Rochdale 2-0 Peterborough United Player Ratings: impressive Rathbone

In Keith Hill’s 500th match in charge of Rochdale, his side deservedly beat Peterborough United 2-0 on Saturday afternoon thanks to goals from Calvin Andrew and Callum Camps. Here’s our player ratings.

Rochdale

Josh Lillis – wasn’t worked too hard for his clean sheet, although he did deny Maddison on 25 minutes, then stop Miller’s tame near post effort at the start of the second half. 7

Harrison McGahey – an aggressive performance in which he rarely hesitated to close his man down early. On this evidence, we see the best of him in a three-man defence. 8
Donervan Daniels – while he didn’t make any overt or costly mistakes, he did misplace the odd header and his passing was a tad overambitious at times, which suggests there are things to work on. 6
Jim McNulty – negated the threat posed by Lloyd at times in the first half and never let forwards get beyond him in the second. Showed extra appreciation for the fans at full-time. 7

Joe Rafferty – put in some excellent crosses early on and got forward at will, even in the latter stages of the second half when Dale had a two goal lead to protect. 8
Callum Camps – provided the balance in the first half that allowed the wing-backs to push up, although his moment came on 37 minutes when he grabbed the second goal with an impressive free-kick. Enjoyed one or two breakaway moments in the second half. 8
Oliver Rathbone –  superbly committed performance. Always covered the left channel when Bunney pushed up and was never shy to engage in the physical side of the game, even if that meant giving away the odd free-kick in the second half. Rochdale will need displays like that from him if they are to get out of trouble. 9
Joe Bunney – showed tremendous energy to get forward and could have made more of one or two openings at the back-post. Guilty of leaving too much space in behind in the first half. 7

Ian Henderson – not necessarily a main architect behind the two-goal lead at the break. Had Dale’s better openings in the second half but couldn’t quite get his shooting boots. 5
Matt Done – showed some good movement into wide areas early on but his day was cut short seven minutes in due to injury. 5
Calvin Andrew – has less pace than Peterborough’s forwards, but he made up for that by holding the ball up selflessly and working hard for the team. Produced a moment of sublime technical quality with an impressive first touch before firing in the opener on 33 minutes. Faded a little in the latter stages as the nature of Dale’s performance didn’t quite suit him. 7

Jordan Slew (on 7) – won a number of free-kicks due to his presence and good close control. Not exactly slow but didn’t have an explosive burst of pace in his locker, which might explain why he was taken off as the game became stretched. 7
Matty Gillam (on 60) – willing runner but a little raw in terms of his passing, which is understandable considering his relative inexperience at this level. 5
Kgosi Ntlhe (on 74) – added plenty of pace and energy against his old club in the latter stages – similar qualities to Bunney, the man he replaced at wing-back. 6

Peterborough United

Conor O’Malley – a poor game. Perhaps partially at fault for the first goal, but definitely at fault for the second, with Camps’ firm free-kick hit straight at him. 2

Leo Da Silva Lopes – made a couple of good runs in the second half and put in the cross for Miller’s chance, arguably the best opening any visiting player created all game. 5
Steven Taylor – he didn’t have a terrible game, but one might question his capacity to snuff danger out at source. Not quite as athletic as he used to be. 5
Jack Baldwin – too slow to close down, especially when Rochdale’s forwards got in behind the full-back. Needs to bulk up and be more receptive to danger. 3
Andrew Hughes – struggled to handle Rafferty and Andrew’s combination play early on and didn’t offer the necessary width to compensate. 3

Jermaine Anderson – the odd decent run but ultimately, he flattered to deceive. Grant McCann wasn’t happy, with the midfielder one of three men hauled off at the break. 4
Anthony Grant – decent enough in the first half hour, but struggled to stem the home side’s breakaways in the latter stages. Appeared something of a sideways pass merchant. 4
Michael Doughty – taken off after a very poor first half in which he dropped too deep. Not a match he’ll want to remember. 2

Marcus Maddison – showed flashes of what he can do in the first half, but he couldn’t quite marry his excellent dribbling with an understanding of what his teammates were doing. 5
Jack Marriott – had speed of legs but not speed of thought. Often on different wavelengths to the player passing the ball. 3
Danny Lloyd – had some lively moments and has plenty of pace but never tested the goalkeeper. Rarely connected effectively with Marriott and Maddison. 4

Ricky Miller (on 45) – rarely given space to show what he can do, but often shot from unrealistic positions and tried to do too much in his own. Forced a save from Lillis at the near post early in the second half. 4
Idris Kanu (on 45) – didn’t provide any quality deliveries and failed to test the goalkeeper. On this evidence, most would rather have a speedboat than Kanu… 3
Chris Forrester (on 45) – some decent touches at the start of the second half and had a late effort from range, which forced a save from Lillis. Possibly needs to be used further forward. 5