Dale sealed their place in the second round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Tamworth. A Michael Oliver goal deep into injury time broke the non-leaguers hearts.
Dale got the all important victory, but they were made to wait for it by their plucky opponents, and in truth Dale didn't really deserve to go through. The visitors had a lot of the ball and had some good chances, but poor finishing and good goalkeeping kept them at bay.
In the end the Dale pressure begin to tell and the goal came, deep into the 4 minutes of stoppage time being played. Michael Oliver drove home a low shot into the bottom corner, with what was almost the last kick of the match.
Dale started with the same team that had taken on Lincoln on Saturday. Connor up front looked lively in the first half but he couldn't produce the goods. The best chance of the first half fell when a Dale shot flew towards the top corner only for it to be parried over the bar by the visiting goalkeeper.
In the second Dale tried to put more pressure on the visitors but this didn't really happen until the introduction of Paddy McCourt. The young winger ran rings around the opposition defence and was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty.
Tamworth though broke a number of times on the counter attack and were unlucky not to get the all important goal. But just as the game seemed destined for extra-time up popped Michael Oliver on the edge of the box to blast home a low drive.
All credit must go to the visitors. They put up a great show and on another night things could of been so different. Dale were once again well below par. We need a manager and we need one now.