A poignant minute’s silence was held in memory of the father of Rhys Bennett, David, who passed away over the weekend. United’s players wore black armbands.
A scrappy first half followed, punctuated by one moment of intensity and quality, when Jim Thwaites earned high reward for pressure on the edge of the area. The young midfielder won possession, flicked it nicely to team-mate Chido Obi, who finished calmly past Rochdale goalkeeper Tom Myles, formerly of United’s Academy.
The tempo of the game only ramped up in rare moments from then on. James Scanlon showed lovely wing play when dinking an aerial ball over his marker, driving forward and forcing a good block from Liam Hogan. Bendito Mantato took down a crossfield ball impressively before showing an unpredictable ability to change the pace, then crossing well. When Mantato’s ball was headed clear, Diego Leon shot over from range.
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