This will now have to go to a replay after both teams played out a scrappy 0-0 draw. The biggest incident was the non-appearance of goalkeeper Neil Edwards
This will now have to go to a replay after both teams played out a scrappy 0-0 draw. The biggest incident was the non-appearance of goalkeeper Neil Edwards who arrived late at the ground after being stuck in traffic.
Those entering the ground were greeted with the shock of seeing Lance Key in the number one jersey this afternoon. Neil Edwards was apparently stuck in traffic and was subsequently named as substitute. He arrived about ten minutes into the game and after a brief warm up, was introduced immediately.
There was a decent sized crowd at Spotland with approximately 1300 making the short journey over the Pennines for this second round tie. Dale started well and could have been up within a couple of minutes. A good move saw Peakey attempt an overhead kick which gave the Rotherham keeper an early test. The Dale defence was resolute throughout the first half, but Dale struggled up front. We were limited to a couple of long range efforts, from Bryson and the impressive Carden, though neither effort could be described as being dangerous. Robbie Painter did a lot of running, in a similar way to that he did against Scarboro, but struggled playing up front on his own. Dale looked very comfortable at the back, and it was no surprise that the half finished nil a piece.
The second half saw Ronnie Moore's men come back into the match, but again the game was very much a midfield battle. Rotherham had the better chances in this half, but when called upon Neil Edwards could not be beaten. They had a free kick which just went over the top, and Edwards made a couple of other fine saves, though we have come to expect this from him. The closest Dale came to scoring was following a mix up in the Rotherham in the box, but the ball would not fall to Mark Monington.
The last ten minutes saw Dale holding on, as Rotherham stepped up the pressure, but the final whistle came soon. The replay will be held at Milmoor a week on Tuesday with a 7:45pm kick off. The tie is by no means over. Remember Darlington!
Dale: Key (Edwards), Williams (Diaz) , Sparrow, Hill, Monington, Johnson, Carden, Painter, Stuart, Bryson, Peake