Salford 0 - 0 Rochdale

Tight draw between Salford and Rochdale leaves a lot to be desired

Both sides had chances, but neither could put the ball in the back of the net

The two teams will undoubtedly be frustrated that they didn’t go home with the bragging rights in this local derby

A competitive game between two teams near the relegation zone unfortunately didn’t provide any goals as Salford drew 0-0 with local rivals Rochdale in a tense game.

The first 15 minutes was dominated by the home side, with Conor McAleny testing the Dale defence multiple times. Corrie Ndaba and Jason Lowe also had chances to put the Ammies ahead, but Joel Coleman was on hand to stop that.

Midway through the first half, Salford were finding their feet and making life uncomfortable for the away side. Matthew Lund shot high over the bar and Brandon Thomas-Asante muscled his way past the opposition defence, only for his shot to be saved by Coleman again.

At this point, it looked like Rochdale would be lucky to even muster a shot on target, or even an attempt at all. But a long ball from their keeper into the Salford box allowed ex Salford striker Jake Beesley to get his head on the ball, Ammies keeper Connor Ripley was lucky not to have made a terrible mistake and let Beesley take his chance.

That moment seemed to have livened up the game. Matty Willock was soon booked for a wreckless challenge and right wing-back Conor O’Keeffe’s attempt was sent out for a corner.

A couple of minutes later and Salford were back on the offensive. Ibou Touray fired a low cross in, only for McAleny to hit his shot straight at the keeper.

Matty Willock had been at the centre of Salford’s domination in the first half, he headed over the bar shortly after the McAleny chance. The former Arsenal and Manchester United man looked strong in the first half, often receiving the ball and always moving forward looking to create. He could be a good signing in games to come.

In what was almost a mirror of their previous chance, McAleny once again failed to turn in Touray’s low cross, it was hard to tell whether the attacking midfielder was struggling to score, or Rochdale were doing a great job of nullifying their attacking threat.

A couple of half chances for Rochdale at the end of the first half signalled that they still had work to do if they wanted to come away with the three points.

Within the first 10 minutes of the second half, Robbie Stockdale had made his first substitution, George Broadbent was replaced by Aaron Morley in a like for like change, perhaps with the intention of adding a little more energy in the midfield.

The Dale had their best chance of the game when Alex Newby’s shot was deflected and saved by Conor Ripley.

Minutes later though, Thomas-Asante managed to be through on goal, but Coleman once again denied him. Salford made their first change soon after, Matty Willock was replaced by Tyreik Wright, with the intention of more energy and pace needed on the flanks, the Aston Villa loanee was brought in hopes of providing that.

With clear cut chances few and far between, the game became scrappy, with both teams having players booked for tactical fouls. McAleny was replaced by striker Tim Elliot with just under 15 minutes left. The forward almost made an immediate impact, but his header went over the bar, shots going over the bar were a common sight during the game.

The final minutes of play were dominated by Rochdale, with Jake Beesley having the clearest chance of the game. He got put through on goal but completely fluffed his chance to win the game for Rochdale.

That chance proved to be the final one of the game. It was lively in moments, but both teams had managed to cancel each other out and the lack of clinical finishes made it a tense match throughout the 90 minutes. The draw leaves Salford two points ahead of Rochdale in 15th, whilst the latter still sit in 18th, winless in their last 8 games in all competitions.

Salford’s next game is away to top of league Forest Green Rovers on the 23rd, whilst Rochdale host 8th place Sutton United

SUBS

Salford

Matthew Willock OFF 64’

Tyreik Wright ON

Conor McAleny OFF 72’

Tom Elliot ON

Rochdale

George Broadbent OFF 53’

Aaron Morley ON

Liam Kelly OFF 86’

Aidan White ON

Abraham Odoh OFF 90’

Danny Cashman ON

Booked

George Broadbent

Matty Willock

Jason Lowe

Corey O’Keeffe

Ibou Touray

(All yellow)