Raging Fever FC 0 Rochdale SFC 3

Report by Jon Brown

Oxford United’s fans team paid the price for a poor first half performance, losing an often scrappy IFA league fixture against Rochdale supporters at Horspath. Fever started brightly, and carved out the first opening of the game when Rob Muskett brought the ball out of defence and played John Matthews in with a perfectly weighted ball through the right channel. Fever’s top scorer snatched at the chance, however, and the ball went wide of the target.

Having been on the back foot during the early exchanges, Rochdale got a lucky break with their first attack of the game in the seventh minute, when midfielder Craig Milnes’ shot from the edge of the area took an enormous deflection and flew into the top corner of the net, leaving Gary Butler in the Oxford goal stranded.

United might have been unlucky to find themselves behind so early, but they only had themselves to blame for falling further behind after twenty minutes. Gary Neville was dispossessed on the halfway line, and the Yellows’ defence was caught flat as the ball broke down Rochdale’s right, and a good cross produced a simple tap-in for their player-manager Mark Woodall.

Dale were clearly the better team now, enjoying more of the possession and forcing a series of corners, which Fever did well to keep out. On the one occasion that the defence was breached, Butler came to the rescue with a reflex save when one-on-one with the onrushing striker.

As the half wore on, Fever were handed a lifeline; a Rochdale defender sliced his intended clearance against his outstretched hand inside his own area, leaving the referee with no option but to award a penalty. Gary Silver, returning for his first appearance of the season, stepped up but put his spotkick wide of the target, just shaving the wrong side of the left-hand upright.

The second half saw a marked improvement from the home team, who started to control the midfield but who still couldn’t breach the visitors’ defence. The Dale goalkeeper was particularly impressive and commanding, negating the threat of the crosses that the yellows were now regularly managing to get into the area. Chances did fall to Jamie Pill, who couldn’t quite connect with a searching ball, and Matthews, who fired wide from close range, albeit from a tight angle. Silver was also off target with a free-kick from the edge of the area.

Rochdale were creating chances too, and Woodall somehow fired over the bar from inside the six yard box with the goal at his mercy. Ten minutes from time the visitors had a penalty of their own, when James Simpson was adjudged to have brought down Dale’s number seven. Milnes made no mistake from the spot to notch his second of the game.

Having battled so hard to get back into the game, Fever’s heads now dropped and it took a double save from Butler at the feet of the lively number seven to prevent further addition to the scoreline. The Oxford fans travel to Bury next week, knowing that a better performance will be required to get a result against another strong outfit from the same part of Greater Manchester.

RF squad: Gary Butler, Mark Howland, Stuart Burson, Rob Muskett, Geoff Carter, Gary Neville, Jamie Pill, James Longshaw, Steve Fuller, Gary Silver, John Matthews, Paul Lucas, Andy Hill, James Simpson, Pat Wehmeier, Jon Brown.