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We started brightly as McDonald fired a shot just wide after a matter of seconds. Despite the fierce wind and the heavy pitch we were again looking to play a high tempo passing game, but Rochdale were dogged and determined but we were generally to fast for them.
With around five minutes on the clock we were denied a clear penalty as Turner latched onto a through ball and attempted to round the keeper around the corner of the box, but because he fought on and didn't go down the referee ignored the incident. It should have been a spot kick and, arguably, a card for the keeper. 15 minutes later Newman was pulled back when clean through but again the Burnley lad didn't hit the deck and was dispossessed by the keeper. The ref had played the advantage and then chose to go back and book the centre half for a professional foul. Needless to say the players, staff and fans of Burnley were slightly aggrieved as I'm sure the laws dictate something else should be the punishment.
The opening goal of the game came on the half hour mark and it was our opponents who got it. A left wing corner was swung in and Ritchie palmed it onto the post. The ball just couldn't be cleared and the ensuing melee saw the big right winger smash home.
We replied instantly as we won a corner and a defender attempted to flick the cross clear with his hand. He claimed a push in his back and may have been right but it was hard to see through a mass of bodies. In any case the ref saw nothing and Adam Kay fired home from the spot. Virtually from kickoff though Dale were back in front as an uncharacteristic error from Nik Kudiersky saw a weak back pass that the striker latched onto and he fired past Ritchie.
As half time approached our opponents doubled their lead with Ritchie beaten at his near post by a low, long-distance drive. We had suddenly become ragged and looked like we may lose our discipline. Adam Kay was booked for a cynical foul in the centre circle and all around him heads were dropping due to the game slipping away from us.
The 2nd half started and we went instantly on the offensive. McDonald had a shot deflected just wide from around 30 yards out and the resultant corner, although cleared saw us win a free kick on the left wing. Kay swung it in and Turner rose to force the ball home. He made poor contact in the air but it may have been this that saw the ball home as the keeper hadn't got a clue about its trajectory. Besides, they all count and we were back in the game at 3-2.
Or so we thought. They played a long ball up and Ritchie came to claim, under a light challenge, on the edge of his box. He didn't look confident and lost the ball, allowing the lanky striker to stroke home into an empty net. You could see the frustration in the team and it soon began to come out in the tackling.
Alex-Ray Harvey was booked for a retaliatory foul on his opposite number, after he had been caught late 30 seconds previously. Rob Turner was also booked in the same incident, possibly for dissent, or maybe because he was laughing at the derogatory words of Vince Overson in regards to the official. Dean Stott was then booked for a cynical foul after he had lost possession attempting to set up an attack.
We needed inspiration and it came in the shape of Wes Fletcher. He replaced Newman upfront and took two touches to score after being released on the left, following a Kay break. Dan Brown came on at the back for Kudiersky following the goal.
With ten minutes left to play and us pushing on and looking for an equaliser we threw the game away. The big blond Dale forward, so dangerous in the earlier reserve game at Dark Lane, got the ball in the box and squirmed past two defenders and hammered home through Ritchie at the near post.
As time wound down the game got more and more hectic. Fletcher got his 2nd of the game when he worked space well for himself and scored out of nothing but our other chances just wouldn't fall right and the game came to an end with us losing 5-4.
Too many off colour performances hamstrung us today and with Arsenal on the horizon you just hope that this performance won't weigh heavy on the minds of the lads. I dislike naming names when mistakes are made at this level but sometimes you just can't ignore poor performances. Hopefully they will recover well and go on from strength to strength.
Team:- Stef Ritchie, Ben Hoskin, Matt Lomas (Chris Anderson), Nik Kudiersky (Dan Brown), Chris Lynch, Alex-Ray Harvey, Adam Kay, Dean Stott, Alex McDonald, Rob Turner, Liam Newman (Wes Fletcher). Not Used:- Jon Sergeant, Lewis Craig.