| Dale began this game in much the same sort of performance that was witnessed at The Shay five days earlier, ie a disappointing one. Perhaps a little harsh, as Dale were forced to change tactics due to suspension, injury and international duty. With Ellis suspended, Lancashire not fit, and Blackburn loanee Gary Hamilton playing for Northern Ireland U-21's (and scoring!), manager Steve Parkin opted that the best approach would be to play a five man midfield, meaning a recall for Simon Davies, and Clive Platt playing as the lone striker.
As it happened, Dale took longer to warm up than a larva lamp. They failed to impose themselves on the match in the early stages, and allowed Cardiff to dictate terms with their long ball tactics. However, Dale rallied well towards the end, and came very close to winning this fixture.
However, things started brightly enough for Dale with Platt coming close within the opening seconds, but soon Dale found themselves one behind due to sloppy defending. With the Dale defence very slow to react, a cross came over, and Paul Brayson ghosted in at the back post to easily slot home to put the Bluebirds one goal up.
The rest of the first half saw Dale really struggle to get back into the match, and there were very few chances at either end. Neither team looked like scoring at all, such was the lack of chances. However, Dale did find themselves with a golden opportunity to get back into the match, when Simon Davies took advantage of a failed offside trap to race well clear of the defence on the right hand side. When inside the box, he cut inside to allow himself to shoot with his much preferred left, allowing the defenders to catch up with him, and his shot went well over the bar, when there were Dale players screaming out for the ball on the far side in much better positions.
Half time brought the necessary changes, with Flitcroft and Oliver withdrawn in favour of Gary Hamilton, fresh from International duty, and Paul Ware. This meant Dale reverting to the favoured 4-4-2 formation instead of the gamble of 4-5-1, and that was to prove Dale's success. But it was a long time coming.
The second half began in much the same way as the first had ended, but with Cardiff probably looking the more likely to score. However, Dale started to get to grips with the match, but in doing so left one or two gaps at the back. Fortunately, Dave Bayliss had a return to form today, and coped well when left alone.
Around the hour mark, Dale forced a succession of corners, but all that came from these was an injury to Tony Ford MBE, which meant he had to go off to be replaced by young winger Phil Hadland. However, the real turning point of the match was just a matter of minutes away.
Cardiff had a breakaway attack and almost doubled their advantage. Indeed they would have done, had Clive Platt not managed to head the ball off the line, but in the resulting scramble City did indeed manage to get the ball over the line, but it was ruled out due to offside.
From this moment on, Dale seemed to be clearly the better side, and it was no surprise when Dale got the all important equaliser. A ball over the top of the defensive line saw Clive Platt go up for a 50-50 with the Cardiff keeper Walton. Platt got the all important touch, which lead to a bit of a scramble in the Cardiff six yard box, and with Walton still to recover his composure or position, young winger Phil Hadland fired home to put Dale back in the match, much to his delight of getting his first ever league goal, to follow up his scorcher for the reserves on Saturday.
The last few minutes saw Dale throw almost everything at them in a bid to win the match. Paul Ware came very close when he broke through the offside trap for a one on one with Walton, but with a tight angle, Walton saved well..
In stoppage time, Keith Hill almost won it for Dale. A corner came in, and Hill got on the end of it, but he saw his header saved well on the line by Walton, only for the ball to rebound to Platty, whose own shot was disturbed by Keith Hill's attempts of a follow up, and Platt's shot went over the bar.
In the end, a draw was a fair result. with both sets of fans a little disappointed at the final whistle not to have won the game outright. Dale did well to come back into the match against a decent team. Last year, we saw matches at Spotland, where Dale conceded an early goal, and failed to come back.
Man of the match: Clive Platt again. Got through an awful lot of work, today in all parts of the field, including clearing the ball of the Dale goalline at one point. Struggled in the first half with no partner alongside him, but his workrate was fantastic, and his control is superb. Set up the goal, and is looking a better player with every match. How long can we keep hold of him for?
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