Dale earned a point away at the Vetch Field with a 1-1 draw which saw Dale striker Clive Platt sent off and Paul Connor score a screamer. Full match report and player ratings online now

Rochdale went into the second European match of the season with one change to the line up that beat Macclesfield 3-1 last Saturday, that being Ian Bishop replacing Paddy McCourt with Flitcroft going on the right wing with Bishop and Oliver in the centre. 

Ten minutes past before we saw the first chance of the game and it fell to Swansea when a free kick about 20 yards away was blocked by the wall but Ian Bishop didn't clear it properly and his clearance set up Swansea striker Steve Watkin who drove the ball well wide of the target.

Dale's first real chance fell to Paul Simpson when Rob Styles awarded Dale a freekick within striking range and that's exactly what Paul Simpson did but his freekick took a deflection to take it wide when it looked like it was going in.  Gareth Griffiths also went close for the visitors shortly after.

Until the half hour mark, the game was poor with both teams losing the ball very frequently but just after the half hour mark, poor marking from the Dale defence led to James Thomas volleying home from 10 or so yards.

Then Rob Styles showed why he is hated by Dale fans!  Paul Connor was clearly pulled back in the penalty area by Michael Howard but of course Styles failed to see it.  Dale began to push forward and looked to take the game to the home side but 5 minutes before the interval saw Clive Platt get his marching orders for a late challenge on David Smith which I personally thought was harsh and only really deserved a yellow card but nevertheless Styles had to send him off.  

When Platt made the challenge Styles ran over like Smith had been run over by a car and this led to all hell breaking loose as punches were thrown in different directions.  Swansea goalkeeper Roger Freestone and Dale midfielder Michael Oliver in the thick of it and as a result both were booked when many thought they should have been sent off themselves.

The first chance of the second half fell to the home side when Steve Watkin had a shot on goal that went close.  He went close a few minutes later with a header that went over the bar.

Despite being down to 10 men, Dale took the game to the Swans with some crisp and accurate passing by the midfield and then the breakthrough Dale were looking for happened and we saw the Paul Connor of old with a magnificent strike into the top right hand corner leaving Freestone with absolutely no chance whatsoever.

Dale continued to dominate and Dale went close with chances falling to Paul Simpson and Michael Oliver.  This seemed to call Swansea into action and they went very close on numerous occasions and would have scored a couple if it wasn't for Neil Edwards in the Dale goal.

All in all a disappointing Dale performance but a good away point as we were playing 12 vs 10 since Platt was sent off just before half time.  Rob Styles proved that he is an embarrassment to the sport as an official and his gestures to the Dale fans were not appreciated.  Thank you once again Mr Styles for ruining what could have been a decent game of football!  I urge you all to read the Cullenwatch when it appears online as it will be a good read!

Player Ratings:

1.  Neil Edwards 7 Pulled off a great save at the end and was generally as good as usual

2.  Wayne Evans 7 Defended very well again, looked to get forward but a few of his crosses into the box were poor

5.  Gareth Griffiths 6 Was good in the air but was caught out a few times and fell over a few times that could have proved costly. 

24.  Richard Jobson 7 The best of the defenders for me, was very solid at the back and won nearly everything that came his way.

10.  Matt Doughty 7 Defended quite well but was not able to get forward until the second half when he looked to attack and get crosses in

7.  David Flitcroft 7 Touch let him down badly in the first half but came out after the break and played like he had all season.  Spread the ball around and was one of Dale's best players in the second half.

4.  Ian Bishop 6 A few bad passes from Bish but looked good at times

9.  Michael Oliver 6 Got stuck in well and his passing was good at times, rather lucky to be on the pitch after the mass brawl though I thought.

14.  Paul Simpson 6 Not his usual self today.  Had a couple of decent strikes but not as influential as he can be

21.  Clive Platt 6 Didn't really get into the game before he was sent off

27.  Paul Connor 8 Superb goal and worked tirelessly up front on his own.  Even when up against 4 defenders he always looked dangerous

Photo: Action Images

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