Hill hails Henderson after Rochdale deny Fleetwood at the death

Posted Sunday, August 19, 2018 by PA

Rochdale boss Keith Hill hailed ever-reliable Ian Henderson for rescuing a point in a 2-2 draw away to Fleetwood.

Henderson twice levelled for Rochdale, the forward cancelling out Paddy Madden’s 26th minute strike from the spot in the second half then popping up in the fifth minute of stoppage time to secure a point.

Henderson had been bundled over by Craig Morgan for that 50th minute penalty, but Ched Evans put Fleetwood back in front six minutes later

The equaliser came after Henderson avoided what could have been a nasty injury when he collided with the advertising boards following a tackle from Lewis Coyle.

“I think that was an accident,” Hill said. “There was no malice from the opponent. It was almost like a car crash looking at it.

“He was very lucky not to be seriously hurt because he was mid-waist straight through the advertising boards.

“His flexibility is good there and he got back onto the pitch, I’d already made my subs

“I’m glad he did survive. I always can depend on Ian Henderson in times of need and we needed him today.”

Fleetwood boss Joey Barton had no qualms about the penalty but he was left unhappy with referee Dean Whitestone after missing out on his first home win since taking over.

Barton was disappointed not to get a decision when Josh Willis appeared to handle the ball outside his area in the 87th minute when facing Wes Burns one-on-one.

That could have sealed Fleetwood’s win, and Barton warned his players they must put results to bed.

“It was just one of those games, Cian Bolger has lost a couple of teeth,” Barton said. “The officials missed key things.

“You have a one-on-one with the keeper, he comes out of the box, handles the ball and the referee decides it hits his chest.

“You have got four officials in the stadium and the fourth official clearly felt the same as us.

“They are big decisions. I don’t want to moan about referees, I understand they have a really difficult job to do but you have to get the big decisions right.

“We think there is a bit of a foul in the build up on Conor McAleny, he does not give it, you cannot miss the keeper coming out and handling the ball. I think everyone in the stadium was aware of that.

“It’s disappointing but we just have to dust ourselves down and accept there is going to be adversity, things are going to go against you.

“We just need to knuckle down and put the result way beyond any refereeing decision.”