United out of the Cup
leedsunited.com 4/1/14United on the wrong end of a third round upset...
ROCHDALE 2 (Hogan 45+2, Henderson 84), UNITED 0.
For the third round FA Cup tie at Rochdale United manager Brian McDermott made two changes to his starting line-up. The match saw Scott Wootton to return to action after missing nine games after suffering an injury at Charlton November. The starting 11 also saw the inclusion of Lee Peltier as Sam Byram would be operating further forward.
The FA Cup tie also saw United striker Noel Hunt return to the matchday squad when he was named among the substitutes.
The atmosphere inside Spotland was excellent when the game kicked off with both sets of supporters contributing to the noise.
There were a couple of early scares for United in the opening 10 minutes and the home side had the ball in the back of the net on 7 minutes. Joe Bunney broke United's defensive line but he was judged to be in an offside position when the through ball was played.
Moments later the home side threatened once again from two Ian Henderson deliveries, unfortunatley for Rochdale both headers went wide of the mark.
United's first chance of the game almost brought the first goal when Matt Smith connected with a free-kick. The striker's header was goal-bound but his effort was cleared off the line for a corner. The resulting corner brough a further chance for United but a Marius Zaliukas header was blocked and cleared.
The home side continued to show why they are in the Play-Off places in League Two with a nice flowing forward move that brought Paddy Kenny into action. The United keeper made a great save and with the help of Peltier the ball was cleared to safety.
The next chance of the game fell to the returning Wootton. Follwing a knock-down by Smith from a Danny Pugh corner the defender snatched at the chance and blazed the ball over the crossbar.
It was United that began to dominate the game but the home side had a great chance on the stroke of the 30-minute mark when Scott Hogan was played between the United centre-halves, but the onrushing Kenny made the save. Moments later Henderson broke down the right and struck at goal but his strike went wide of the mark.
With the first half drawing to a close it was the home side that looked the more likely to break the deadlock. Good build-up play led to Henderson having the ball at his feet on the edge of the penalty area, his strike brought another great save from Kenny. Moments later Hogan tested Kenny but there was an easy save for Kenny.
Just when it looked like the half was going to end goalless the home side struck two minutes into injury time. A ball was played into the box with just seconds remaining and Hogan's glancing header went into the top left-hand corner to give the League Two side the advantage at the interval.
United piled on the pressure during the opening minutes of the half and, just like in the first, Smith saw a headed effort cleared off the line.
All the positive play was coming from United in the second half. The away side worked some good positions and got into crossing opportunities but the final ball was the only thing lacking.
With the 70th minute approaching there were good chances for both teams. First, Bunney looked to be through on goal but good awareness from Kenny led to the keeper stealing the ball before the striker could trouble his goal. Then moments later Ross McCormack sprang into life and hit a good effort from just outside the box that went inches wide.
Further chances started to come United's way with the best of them falling to Pugh. The defender broke forward and latched onto a ball wide on the left side of the box and worked the keeper, who palmed the ball round for a corner.
With the game heading into the final quarter-hour Brian McDermott called on Hunt to add another attacking option for his side.
The following minutes saw two great chances fall to the home side but they couldn't double their lead. The two attempts fell to Oliver Vincenti and Hogan but both strikes went wide of Kenny's goal. Moments later Vincenti had another great chance after good work from Hogan, only a great save stopped the home side from going further ahead.
The home side were looking the better team as the half went on and were rewarded with a second goal in the 84th minute when Henderson volleyed the ball home to send the home crowd wild and send United out of the FA Cup.