Rochdale 1-1 Fleetwood: Joey Barton's 10-man Cod Army survive second-half onslaught to draw
Saturday 19 January 2019 20:02, UK
Ten-man Fleetwood held on for a point after a second half onslaught from Rochdale in a 1-1 Sky Bet League One draw at the Crown Oil Arena.
The visitors took a one-goal lead into the second period but were reduced to 10 men early in the half when on-loan Lewie Coyle was dismissed.
Fleetwood finished an evenly contested first half in the ascendancy and struck the woodwork through Coyle's curling 25-yard effort.
They took the lead in the 36th minute when Ross Wallace floated a cross from the right towards the edge of the six-yard area and Paddy Madden glanced the ball home.
Rochdale started the second period strongly and the visitors were a man down in the 53rd minute when Coyle was sent off for a two-footed challenge on Joe Rafferty.
Dale forced the visitors back inside their own penalty area for long periods and the deserved breakthrough came in the 75th minute.
Patient play from the hosts on the right ended with Rory Holden slipping a pass back up the line to Stephen Dooley, whose accurate cross was headed home by Ian Henderson.
