Rochdale 2-1 Fleetwood Town
- Published
An 86th-minute winner from substitute Steven Davies handed Rochdale their first victory of the season as Keith Hill's side beat high-flying Fleetwood at Spotland.
The former Bradford striker rose above keeper Chris Neal to meet Joe Bunney's cross and nod home.
Rochdale looked the more threatening early on and took the lead in the 10th minute when Matty Lund got above Bobby Grant in the six-yard area to meet Donal McDermott's cross with a firm header into the roof of the net.
Fleetwood were handed a equaliser in the 23rd minute when Harrison McGahey needlessly fouled Chris Long wide on the left-hand edge of the penalty area, referee Mark Heywood rightly awarding a penalty kick which was duly despatched by former Dale player Grant.
Long proved a real pest to the home side for the rest of the half, going close to scoring on two occasions only to see his low drives blocked by Josh Lillis in the home goal.
But Davies' header separated the teams after an evenly contested second half.
Reports supplied by the Press Association.
- Published14 January 2018
- Published7 June 2019