Thompson had only been on the field for two minutes when he met Tom Kennedy’s free kick with a thumping header to beat David Button in the Shrews goal.

]]> rochdale http://www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk/sport/football/rochdale/s/1200269_shrewsbury_0_rochdale_1_?rss=yes#comments 2010-03-13T17:13:18 http://www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk/sport/football/rochdale/s/1200193_shape_shift_for_hill?rss=yes Keith Hill is prepared to move away from his tried and trusted 4-4-2 formation when Dale take on title rivals Shrewsbury at the New Meadow.

The League Two leaders adopted a different system to beat Macclesfield at the Moss Rose recently and Hill is prepared to repeat the trick against Paul Simpson’s men.

McGovern, who is a prolific goal-kicker, will bring lots of experience to John Stankevitch’s young squad.

Mr Kettleton was born and raised in Whitworth, the son of a well-known local painter and decorator.

Having been a member of the Rochdale Supporters Trust since he was little, Rob was more than keen to do his bit for the Trust’s Bowlee Project.

They did so courtesy of goals from Darren Smith (2) and Andrew Williams, while their only realistic challengers, Weavers, triumphed 5-0 at Rochdale Asia to set up the first of two intriguing clashes between the frontrunners at Wardle this weekend.

The Newbold Tyres Premier Division saw a top of the table clash last weekend as Star faced Copper Pot, who before the game had a three point lead. North Star couldn’t afford to lose and leave Copper in a strong position at this stage of the season. Goals from Carl Taylor, Chris Fraser and Paul Ashton (2) helped their side to a 4-2 victory and level matters in the division, whilst Davey Luker and Lance Ogunyode scored for Copper.

She has not competed since walking away from the sport in 2005 but is planning on making a comeback in Thailand, where she now lives and works.

It was no surprise that Selby opened the scoring with their giant second rower plunging over from close range for his first of four tries.

Irlam started strongly with two tries in the opening six minutes and dominated the game throughout.

The two sides were evenly matched for much of the game and Myton were hanging on to a slender six-point lead at the time.

Spurs and Fulham are all rumoured to be preparing bids in excess of £1m for the 19-year-old defender, who has been a revelation in his first year as a professional. The kingpin in one of League Two’s meanest defences, Dawson has also bagged an impressive tally of 11 goals.

If all can reach the target set by the Trust of £75, the Bowlee coffers will be swelled by nearly £5000.

While this was no disgrace for the underdogs, it was disappointing, for it was a game Hornets could have won.

Dale boss Keith Hill warned this would be a tough game and the visitors Lincoln belied their lowly position with a gritty display and soaked up long periods of intense Dale pressure until Dagnall struck.

The money is to be used to fund the cost of coaching courses for volunteer coaches, new equipment, indoor training sessions and has also enabled them to appoint a new head coach.

The visitors were above the hosts in the table and it needed a strong team performance from the Rochdale players to overcome them – and they didn’t disappoint.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested, until Boro’s David Kearns broke from deep and handed on to Adam Wayne, who was tackled just short of the line. The visitors were penalised at the ruck and Andy Bairstow slotted over the penalty.

The kick off was delayed due to the kit van breaking down and the club would like to thank Ben Boothman of Rochdale Cobras for supplying replacement equipment at short notice to enable the match to take place.

Tuesday’s thumping 4-0 win over Ronnie Moore’s men left Dale eight points clear at the top of League Two.

Copper Pot almost let go of their three-point lead against Midland Phoenix.

Rochdalians faced a tough test against a strong Whalley Range side in the Lancashire and Cheshire Division A.

The home side were missing a couple of key players and struggled in the first 15 minutes, falling a goal behind.

However, Asia will no doubt be regretting the wisdom of reversing their game as Wardle ‘thanked them’ by handing out a 10-goal thrashing that takes them seven points clear at the top of the BKC Trophies Premier Division.

Keith Hill is working hard to keep feet on the ground around Spotland, and rightly so – with 13 games to go, it’s far too early to get carried away.

Victory would see them into the draw for the next round alongside clubs from the Super League, which in turn would give them the opportunity of a money-spinning tie against the big boys.

And tomorrow, Hornets will strive to win through to the fourth round, which sees the Super League clubs in the hat and offers the prospect of a money-spinning tie.

Hill employed a three-man midfield to combat a sticky surface at the Moss Rose on Saturday, where Dale beat Macclesfield 1-0 to go five points clear at the top of League Two.

With man of the match Steve Roper pulling the strings from scrum half, the hosts ran in 11 tremendous tries on the back of some scintillating rugby.

Before the start of the campaign, Keith Hill suggested his squad must possess different means of beating opponents, and here was further evidence of that. Employing a three-man midfield with Will Atkinson roaming up top alongside Chris O’Grady and Chris Dagnall, Dale comfortably won the battle for possession and had more than enough muscle to cope with the physical presence of Keith Alexander’s side.

And, while many will point to an abject display by the visitors, this was due mainly to Mayfield’s no-nonsense defence and, at times, electrifying attacking play.

Everyone present had attended one of the many sports leader courses run by Link4Life throughout the year at various venues across the borough.

RYCC had an easy afternoon – their opponents, All Stars, failed to turn up, gaving them two points and keeping them joint top with 24 points.

The widely-coveted defender, who attracted a £250,000 bid from Scunthorpe recently, has extended his current deal until the summer of 2012. With a string of solid defensive displays and 10 goals to his name in his first year as a professional, Dawson’s suitors include Premier League clubs and manager Keith Hill insists the 19-year-old can go all the way to the top.

While Hornets’ build up to the season has been a challenging one, with abysmal weather, postponements and a difficult Northern Rail Cup campaign, head coach John Stankevitch is accentuating the positives.

Wardle and Weavers have followed up their victories at Rawstron Street with successive wins against potentially tricky opponents and now the clash of the top two at Rutherford Park on 13 March is potentially crucial to the destination of this season’s league honours.

Craig Spearman, aged 37, spent eight years at Gloucestershire, setting many batting records on the way, but retired from first class cricket in October.

Borough because many players were involved in the Scottish Open and Dale because of snow.

They always faced a mountainous task against Championship outfit Featherstone who were desperate to bounce back from a 36-6 drubbing at Leigh Centurions in their previous match.

And, despite a topsy-turvy Northern Rail Cup competition, Hornets’ skipper Phil Wood believes there are better things to come from his team.

Tony has been running teams in Rochdale for more than three decades. Among his many achievements he has collected the Rochdale Sunday Schools League, Rochdale Amateur League, Littleborough League, Rochdale Alliance League, Lancashire Champion of Champions Cup, Watney Mans Cup and the Lancashire Sunday Trophy.

Dale made it 10 wins from their last 14 matches to go five points clear of closest rivals Bury and Bournemouth.

The event took place in cold wintry conditions at St Cuthbert’s, where under-13 and under-15 age groups were represented.

Thatto Heath are almost certainly heading for the premier division next season and have swept all before them in the league so far, one of the few blemishes being a dropped point at Mayfield in a drawn match earlier this season.

The home team was quickly out of the blocks when a missed tackle allowed their fullback a clear run to the line.

But, that pride comes with a price tag; if you are going to play professional or semi-professional sides and compete you must match their standards and that means stepping up to the mark on match days, no matter who or where the team is playing.

They started strongly against Aldwinians, Adam Derbyshire scoring a well-worked try. Dom Humphreys converted. But, despite Rochdale’s best efforts, Aldwinians scored and the game ended all square.

Dagenham and Redbrdige provided stubborn opposition for the table-toppers and looked to have done enough to give boss John Still a pick-me-up as he missed the trip north due to illness.

Once again his players gave a spirited performance but were hampered by individual errors and their inability to stick to the gameplan for the full 80 minutes.

The Spotland outfit have been without a game for the past fortnight, during which time their title challengers have played two and, in some cases, three fixtures.

With both sides having been beaten the previous weekend the outcome at Rawstron Street was vital in terms of challenging Wardle and it was Weavers who edged a tight encounter by the odd goal in three.

Nick Hodson, John Luker and Davey Luker helped their side to a 3-1 victory over Littleborough, who got one goal back through Joe Shelmerdine. Despite the loss, Littleborough are still look like earning a top three finish.

They began steadily on a heavy pitch and tried spreading the play out wide, Aadahl going close early doors.