| The game could have gone either way, with both teams having chances which should have brought goals, but perhaps the biggest surprise was that the referee, Ray Olivier, was allowed to continue. He was absolutely incompetent and all he did was prove that it does indeed stunt your growth and send you blind!
He was dreadful, and very happy to award anything he could to the home side. He contradicted his linesmen repeatedly, he blew his whistle then changed his mind, he booked three Dale players, Flitcroft deservedly, and Evans and Todd for giving the ball back, he was about to book a Scunny player and changed his mind, and he gave Scunthorpe decision after decision.
He completely lost in a spell in the first half, and it was no surprise that he needed an escort from the stewards at both half time and full time.
Dale went into the game with just the one change from the side that drew 0-0 at Cardiff eleven days previous. Manager Steve Parkin opted to bring in Phil Hadland in place of Tony Ellis who had to make do with a late substitute appearance.
Dale were roared on by a superb turnout of Dale supporters with over 500 making the distance to Glandford Park to sit in the subbutteo style away stand, and put up with the bouncers which often appeared in the away stand.
The game began and it soon looked like it was another Parkin masterstroke bringing Hadland into the starting line up, as in the first ten minutes or so, he ran the show and was a constant threat to the home side. He was quick, and skillful on the ball, and looked very, very dangerous. He almost grabbed the lead for Dale early on, when he went on one of his trademark runs from just inside his own half, before breaking through the Scunny backline. However, his efforts came to nothing when he fired further over the bar than a Mickey Holmes penalty.
But within minutes the home side got to grips with the game, and they started to look a decent team. Certainly a team far better than their league position suggests that they are. Ipoua up front, despite not forcing a save out of Edwards, always looked dangerous and he was very pacey, and in midfield, in Calvo Garcia and Hodges, they have proved that you can have two skillful midfielders in the middle.
Keith Hill was having to work very hard to deal with Ipoua, and fair credit to him, he did really well in doing so. But the Dale defence was having to work very hard indeed to keep up with the Scunthorpe attacks. Dale keeper Neil Edwards had one of his busiest games in ages, and he almost gifted Scunny an early lead when he failed to deal with a low drive, but he managed to clear the ball sufficiently and ensure that it went out for a corner.
Scunthorpe also had a couple of efforts which hit the woodwork, but they always looked like going wide (before getting very close at the last minute). Of course the Dale fans showed that they were at least the full arm stretched wide to the home supporters!
Phil Hadland came close again for Dale when he intercepted a weak backwards header and with a first time shot thundered the ball goalwards, but Scunny keeper Evans tipped the ball over acrobatically.
However, with the attentions starting to turn towards the players, the referee decided that it was time for his 15 minutes of fame, and seemed intent on ruining the entire game. He first of all booked Wayne Evans after a free kick was awarded against him, and Evans kicked the ball towards a Scunthorpe player. Not in retaliation, not in a kicking the ball away style, not even in a time wasting style, but just knocking the ball towards him as a favour as much as anything, and out came the yellow card, much to the annoyance of Evans and the embarrassment of the Scunny player.
Not long after, the ref lost total control and the players did well to not get involved in a huge free for all. Dave Flitcroft went into a challenge, which saw both of his feet end up in the players back. The player went down like a sack of spuds, all the players piled in and Scunny defender Stuart Thom looked to have thrown a punch or two. However, after the ref booked Flitcroft, he remembered that Thom had been booked previously and let him off without even a talking to.
Whether something was said to the referee during these incidents and he took offence is unknown, but for the next ten minutes he gave everything to Scunny. Blatant fouls by their players saw them being awarded free kicks. The Scunny players also realised that Dave Flitcroft was now yellow carded, and they did their best to wind him up to get him sent off, but fair play to Flicker he kept his cool.
The second half saw the referee return to normal and the temperatures on the pitch leave the boiling point that they had at the end of the first half.
Scunthorpe started the second half on top again, and they caused a couple of hairy moments for Neil Edwards as they attacked towards their own rather quiet supporters.
However, as the half went on, Dale seemed to be in more control of the game, and despite the possession that Scunthorpe enjoyed, they failed to really deliver on it, and a shot into the side netting by Ipoua was about as good as they got.
Dale had a minor shout for a penalty in the second half turned down, when Plattini broke clear of the offside trap which struggled a lot as the game went on. He was in a one on one with the keeper, and it was only his honesty in the first place which denied the awarding of a spot kick. Platty tried to stay on his feet, lost his balance and fell over, and never even bothered appealing for a penalty. Steve Whitehall would have known what to do in these circumstances!
The major turning point in the game when Phil Hadland was brought off. Hadland had visibly tired again, and he has yet to play a full ninety minutes for Dale. Tony Ellis was brought on in his place, and this provided Dale with the spark that had been missing up front. It also meant that Dale had reverted to the 3-4-3 formation used at Cardiff.
Within seconds of coming on, Ellis nearly broke the deadlock when he did his customary back to goal, send the defender one way then the other, before turning and shooting, but the ball went straight to the Scunny keeper.
There were a couple of other chances, but with time ticking out the best Dale chance of the game went to Clive Platt who had a free header inside the box, admittedly at a stretch, but he couldn't get it on target, and he saw it go over the bar.
The final couple of minutes saw a couple of half chances for both teams, and the introduction of Mark Monington as a late sub for Clive Platt who looked very short of confidence as he trooped off. He badly needs a goal for his own good.
The inevitable final whistle came, and as the Dale fans came out of the ground, it was generally agreed that this was a worthwhile point, and was not really a case of two points dropped. It wasn't the best Dale performance this season by a long way, but there were plenty of encouraging signs. The defence was once again superb, and it was a great turnout from Rochdale.
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