wall every time they attempted to apply any pressure. With the current system not working, Bury Manager Kevin Blackwell opted for his first substitution of the match on 58 minutes as Marlon Jackson was replaced by Jessy Reindorf. A second followed four minutes later as Danny Mayor was replaced by former Dale loanee, Temitope Obadeyi.
The changes failed to have an immediate impact and Dale continued to be in the driving seat, with Hogan and Donnelly in particular, continuing to pose a problem for the Shakers’ defence, with the pair chasing every ball.
Opportunities remained at a premium for the visitors despite the changes, and the most notable chance of the half so far for Bury saw substitute Jessy Reindorf head well over the bar on 67 minutes.
Up the other end on 70 minutes, Edjenguele came within inches of turning the ball into his own net after getting a head on the end of a Michael Rose cross into the box. From the resulting corner kick, Donnelly came racing in to fire a powerful header just over the bar.
Former Dale Ashley Grimes was introduced onto the field of play on 71 minutes for Bury, and with his first touch of the game, he had a big part to play in a move which set up Obadeyi for Bury’s best opportunity of the half. Obadeyi should have done better as he sent the shot wide of target.
On 80 minutes, loan striker Graham Cummins was handed his debut, replacing Donnelly who had put in an incredible shift.
Bury had a late flourish, but Dale remained resolute and secured three points with a derby day win.
It finished Rochdale 1, Bury 0.