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Rochdale 2 Darlington 1 (3-3 on agg, Dale win 5-4 on pens)

Richard Partington
17/ 5/2008

There were scenes of unbridled joy at Spotland mid-Saturday afternoon as Rochdale booked their place in the League Two play-off final at Wembley.

Ben Muirhead kept his cool to fire home the decisive penalty and send a packed stadium into a state of ecstasy unwitnessed since 1969. The fans spilled onto the pitch in a good-natured celebration among supporters and players.

There were no surprises in Keith Hill’s starting line up for the League Two play-off semi-final second leg clash against Darlington.

Nathan Stanton returned from suspension to partner Rory McArdle in the heart of defence while Chris Dagnall and Rene Howe started up front.

For Darlington, there was no Tommy Wright but Alan White started in defence.

Dale started exactly as Hill would have demanded, taking the game straight to the opposition. Just two minutes in Adam Rundle’s cross picked out Dagnall in a central position for a gilt-edged chance. The striker, however, was unable to keep his effort down and it flew over the crossbar.

Tommy Lee took a confidence-boosting take from Rob Purdie’s high cross, plucking the ball out of the air as Stephen Foster challenged.

Darlington had weathered the early storm and started to settle by the 20-minute mark without creating anything to seriously trouble Lee.

Another chance fell the way of Dagnall in the 25^th minute when a scuffed clearance from David Stockdale landed at Gary Jones feet on the half way line. He forced the ball forward to Dagnall and with the Quakers keeper in no man’s land, the Dale man went for goal, attempting the lift the ball over the covering defenders but sending the shot just too high.

Dale’s task was dealt a huge blow in the 28^th minute when, from an innocuous freekick into the box, the hosts conceded a penalty. Howe adjudged to have pulled the shirt of Jason Kennedy. Clark Keltie stepped forward to ram the ball into the roof of the net and put Darlington 1-0 ahead on the day, 3-1 on aggregate.

Rochdale were level on the day with an equaliser in the 42^nd minute when Kallum Higginotham won a freekick on the right. Rundle fired the set-piece at goal and Stockdale could only parry the ball into the path of Simon Ramsden and Dagnall, their combined threat prompting Ricky Ravenhill to stab the ball into his own net.

Ravenhill almost atoned for that error one minute into the second half when his edge-of-the-area strike had Lee rooted to the spot, his effort fortunately clipping the crossbar.

Dale recovered quickly and soon had Darlington under pressure again, McArdle heading Rundle’s corner over while both Dagnall and Higginbotham had shots from outside the area, both too high to test Stockdale.

Keltie had a run and shot at goal, his fierce drive flying into the fans in the WMG Stand behind Lee’s goal.

Dale had a strong penalty claim in the 78^th minute when Adam Le Fondre appeared to be brought down inside the box by Foster. However, as the appeals rang around the stadium David Perkins put that right that injustice with a wonder strike from 25 yards within seconds, the ball dipping inside the top corner of Stockdale’s goal.

There was a close call as Dale pushed for a winner, Dagnall’s header cleared off the line by Scott Wiseman in a crowded penalty area.

Into extra time and within a minute of the first period Perkins set Rundle up for a drive across the face of goal that flew the wrong side of Stockdale’s far post while at the other end Ravenhill’s shot from 10 yards was blocked by Jones, Darlington’s appeals for a penalty waved away.

A break from Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu and Julian Joachim threatened Dale, Joachim bearing down on goal before striking a low shot on target that Lee saved.

In the second period of extra time Dale were dealt a huge blow when Perkins saw red for retaliating to a clash in the middle of the park, his reaction towards Foster prompting referee Richard Beeby to send the midfieder off.

From the resulting freekick, Stanton’s header was tipped over the bar by Lee.

A corner to the back post from Muirhead was volleyed onto the crossbar by Le Fondre, while Jason Kennedy, at the other end, blazed over from a tight angle,

And so to penalties.

Ndumbu-Nsungu, Purdie, Wainwright and Ravenhill all converted their penalties – Jason Kennedy the unfortunate one to see his effort saved.

Dagnall, Kennedy, Le Fondre, Jones and, finally, Muirhead, paved the way to a trip to Wembley on Bank Holiday Monday!

Rochdale: Lee, Ramsden, McArdle, Stanton, Kennedy, Higginbotham (Muirhead 88), Jones, Perkins, Rundle (Doolan 111), Howe (Le Fondre 46), Dagnall. Subs not used: Holness, Thompson, Doolan

Darligngton: Stockdale, Wiseman, Foster, White, Purdie, Keltie (Nelthorpe 88), Ravenhill, Kennedy, Joachim, Wainwright, Cummins (Ndumbu-Nsungu 52). Subs not used: Miller, Main, Kazimierczak