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  • Date: 2006-08-05
  • Kick-off: 15:00
  • Attendance: 3218
  • Referee: Foster, D

Live Commentary

90mins

The ref has blown his whistle for full time.

90mins

Hector Sam is being taken off, James Constable has come on in his place.

87mins

Walsall are replacing Mark Kinsella with Dean Keates.

82mins

Adam Rundle is replaced by Clive Moyo-Modise.

82mins

Rochdale are replacing Iyseden Christie with Chris Dagnall.

69mins

Darrell Clarke is being taken off, Gary Brown has come on in his place.

48mins

Goal!! Martin Butler scores for Walsall.

46mins

The second half is under way with the score currently at 0 v 0.

45mins

Half time whistle is blown by D Foster

39mins

Allan Picken is booked for unsporting behaviour.

0mins

It's 3pm on Saturday, August 5th, the match has kicked off.

Match Report

Martin Butler's well-taken 49th minute goal got manager Richard Money off to a winning start and underlined why the Saddlers are amongst the pre-season favourites for promotion.

With Michael Dobson pulling the strings in midfield and Butler a constant threat, Walsall were never second best to their hosts and only some last-ditch defending and excellent goal-keeping by Matthew Gilks sent the teams in level at the break.

Gilks made one fine save after a long throw from the left had been flicked into the path of Mark Wright, and in the dying seconds of the half he kept out Butler who burst into the penalty area and fired his shot from a tight angle.

The young keeper saved his best until last as from the subsequent corner defender Anthony Gerrard must have thought that his powerful header was heading fro the net before Gilks produced an instinctive save to claw it away.

With the first action of the second half, Rochdale's leading scorer from last season, Rickie Lambert, came within inches of breaking the deadlock with a 30- yard free-kick, but with their next attack Walsall took the lead.

A neat interchange of passing between Mark Wright and Hector Sam completely opened up the home defence and allowed Butler to slot the ball past the unprotected Gilks.

In Rochdale's best period Lambert saw another free-kick brilliantly saved by Clayton Ince and shaved the far post after good work by co-striker Iyseden Christie, but that was the nearest that Rochdale came to breaking down a very solid Sadlers rearguard.

Referee Mr Foster confused the home crowd when he denied Rochdale what should have been a clear-cut penalty when defender Allan Picken clearly fouled defender Simon Ramsden, his raised foot so high that it parted Ramsden's hair, but the referee decided instead of pointing to the spot to give an indirect free-kick inside the penalty area which saw Lambert's shot deflected away to safety.

Although Rochdale manager Steve Parkin threw on all three substitutes, they never again saw the whites of keeper Ince's eyes.

Rochdale

Walsall

Corners

38

Fouls

108

Goal attempts

1016

Shots off target

49

Offsides

23

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