Rochdale 2 United 1
An improved second half display wasn't enough to stop the Gulls going down to a 2-1 defeat at Rochdale and stretch their search for a League win to four games.
Bucks made four changes to the team that took the field against Bournemouth last time out although one of the changes was enforced upon him with Lee Hodges stepping in for the injured Kieran Charnock and Michael Poke replacing Scott Bevan in goal. Tyrone Thompson kept his place after replacing Chris Hargreaves during the first half last weekend and Scott Rendell came in to partner Elliot Benyon up front with Tim Sills dropping to the bench. Lee Mansell was expected to return to action for this match but failed a late fitness test.
For all of the decent football that United have played in recent weeks one criticism that could be levelled at them is the slow manner with which they seem to start the odd game or two. Today was one of those occasions and against a more than decent Rochdale side this was not the type of match to start in less the 'eyeballs out' mode. Michael Poke was in action early on when he tipped an O'Grady header wide after good work by Buckley down the Rochdale left wing.
Even with the home side's positive start United thought they had taken the lead when Elliot Benyon turned in a shot from Scott Rendell but to Benyon's amazement the assistant referee had raised his flag for an offside decision. It may not have been a match deciding moment but it was almost as close as United were to come all afternoon.
The Gulls were under some extreme pressure during the opening stages and Michael Poke had more than one occasion to vent his feelings to those in front of him as Rochdale threatened to overrun their visitors. In the 25th minute the deadlock was broken when a United attack faltered and Rochdale broke quickly. The ball was switched out to Buckley who skipped inside two Gulls' defenders before drawing a superb save from Michael Poke, unfortunately for the Gulls Dagnall reacted quicker than anyone else and pounced on the rebound.
Goal: Rochdale 1 (Dagnall 25) United 0
Dagnall went close to doubling the lead shortly afterwards when he was gifted a free header inside a crowded United penalty area but he was off target and the ball bounced to safety. United were struggling to get any fluency into their performance and Chris Robertson collected a booking when he brought Dagnall down with a clumsy tackle.
Yet again the United defence opened up in front of the home attack and Dagnall shot wide from a good position with Poke seemingly the only person standing between the home side and a clutch of goals. United had been restricted to a couple of long range shots, neither of which reached their intended target and they were indebted to their goalkeeper who did well to make a challenge on Dagnall outside of the penalty area as the Rochdale striker found himself through on goal.
With seconds remaining in the first half O'Grady fizzed a shot just over Poke's goal but United could actually look back on the half and consider a one goal deficit something of a triumph.
Half-Time: Rochdale 1 United 0
Not surprisingly a change was made at the break by the United management; Lee Hodges made way for Marvin Williams with Chris Robertson switching to centre back, Wayne Carlisle dropping back to right back and Williams slotting in wide on the right. Within four minutes of the restart a second change was made when Danny Stevens made way for Mustapha Carayol and United switched to three up front with Hargreaves dropping in to join Wroe and Thompson in midfield.
As the second half progressed United did manage to get a foothold into the game and the home side didn't have anything like the same amount of dominance that they enjoyed in the first forty-five minutes. The problem for United still remained in that they were struggling to create clear chances and put the home side under a period of sustained pressure.
Poke was at it again with twenty minutes left when he denied Dagnall with another super save after O'Grady centred from wide out as Rochdale looked more likely to grab the game's second goal. Chris Robertson had to leave the pitch with a bleeding nose in the 76th minute and his absence certainly didn't help as United conceded a second goal; Substitute Chris Hargreaves seemed to have strong case for a free-kick after he looked to have been pushed but play went on and, not for the first time, Dagnall found himself bearing down on United's goal. This time he was up to the challenge and beat Poke with a right foot shot from 12 yards.
Goal: Rochdale 2 (Dagnall 76) United 0
Chris Hargreaves had been sent on in the 60th minute and was doing his best to influence the match and had United's best chance so far with a header from close range but he couldn't direct the ball as he would have wished while at the other end Michael Poke yet again produced a fine save from Dagnall after the Rochdale stiker had outpaced Kevin Nicholson.
It was still long range shooting only from United until the very last minute when Hargreaves turned sharply on a Williams shot after a Nicholson corner hadn't been cleared properly and he beat Arthur from close range which gave the scoreline a slightly flattering tint from United's point of view.
A bad day at the office for sure, four league games without a win is concerning but certainly not cause for mass panic with the most frustrating factor being United's failure to string an entire ninety minutes together in one match.
Full-Time: Rochdale 2 United 1
United: Poke; Robertson, Todd, Hodges (Williams 46), Nicholson, Carlisle, Thompson, Wroe, Stevens (Carayol 49), Benyon (Hargreaves 60), Rendell. Subs not used: Bevan, Brough, Joyce, Sills.
