Dale's reserves put in a very impressive performance at Dark Lane ahead of Saturday's game with Exeter. Full match report online now!
Dale lined up with an unfamiliar 3-4-3 system at Dark Lane with one of the strongest reserve sides I’ve ever seen.
Rochdale AFC: James Spencer, Scott Wiseman, Raphale Evans, Marcus Holness (captain), Kallum Higginbotham, Joe Thompson, Kyle Lambert, Mark Jones, Chris Dagnall, Lee McEvilly and John Shaw.
Morecambe FC: Scott Davies, Matthew Bell, Andy Parrish, Jordan Yates, David Artell, Michael Carr, Paul Lloyd, Matthew Poole, Aaron Taylor, Diarmuid O’Carroll and Michael Twiss.
Rochdale made a shaky start to the game but soon settled down when Lee McEvilly met Kallum Higginbotham’s excellent cross at Morecambe’s far post after 5 minutes.
James Spencer was forced into his first save of the match shortly after when Michael Twiss, who was making his comeback from injury today, gathered the ball from a Holness error before firing his effort straight into Spencer’s hands.
The first signs of a frustrating afternoon for John Shaw became apparent shortly after as he was put through on goal twice in the space of a couple of minutes by Dagnall, only to be thwarted by some excellent goalkeeping by Scott Davies.
Dale went two goals in front when Scott Wiseman marked his return from injury by volleying a superb Joe Thompson cross past the impressive Davies.
Raphale Evans then decided that Wiseman-esque runs from the back were the way to go as he was allowed to run at Morecambe’s defence, until his run was ended abruptly outside the Morecambe penalty area.
Kallum Higginbotham took the resulting free kick and forced another fantastic save out of Davies as Dale continued to mount on the pressure in the first half.
But as Dale pushed forward, gaps opened at the back, and Morecambe winger Paul Lloyd found himself with plenty of space as four Morecambe attackers closed in on Spencer’s goal.
However the goalkeeper did well to stay on his feet and managed to deflect the winger’s effort for a corner.
As the first half came to a close there was one final chance for Morecambe with striker Aaron Taylor’s effort leaving Spencer with a comfortable save.
Dale fell asleep at the start of the second half as former Northwich Victoria midfielder Michael Carr found himself with room on the right.
The midfielder then fired in an effort from the right hand side, which Spencer could do little about, to make the score 2-1.
The next ten minutes or so saw both teams scrapping for the goal, with Kallum Higginbotham and Morecambe’s Matthew Bell both being booked, around the 60th minute mark, for their efforts in a battle for the ball in the centre of the park.
Dale were starting to dominate the game again after that point with Dagnall linking up with Shaw once again, with the former Halifax man failing to keep his effort under the cross bar.
On the 65th minute Raphale Evans was replaced by Alex Mallion and straight after the substitution Shaw finally had a bit of luck as a shot from midfield was deflected into his path, but his effort was wide again.
Spencer was forced into another couple of saves from Paul Lloyd before Theo Coleman replaced Lee McEvilly on the 70th minute mark.
Dale’s pressure finally paid off when Kallum Higginbotham picked up his second assist of the day, with Thompson calmly controlling another brilliant cross, before firing past the helpless Morecambe ‘keeper.
Ex Celtic youngster Diarmuid O’Carroll hit the goal of the game soon after with his 25-yard effort leaving James Spencer with absolutely no chance to make the scoreline 3-2.
Scott Wiseman was replaced by Callum Byrne with less then ten minutes left as Dale switched to a 4-4-2 formation as the game came to a close.
Dagnall, Mallion and Coleman all had chances to score Dale’s fourth before full time with the players giving an excellent account of themselves ahead of Saturday’s clash with Exeter City.
Rochdale ratings: Spencer 8, Evans 7 (Mallion 6), Holness 6, Wiseman 7 (Byrne 6), Lambert 6, M Jones 7, Higginbotham 9, Thompson 7, Dagnall 7, McEvilly 6 (Coleman 6), and Shaw 6.