Rochdale 2 Fleetwood 1: First win for Dale adds to Town's problems

Rochdale sub Fabio Tavares pounced to sink Fleetwood late on as Joey Barton's side tumbled to a fourth straight defeat across two competitions.
Harvey Saunders celebrates Fleetwood's equaliserHarvey Saunders celebrates Fleetwood's equaliser
Harvey Saunders celebrates Fleetwood's equaliser
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Tavares had only been on the field for five minutes when he rifled home a rebound after Matty Done's strike had been parried into his path by Town's overworked keeper Alex Cairns.

Town probably got what they deserved following a largely disappointing performance over the 90 minutes, though they had looked like snatching a point when sub Harvey Saunders struck a leveller with 13 minutes left.

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, there had been a number of alterations to Barton's starting line-up on the back of the previous weekend's disappointing home defeat by Wimbledon.

Last season's top scorer Paddy Madden was back up top to partner skipper Ched Evans, while wideman Wes Burns was also back from injury.

Josh Morris had picked up a knock, so he didn't feature at a wet and breezy Crown Oil Arena, while Paul Coutts, Mark Duffy and Sam Stubbs were dropped to the bench.

Young schemer Jay Matete was handed a start, while Barrie McKay returned to the Town midfield.

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Despite the incessant morning rain throughout the north-west, a summer relay meant Rochdale's playing surface was quite superb.

It was slick, but an early scare almost hit Barton's well-laid plans.

A long ball forward zipped up perfectly for Dale frontman Jake Beesley, and he looked as though he was caught by Cairns as he tried to skip past the Town keeper. Thankfully for Fleetwood, referee Mr Oldham was unmoved.

Cairns produced a brilliant point-blank stop to keep out Ollie Rathbone's header in the 13th minute, though he was beaten fair and square 60 seconds later.

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An unchallenged Matty Lund rose impressively to routinely nod home Done's inswinging corner-kick.

Town were rattled and Cairns' breathtaking full-length stop to keep out Lund's piledriver prevented double trouble early on.

Prospects didn't improve much for Town as the opening half progressed - Rochdale were dominant and Cairns was forced to make two more decent saves from Jimmy Keohane and Alex Newby.

If the hosts were to grab the second goal they had deserved Barton would have had a mountain to climb, though his side did almost even it up just before the interval.

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Madden's close-range effort was bravely blocked by a combination of Paul McShane and Eoghan O'Connell.

The woodwork saved Town in the opening minutes of the second period.

Done's free-kick from the tightest of angles on the flank fizzed over Cairns' head before bouncing off the crossbar.

With Coutts now on and directing the midfield, Town looked more resolute but they still struggled to create much as an attacking force.

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Brian Barry-Murphy's Dale continued to threate and Stephen Dooley crashed a strike inches wide from 15 yards.

Town were probing as the final quarter-of-an-hour approached, but still Rochdale keeper Gavin Bazunu wasn't being tested and the hosts were homing in on a fairly comfortable three points it seemed.

That was until sub Saunders stepped up to the plate with 13 minutes to go.

He darted in to meet McKay's deflected cross from the left before smashing smartly past Bazunu from six yards.

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Suddenly it was a different game, with confidence now injected into the Fleetwood players, but that didn't last as Tavares was to go on and secure a deserved Rochdale victory, their first in League One this term.

Rochdale: Bazunu, Dooley, McShane, O'Connell, Keohane, Beesley, Morley, Newby (Tavares, 85), Rathbone, Done, Lund. Subs not used: Chalton, McNulty, Hopper, Brierley, Dunne.

Fleetwood: Cairns, Hill (Duffy, 61), Boyes, McKay, Andrew, Matete (Coutts, 46), Camps, Whelan, Burns, Madden (Saunders, 63), Evans. Subs not used: Leutwiler, Stubbs, Garner, Rydel.

Referee: James Oldham