Rochdale dropped to second position on the National League table, despite securing a win in their recent match. The home domination continued where the Dale beat Braintree Town by 2-0 on Saturday but the victory saw them sitting in second behind Forest Green Rovers.
The match took place at Crown Oil Arena where Rochdale AFC welcomed Braintree Town. It was yet another occasion where Emmanuel Dieseruvwe shined, finding back of the net twice. The three points were a welcome addition to Rochdale’s tally but they now trail by two behind the league leaders.
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James McNutty went for a highly defensive tactic where he displayed a 5-4-1 formation which was a surprising move considering the formations which have been used lately. Once again Dieseruvwe received the responsibility of starting striker for the Dale which he fulfilled efficiently.
From the start of the game Rochdale went on attack despite using a highly defensive formation. Dieseruvwe struck twice but failed to score in the opening stages. In the 26th minute, a cross from Allarakhia reached the number nine for the Dale. This time he did not miss his effort.
Rochdale AFC were now one up thanks to the supporter’s August player of the month. In the 32nd minute a fumble pass from Mason Terry, the goalkeeper for the Iron was collected by Adebayo Rowling which led to a brilliant coordination between the midfielder and striker to create another chance where Dieseruvwe scored again.
Now the Dale were leading by 2-0 and the presence of four midfielders was totally dominating for them in counter attack. During first 45 minutes, Braintree Town barely got any opportunities to get close to goalpost.
The first chance they got was in 56th minute where a quite decent chance was wasted.
A strong lead gave the Dale chance to use substitutes where James McNutty used all five subs, even in the last moments the goal machine Emmanuel was subbed off. While on the other side Braintree Town went for two subs and in extra time they brought one more onto the pitch. But by then it was too late and the game was in the bag for The Dale.
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The match was a win for the Dale but they still declined to second position of the table where Forest Green sit in the table’s top position. Additionally, Rochdale AFC still have a chance to grab the top position as they are one game in hand behind the leaders.
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