Dale made it 6 straight defeats and lie agonisingly close to the relegation places after losing at home to the table toppers Oxford today. Full match report and player ratings are now online.

Dale took on the league leaders today at Spotland as Ian Atkins, the man widely rumoured with the vacant Southend United job, brought his Oxford United side in the hope of maintaining their lead over Hull, Doncaster and Mansfield at the top and with Dale having lost their previous 5 games on the trot, many thought the outcome was an Oxford win just waiting to be confirmed.

Both Kevin Townson and Patrick McCourt still didn't make the starting line-up and while McCourt was injured, Townson certainly wasn't and Rory Patterson was moved ahead of him in the pecking order to partner the on loan Andy Bishop up front.  Michael Simpkins returned to the side to everyone's joy ahead of Simon Grand who had to make do with a place on the bench.  The Dale team was as follows:  Neil Edwards in net, Wayne Evans at right back, Michael Simpkins at left back, Daryl Burgess and Gareth Griffiths in the centre of defence.  Leo Bertos was on the right wing, Matt Doughty on the left with Sean McClare and Gary Jones in the centre of midfield.  Andy Bishop and Rory Patterson start up front with the bench consisting of Matt Gilks, Chris Beech, Simon Grand, Lee McEvilly, Kevin Townson.

To be fair Dale didn't start off too badly and it wasn't long before the fans woke up from their depression to give Julian Alsop some grief as he fouled Gareth Griffiths who nearly found himself badly injured but luckily he fell into the net and just missed colliding with the post.

Sean McClare amazed the Dale fans as he got in a shot making it about 4 for the season but his effort from the edge of the box was off target.

A very boring first half seemed like it would never end and just after the half hour mark Dale found themselves behind after some shocking defending let in Steve Basham to volley home from close range.  The ball was looped forward and the Dale defence decided to fall asleep and not move which let Basham get ahead of them to make it 1-0 to Oxford.

Rochdale managed to carve out another chance, this time it came the way of the on loan striker Andy Bishop who curled a shot just beyond the far post.  The Dale fans were feeling rather annoyed with the fact that Mr Buckley once again decided to leave Townson out of the team and this resulted in fans chanting for "Super Kevin Townson" before the half time whistle even went.

Oxford managed to get in one last chance of the half as Ashton got a shot in but it went wide and Dale went into the half time interval 1-0 having played poorly and it was becoming apparent that the afternoon would peak with Teenage Kicks by the Undertones blaring out of the speakers before the game.

No changes at half time for this game and it wasn't too long before we went 2-0 down to the league leaders when the big man up front Julian Alsop and the Simpkins resembling left back Matt Robinson linked up very well and Alsop turned in the left back's cross to make it 2-0 to Oxford and that seemed like game over as far as the Dale fans were concerned but those thoughts were soon changed.

Gary Jones picked up the ball just outside the area and blasted it goal wards to give him his first Dale goal since the screamer at Bristol Rovers when Hamilton was in charge!  His shot flew straight into the net and his celebration in front of the Sandy said it all as did his handshake and reception by the club's chairman before the game indicating that there was nothing but good feelings between the two.  Dale were back in the game with this at 2-1 and playing much better but still far from brilliant.

With calls still vocal for the appearance of Townson, Buckley made a double substitution on 63 minutes and brought both the strikers off and replaced them with both the strikers on the bench, namely Townson for Bishop and McEvilly for Patterson and Townson's first touch nearly resulted in a goal as he received the ball in the box but his turn and shot lacked the power to make it count.

Rochdale managed to pile the pressure on and began to play much better than recent performances and could have levelled the game when Townson got in a wonderful cross for McEvilly who failed to make it count as the defender got there first.

Unfortunately Dale couldn't get the equaliser and lost their 6th game on the trot.  Dale still lie in 19th place but only goal difference separates us from Kidderminster in 21st and we are just 3 points off relegation at this time meaning we need to get back on the winning track immediately!!

Next up for Dale is the FA Cup 2nd round where we take on Luton at Spotland on Saturday.  If we are to win that game we will need to be much, much better than we have been!

Player Ratings:

Neil Edwards 6 Did Ok and had no chance with the goals

Wayne Evans 6 Not bad from Evo, didn't slip once!

Michael Simpkins 6 To everyone's surprise, he wasn't too bad, some decent crosses and tackles.

Daryl Burgess 6 Got stuck in and did Ok.

Gareth Griffiths 7 Defended well against the big man up front and continues his impressive season.

Leo Bertos 6 Looked to create all the time but it didn't really bounce his way.

Matt Doughty 7 Thought he did Ok, attacked more than usual and got some decent crosses in.

Sean McClare 6 Got a shot in for once but didn't seem to link up with Jones and even tackled him at 1 point

GARY JONES 7 M.O.M, Sign him now!!!!

Rory Patterson 6 Had very little impact.  Not ready for the first team and doesn't deserve to be ahead of Kevin Townson.

Andy Bishop 7 Held it up Ok and did lots of clever flick-ons. 

Subs:  

Kevin Townson 7 Always looks dangerous, needs to bloody start!!

Lee McEvilly 7 Won lots of headers, more this game than all season.

Chris Beech 6 Not on long but we think he went off at the end uninjured!!

Photo: Action Images

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