Following yesterday’s clash between Rochdale and Millwall, here are the instant reactions from both managers.
Rochdale hosted Millwall at Spotland Stadium for a 7.45pm kick off on Tuesday February 6 for the FA Cup Fourth Round replay, with the hosts taking a one nil victory following a second half Ian Henderson strike.
Rochdale now prepare for a potential tie against Tottenham Hotspur.
Teams:
Rochdale:
Lillis, McGahey, McNulty, Delaney, Rafferty, Cannon, Camps, Kitching, Done, Henderson, Andrew.
Substitutes:
Ntlhe, Rathbone, Thompson, Inman, Moore, Adshead, Gillam.
Millwall:
Martin, McLaughlin, Hutchinson, Shackell, Meredith, Tunnicliffe (Gregory 63), Williams, Thompson, Ferguson (Morison 63), Elliott, Onyedinma (Wallace 77).
Substitutes:
Archer, Romeo, Saville, Cooper.
Speaking to the BBC’s cameras a short time after match day referee Tim Robinson blew the final whistle, Rochdale manager Keith Hill explained.
‘It was a difficult surface. It rolled flat which was perfect in a strange sort of way but it allowed us to play a little bit of football. We dealt with the opponent well regardless of the surface. A lot of good people put a lot of man hours into the pitch. It was best prepared by some honest hard working people who work for nothing and it was due to them we had a game tonight. I hope we can get it better because I don’t want any negative pressure on the club. We do things right at this club and have good values. I don’t want the pitch to be an embarrassment.’
Adding.
‘The finance is the stand-out reward – it’s a chance to dream and a chance to play against Premier League opposition if Spurs beat Newport. My head says let’s play Newport, who we would respect, but my heart says let’s play Tottenham. We would have to play at our very, very best and they would have to have an off day for us to have any chance, but that’s the dream.’
Millwall manager Neil Harris in his comparative interview explained that is was far from a good performance from his side, but he knew they had struggled with the pitch. His main gripe was the pitch invasion at the end.
‘I thought the Rochdale fans were a disgrace at the end. As Millwall manager, I am not going to complain about fan bases. But the way it was managed at the end, the way our fans were goaded, wasn’t quite right. My players were treated very badly and me, and the staff, were abused.’
