Rochdale recorded a comfortable 3-1 victory at Spotland against a Colchester side who have now lost 6 games in a row. Chris Porter volleyed the away side into the lead from a counter-attack, before Ian Henderson dispatched a controversial penalty. Donal McDermott fired home minutes later to make it 2-1 and Oliver Lancashire sealed the win in the second half when he found the corner from McDermott's free kick.
Keith Hill made two changes from the side that lost at Swindon last weekend as Andy Cannon returned in place of Rhys Bennett at right-back, and Calvin Andrew replaced the suspended John O-Sullivan. Dale started brightly in wet conditions and created the first meaningful opening when a clever through ball from Henderson freed Matthew Lund who skipped away from an away defender inside the area, but his cutback was snuffed out by ex-Dale loanee Jamie Jones. However it was Colchester who took a surprise lead when Porter capitalised on a short McDermott pass to send George Moncur through on goal and when his shot was blocked it fell to the experienced Porter, who volleyed past Joel Castro Pereira on his 500th appearance. Dale were left frustrated by the away side until they won a corner on the half-hour mark and, having already been warned by referee Trevor Kettle, away defender Matthew Briggs continued to pull Peter Vincenti's shirt and Kettle duly awarded a penalty. It was quite harsh on Colchester but Henderson showed no mercy as he placed the ball past Jones into the top corner to make it 1-1. Dale pushed on in search of a second goal and they quickly found it when Jim McNulty's pass found Callum Camps, who's flick to McDermott completely split the shaky Colchester defence, leaving the midfielder with plenty of time and space to fire into the bottom corner making it 2-1 before half-time.
Dale looked to be well on top against a poor Colchester side but it was the U's who started the second half as the better team, stringing together several decent passing moves, but were often let down by a poor final pass or finish and didn't really threaten the Dale defence. Dale created a good chance when the excellent Andrew played in McDermott but he hit well over after a nice piece of skill to make space for himself. Just as Colchester were starting to find a foothold in the game, Dale delivered the killer blow. A succession of corners resulted in Dale winning a free-kick out wide and McDermott's deep delivery appeared to be flicked on by a Colchester defender before Lancashire bundled in for his second goal in two games. When many fans would have wanted to see Dale push on and score more against the team that has conceded the most goals in the football league, Keith Hill seemed happy enough to see the game out, which resulted in Colchester having the better chances in the final period. Porter had an excellent chance to get a goal back when he was played in by Moncur, but he hit his shot well wide when he really should have hit the target. Keith Hill has widely praised on-loan goalkeeper Joel Castro Pereira's distribution skills but his over-confidence could have cost Dale more when he fired a pass into the feet of Lund who was quickly put under possession and robbed by a Colchester attacker but they were once again unable to find a finish thanks to a lucky defection by Lancashire, who happened to be on the floor at the time. Credit must also go to Andy Cannon who put in a very solid display against the dangerous Callum Harriot. Dale saw the game out well after that to send the travelling Colchester fans away without much to celebrate. The result sees Dale move to within 4 points of the playoffs, whilst Colchester slump to the bottom of the table.
Man of the Match: Matthew Lund
Keith Hill made two changes from the side that lost at Swindon last weekend as Andy Cannon returned in place of Rhys Bennett at right-back, and Calvin Andrew replaced the suspended John O-Sullivan. Dale started brightly in wet conditions and created the first meaningful opening when a clever through ball from Henderson freed Matthew Lund who skipped away from an away defender inside the area, but his cutback was snuffed out by ex-Dale loanee Jamie Jones. However it was Colchester who took a surprise lead when Porter capitalised on a short McDermott pass to send George Moncur through on goal and when his shot was blocked it fell to the experienced Porter, who volleyed past Joel Castro Pereira on his 500th appearance. Dale were left frustrated by the away side until they won a corner on the half-hour mark and, having already been warned by referee Trevor Kettle, away defender Matthew Briggs continued to pull Peter Vincenti's shirt and Kettle duly awarded a penalty. It was quite harsh on Colchester but Henderson showed no mercy as he placed the ball past Jones into the top corner to make it 1-1. Dale pushed on in search of a second goal and they quickly found it when Jim McNulty's pass found Callum Camps, who's flick to McDermott completely split the shaky Colchester defence, leaving the midfielder with plenty of time and space to fire into the bottom corner making it 2-1 before half-time.
Dale looked to be well on top against a poor Colchester side but it was the U's who started the second half as the better team, stringing together several decent passing moves, but were often let down by a poor final pass or finish and didn't really threaten the Dale defence. Dale created a good chance when the excellent Andrew played in McDermott but he hit well over after a nice piece of skill to make space for himself. Just as Colchester were starting to find a foothold in the game, Dale delivered the killer blow. A succession of corners resulted in Dale winning a free-kick out wide and McDermott's deep delivery appeared to be flicked on by a Colchester defender before Lancashire bundled in for his second goal in two games. When many fans would have wanted to see Dale push on and score more against the team that has conceded the most goals in the football league, Keith Hill seemed happy enough to see the game out, which resulted in Colchester having the better chances in the final period. Porter had an excellent chance to get a goal back when he was played in by Moncur, but he hit his shot well wide when he really should have hit the target. Keith Hill has widely praised on-loan goalkeeper Joel Castro Pereira's distribution skills but his over-confidence could have cost Dale more when he fired a pass into the feet of Lund who was quickly put under possession and robbed by a Colchester attacker but they were once again unable to find a finish thanks to a lucky defection by Lancashire, who happened to be on the floor at the time. Credit must also go to Andy Cannon who put in a very solid display against the dangerous Callum Harriot. Dale saw the game out well after that to send the travelling Colchester fans away without much to celebrate. The result sees Dale move to within 4 points of the playoffs, whilst Colchester slump to the bottom of the table.
Man of the Match: Matthew Lund