Despite a penalty save from back up keeper Sam Russell, Dale's injury ravaged squad crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of high flying Championship Southend United 2-1 after conceding the first goal in the FA Cup this season.
Rochdale made an expected early exit from this season's FA Cup with a 2-1 away defeat to League One promotion hopefuls Southend United. As soon as the draw was made we knew it was gonna be a struggle and the odds backed that up with Dale being 9-2 to beat the Shrimpers. It was the worst possible draw that we could have had but it was a day out I suppose. The journey wasn't that bad either apart from traffic on the M25 which we avoided by coming off down an A road only to find that everyone else had done the same and it made no difference. Then we avoided Junction 6 on the M25 due to some information given by young Tomlinson who told us it was shut only to find that it was open an free flowing when we went past it!! Upon arriving at the ground we were informed that Nathan Stanton was back in the line up which was very pleasing. He was also joined by Nathan D'Laryea while John Doolan also returned to the squad on the bench. From what we could gather, it was a 5-4-1 formation with Russell in net, D'Laryea at right back, Crooks, Stanton and McArdle at centre back and Kennedy at left back. On the right was Higginbotham with Perkins and Jones in midfield and Le Fondre drifting from the left to support Murray up front. On the bench were Rigby, Doolan, Thompson, Rundle and Prendergast. One thing we encountered that I've never ever seen at a football ground before were two lads walking round the ground with big packs on their backs which looked like them proton packs the Ghostbusters had! They turned out to be portable drinks dispensers like you get over in the States! They looked like a right pair of tits!! Which reminds me, the Southend cheerleaders were out in force for the game and looking particularly easy on the eye! Anyway, onto the game. The minute's silence was barely finished by the time Southend scored the first goal of the afternoon!! There wasn't a minute on the clock, in fact there probably wasn't half a minute on the clock when Nicky Bailey got on the end of a cross into the box leaving Russell with no chance. Great start to the game! I thought we might be in for a very long day after that but after a early bit of pressure from Southend, Dale got into the game and matched the Shrimpers. The big lump that is Adam Barrett in the Southend defence had a header cleared off the line just after the goal but it was Dale who looked to attack from then on really and equalised just after 10 minutes. Kallum Higginbotham did superbly well down the right and he and Jones linked up with Higgy putting a low cross into the box with Adam Le Fondre pouncing on it at the back post and the ball found it's way past Collis and into the left corner for Alfie's 5th goal of the season. Dale were back on level terms but only for twelve minutes as Nathan Stanton brought down Hooper in the box. No arguments about the decision from me, it looked a clear penalty. Matt Harold scored past Russell to make it 2-1. This Harold chap must not be rated at Roots Hall because as he bagged his goal, there was a chant of hallelujah from the home fans and that was quickly followed by a chorus of "2-1, even Harrold scored!" We were still looking alright though and continued to create chances with McArdle having a header cleared off the line by Franck Moussa who Dingle amusingly called Chocolate Moussa! The half time whistle went and the cheerleaders kept us entertained for the break with many of the fans wishing half time lasted about a week!!! The second half wasn't good by Dale's standards really and Southend seemed to take control. Sam Russell, deputising for the injured James Spencer was called upon to make a couple of cracking saves to keep Dale hopes alive. Hilly then changed things around with Adam Rundle and Rory Prendergast replacing Glenn Murray and Lee Crooks. Alfie went close when he headed wide from a Rundle cross and Prendergast forced Collis into making a good save but after the that, the Dale attack rarely threatened as the ball wasn't getting into Alfie and Higgy was looking knackered after what was a superb first half from the lad. Southend had a goal disallowed for offside as Gary Hooper put the ball past Russell only to have his celebrations stopped early. With the game nearing an end, Southend had a glorious chance to make it 3-1 when Gary Jones supposedly fouled Chocolate Moussa in the box. Personally, I felt he got the ball quite clearly but even so, the theatricals from Moussa were something to behold, he went down as if he'd been shot at point blank range. He really does need to have a word with himself over it, he looked a complete and utter idiot for it. Anyway, Sam Russell guessed right and made a good save to prevent a further goal. Just before the end of the game, Alfie must have thought he'd earned a replay for Dale when he got on the end of a cross and headed goalwards only for Collis to pull off a stunning save to pretty much finish the game off and ensure Southend were in the hat for round two. The final whistle went and there were a lot of positives to take from the game. Higgy continues to look a tremendous prospect, Stanton and D'Laryea both got 90 minutes under their belt, Alfie bagged another goal and Sam Russell proved to be a very good replacement for Spencer. Hopefully now with injured players coming back, we might be able to build up a bit of form and get back up towards where most of us expected to be in the league. Player Ratings: Sam Russell - 7 Nathan D'Laryea - 6 Nathan Stanton - 7 Rory McArdle - 7 Lee Crooks - 7 Tom Kennedy - 7 Gary Jones - 7 David Perkins - 7 Kallum Higginbotham - 7 (MOM just ahead of McArdle and Russell) Adam Le Fondre - 7 Glenn Murray - 6 Rory Prendergast - 6 Adam Rundle - 6