Report: Rochdale 1-1 Iron

United drew 1-1 away at Rochdale on Saturday afternoon.

Substitute Duane Holmes made it two goals in two games, as his second-half strike earned the Iron a vital point.

The ball was threaded into the box in the 66th minute by Hakeeb Adelakun. Fellow substitute Tom Hopper chose to leave it for the oncoming Holmes who ran onto the ball unmarked and found the back of the net.

Iron manager Graham Alexander made three changes to the side that started against Notts County. Neal Bishop, Adelakun and Levi Sutton came into the team for Jordan Clarke, Charlie Goode and Sam Mantom.

Early on, Matthew Done was energetic on the left wing but Sutton had his number, preventing any danger from the winger.

The first chance came in the third minute for the home side’s Ian Henderson. The striker was found in the box and had an acrobatic effort towards the goal but the ball went wide of the post.

The ball came out to Callum Camps in the sixth minute, who managed to drive a shot at goal. The Iron defence barricaded it out and converted the pressure into an attack.

Josh Morris sprinted down the left wing and had a shot on goal. Unfortunately though, he sent it a whisker wide.

Kevin van Veen looked dangerous with time on the ball. Shortly after he found himself in space and had a shot from just past the halfway line but was denied by home goalkeeper Josh Lillis.

Van Veen wasn’t the only player trying for something special, as later Ojo sent a rocket at Lillis from long range and only narrowly missed the crossbar.

Soon after, Paddy Madden, who put two past Notts County in midweek, anticipated a badly-weighted pass from the hosts and sprinted for it. However, Lillis was the hero for the Dale as he just beat Madden to the ball.

Bishop then took a quick free-kick in the middle of the park. Conor Townsend received it on the left wing and sent Morris into the box. Morris attempted to drag it back to van Veen but the play was cut out with an interception.

They weren’t without pressure from the Dale as a failed clearance fell perfectly for Callum Camps. The midfielder had a shot but Murray Wallace pulled off the heroics and blocked it.

Madden was unfortunate not to beat Lillis with his second effort. He chipped the ball from just inside the box and it forced a full stretch out of the goalkeeper to protect his goal.

Matthew Done picked up where the hosts had left off in the second half by getting an early shot away. It was nothing that Gilks couldn’t handle but the Iron were forced back into their half.

It was in the 54th minute that Rochdale managed to break through the Iron’s defence. A corner was sent into the box and substitute Stephen Davies came free to nod it into the net at the back post. He wasn’t done there though.

In the 60th minute the ball fell into his path on the right hand side of the box. He hit it first time and the curling effort forced a world-class save from Gilks.

The Iron equalised though when Holmes continued his heroics from the Carabao Cup to once again come off the bench and grab his goal.

From there the chances came thick and fast as Ojo and Madden both came close to netting the winner. From then, the play was mostly in Scunthorpe’s favour.

Adelakun managed to slip away from his defender on the edge of the box and fire a shot at goal. However, it was straight at the ‘keeper.

There was a slight scare from a late corner in the 88th minute. Niall Canavan leapt like a salmon to head the ball at the top right corner, and it took Gilks’ fingertips to keep it out.

TEAM LINE-UPS
Rochdale: Lillis, Rafferty, Ntlhe, McNulty, Canavan, Brown, Camps, Rathbone (Andrew, 78), Done (Cannon, 74), Allen (Davies, 45), Henderson.
Substitutes not used: Williams, Inman, Collis, Kitching.

Scunthorpe United: Gilks, Townsend, Wallace, McArdle, Sutton, Morris (Holmes, 60), Bishop, Ojo, Adelakun, van Veen (Hopper, 60), Madden.
Substitutes not used: Watson, Mantom, Redmond, Burgess, Wootton.

Attendance: 3,218.