A shocking display from Rochdale had relegation written right all over it as Stevenage ran amok at Spotland.
On the back of a poor performance at Hartlepool last weekend Chris Beech had called for a positive response from his players. Instead, they produced the worst 90 minutes of what has been a dire campaign.
Luke Freeman handed the visitors the lead after 18 minutes. Rochdale right-back Dean Holden’s attempted tackle saw the ball squirm into the area and Freeman cut inside Jason Kennedy before firing past Peter Kurucz at his near post.
With Rochdale offering no threat of their own the visitors doubled their advantage two minutes into the second period, Chris Beardsley setting up Lawrie Wilson for a 15-yard drive which gave Kurucz no chance.
Brett Ormerod Dale briefly gave Dale a glimpse of hope when he volleyed home a Daniel Bogdanovic cross flicked on by Ashley Grimes. But Stevenage restored their two-goal advantage within seconds as the Dale defence were caught napping, Wilson left unmarked to smash home his second.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when Joe Widdowson received a second booking for a desperate challenge on Wilson.
Freeman made it 4-1 with a stunning 25-yard strike and Joel Byrom got in on the act with a neat finish for the fifth goal.
What is your verdict on the action? Have your say.
Rochdale 1 Stevenage 5
January 14, 2012
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Lost for words.............
bet steve eyre is laughing his socks off
Such a shame to see this sorry state of affairs, especially after the optimism and relative success of the Hillcoft era..
me thinks this result is the result that as sent the dale down....hope im wrong.
Football is simple, you need to defend and score goals. DALE are not doing either, we need to get rid of those players whom are not giveing 100% for the club. Can't see where the next win is going to come from!
True blue Les from Torquay
UP THE DALE
Until Rochdale have eleven players who all put in 100% they will struggle. I was not surprised that Joe Thompson was substituted he is more interested in how his shorts look!
Its relegation now, becoming adrift from te rest of Lg 1.
Waste of money going to watch rubbish like this.
Agree with Les Howarth, i can possibly see where a win will come from. Anyone who says the quality of football hasnt gone down since Steves departure is blind or dumb. Another truly awful performance, the worst of the season by far, and last weeks was BAD.
I stil cant fathom the decision to sack Steve Eyre, absolutely bizzare - a decision which will without any doubt see us back in division 2 next year with the likes of Aldershot and Hereford - Woeful decision
Appointing an untried untested and inexperienced manager rarely comes off. It did with Hillcroft and it has with Richie Barker at Bury but that's about it. Apart from Chris Beech no one can be optimistic about staying up now. A clear out in the summer and then start all over again. It's such a shame
Officially the second worst goal difference in all four divisions. It has been obvious from day one of this season that the defence was terrible and no-one was lighting up the scoreboard at the other end. Nothing was done to correct this situation except to bring in other teams cast offs and derelicts. Only hope now is to bring in a psychologist and a hypnotist to try and fool these players into playing above their ability. When that fails, bring in a Priest to pray for salvation.