Keith Hill made several changes to the side that played on Saturday, including the exclusion of key players such as Jamie Allen and the in-form Callum Camps, with injury seeming the only plausible explanation. Michael Rose and Bennett took their place, along with Matthew Lund who was also restored to the starting 11. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing also came in for the injured Calvin Andrew in the other alteration. It didn't take long for Mendez-Laing to prove himself as he found space on the right hand side before teasing in a beautiful cross, which was met by Bennett to loop a header past Ben Garratt and into the net. Dale's high pressure technique in attack, similar to the 'gegenpressing tactic' employed by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, was causing Crewe's defence all sorts of problems early on. What should have been an opportunity for the away side to clear quickly became Dale's second of the evening, as Lund won the ball from a Crewe throw-in before feeding Ian Henderson through, and he played the ball across the box to leave Bunney with a simple finish.
Unfortunately for Dale fans, this was as good as it got. Keith Hill's men seemed to take their foot off the gas at this point, allowing the away side to come back into a game which really should have been done and dusted within the opening 6 minutes. Crewe created their first opening when a lovely piece of play resulted in Seager finding the ball on the edge of the area, but his shot was well saved by Josh Lillis. It wasn't long after that when Crewe found their way back into the game. Semi Ajayi beat Jim McNulty down the left hand side; an area that was exposed for the majority of the match, and the centre-back put in a cross which was nodded on by Ben Nugent for Haber to poke home. Simple crosses such as these have proved a thorn in Keith Hill's side again and again recently, with the defence struggling every time the ball is put into the box. This was Haber's second goal against Dale within just 10 days, despite the Canadian striker having scored 5 goals all season. Suddenly Dale were looking second best to a Crewe side full of belief, and the away side found a deserved equaliser when Brad Inman was released cleverly by Oliver Turton, and his cut-back was comfortably turned in by Seager. Inman had a worrying amount of space down the right-hand side which allows us to question once again why McNulty is being employed in that particular position, when we have a more natural left-back on the bench in Tom Kennedy. I am in no way blaming McNulty for this, as although his performance was poor, Keith Hill is a good enough manager to realise that McNulty struggles in this position and will continue to struggle unless a change is made. Should the dangerous Seager have finished the match then I think Crewe would have gone on to win this game, but unfortunately for them, the youngster on loan from Southampton was stretchered off the pitch with a nasty looking knee injury. Dale did have a chance to re-take the lead before half-time when Bunney raced through, but Ajayi got back extremely well to make the block and from the resulting corner Mendez-Laing could only find the side netting.
After the excitement of the first half, both sets of supporters will have expected their side's to go on and try to win the game. Yet, the second half was something of a npn-event with next to no chances created. Crewe arguably had the best chance to win it when a simple ball in once again exposed Dale's weaknesses, but Haber could only head over the bar. The changes made by Keith Hill seemed predictable but for me showed a lack of ambition to win the match. McNulty was providing nothing going forward and surely at home against a side in the bottom four Hill should have been looking to push on and take a much-needed three points. Throughout the second half the midfield was continuously by-passed, as the game seemed to follow the cycle of goalkeeper to defender who would then pump a long-ball forward in search of the never-ending intelligent runs made by Henderson. This tactic seems useless as without Calvin Andrew or Peter Vincenti on the pitch the ball was always going to be won by the tall Crewe defence, so in my eyes Dale were simply gifting possession back to the away side. Changes were made, but they were like for like as Reuben Noble-Lazarus replaced Mendez-Laing, Vincenti was on for Bunney and David Syers replaced Bennett in midfield. The game was crying out for a creative player such as Camps or Allen or even Alessandra, who was once again left to warm the bench when surely he would have offered something different and encourage Dale to do what Dale do best, which is keeping the ball on the floor. The second half from both teams looked to be at a non-league standard at best, and if I were a Crewe fan I would be disappointed that my side settled for a point when against a rocking Dale defence and missing midfield the win was there for the taking. Changes need to be made by Hill or he risks dragging Dale into a relegation battle which, despite the poor financial situation, should never have been at risk with the players that he possesses. However, this being said, Dale fans need to trust the decisions that Hill makes, no matter how baffling or negative they may seem as he is the manager and he knows his own players the best and if we are to win against in form Bradford on Saturday the support needs to be there, otherwise we risk slipping down the table, something which I feel can be attributed to a lack of confidence rather than a lack of talent. The second half came to an end with boos ringing around the stadium, summed up by the look of disappointment from Josh Lillis as he applauded the fans support.
Full Time: Rochdale 2-2 Crewe
Man of the Match: Ian Henderson (simply because he continued to make intelligent runs all game despite never being found)