Dale stormed through to the 5th Round of the FA Cup beating Coventry 2-0 at Spotland. Goals from Paul Connor and Gareth Griffiths, either side of half time saw off the 1st Division side.

What a great day for Dale! Coventry came, they saw, and they got battered and beaten. An absolutely fully deserved Dale victory as they tore the higher division side apart.

Dale announced changes to the side that crashed at home to Lincoln the previous Tuesday. A 4-4-2 formation was employed. McEvilly was dropped, as was Richard Jobson and Matt Doughty. Stephen Hill got his first start of the season, and Gavin Melaugh returned to the side in midfield, as did player manager Paul Simpson.

Dale started like a house on fire and dominated the possession. The best chances in the first half though fell to Coventry, Neil Edwards on top form to keep every effort out, and keep the visitors at bay.

Dale took the lead following a stunning through ball from Flicker, that Connor latched onto. He coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to send the 6000 or so Dale fans into raptures.

Coventry kept on the pressure, but couldn't muster many chances. As half time approached Dale were slightly on the backfoot as would be expected, but they kept Coventry out.

Dale started the second half much like they had started the first one, completely on top. Connor and Platt both spurned good chances to extend Dale's lead, but couldn't take their chances. Gareth Griffiths however popped up to power home a header from a corner to double Dale's advantage.

More chances went begging for Dale, and slowly but surely Coventry began to get on top. Simmo was replaced by Evil, and Coventry made a couple of changes too. Neil Edwards had to be on top form again as he brilliant saved long range efforts to keep Coventry out. Dale's defence was also truly magnificent, Simon Grand, and strangely enough Gareth Griffiths.

Dale finally managed to hang on for a deserved victory and the fans poured onto the pitch in celebration. A fantastic day at Spotland witnessed by an almost capacity crowd. A wonderful feeling as well to see Dale all over the news too! Brilliant!

Not going to bother with player ratings tonight, as it would be a disservice to say anyone was better than anyone else. Everyone pulled together and we got the result we deserved. Next round, bring on............Mancs!? Arsenal!? Scousers?! Who cares, what a day! Up The Dale

Photo: Action Images

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