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Stanton hit by play-off blow

29/ 4/2008

KEY defender Nathan Stanton will miss the first leg of Rochdale’s play-off semi-final following his dismissal at Bury on Saturday.

Stanton was sent off for a professional foul on Bury’s Elliott Bennett midway through the first half of the 1-1 draw at Gigg Lane.

Referee Michael Jones issued a red card, which carries an automatic one-match ban. However, having been dismissed at MK Dons earlier this season, Stanton will receive an additional one-game ban for collecting his second sending off of the campaign.

It means he will miss Saturday’s final league fixture against Shrewsbury at home and the first leg of the play-off semi-final.

"It is a blow to Nathan Stanton and to everyone at the club, but these things happen in football," said manager Keith Hill. "We have brilliant replacements in Marcus Holness and Nathan D’Laryea, so while it is a blow for Nathan, it’s also an opportunity for someone else."

Hill’s team will find out on Saturday who they face in the play-off double-header.

"We have achieved what we set out to achieve in that we have a play-off place and will finish either fifth or sixth in the table. That means we play the second leg of the play-off semi-final at home, which is the scenario we wanted. We know it’s either going to be Darlington or Wycombe in the semi-finals and we know both teams very well. Of course, they know us too – Darlington seem to have a permanent scouting pass at our ground!"

This weekend’s home game against Shrewsbury is the last scheduled league fixture and a chance to celebrate the achievements of the management team and playing squad.

Hill wants as many Rochdalians as possible to join the party at Spotland.

"Saturday’s kick off at Bury had to be delayed by 15 minutes to get all our supporters in, and while I want to avoid a repeat of that, the atmosphere they provided in the ground was superb.We have a set routine leading up to kick off and the delay ruined that. The players had been chomping at the bit, but the delay made a difference. It wasn’t the supporters’ fault – the game should have been all-ticket in my opinion.I’d love to see the fans get behind us again in numbers for the last game of the season when we can all celebrate together. Being in the play-offs means we still have a lot to play for, but I think it’s time to celebrate on Saturday. Then we can all fully focus on the play-offs. We have got a lot to celebrate this season because we’ve achieved a lot.

"We have amassed the highest number of points the club has ever achieved under the three-points-for-a-win system, and we have scored more goals than any other Rochdale team, which is a remarkable achievement when you consider we are not a team that scores a lot of goals from set-plays."