Rochdale supporters stretched their unbeaten
start to the season to five games on Saturday.
Ryan Higginbotham and Philip Woodall returned to
the starting XI as did Liam Ratcliffe who took
up a strikers role in place of the unavailable
Rob Flitcroft.
The home team started strongly and it came as a
surprise when Dale took the lead after 10
minutes.Ratclffes pace unsettled the home
defence and a misplaced challenge by a home
defender ended with a looping ball over his own
goalkeeper, resulting in an own goal. Ratcliffe
could have added a second but saw his lob fall
just over the bar. It didnt take Dale long to
add to their tally when Kenny Hindle was first
to react to a loose ball to score from close
range. Dale were by now in complete control.
Ratcliffe scored a third goal with a right foot
shot from outside the area that drew comparisons
with Rickie Lambert in his prime.
The half time team talk focussed on keeping a
clean sheet. Shrewsbury hadnt read the script
and came back into the game with a sustained
spell of pressure. The arrears were reduced when
an unmarked home striker scored with a far post
header. The alarm bells started to ring when a
second goal was scored from a rebound after
Coluccio saved a free kick. Shrewsbury threw
eveything at Dale in the last 15 minutes but to
no avail. It was Dale who scored the last goal
from the penalty spot via Higginbotham after
Ratcliffe had been fouled.
The result is Dales fourth consecutive victory.
