Rochdale 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur: Late Davies strike earns League One bottom club Wembley replay
Ian Henderson gave Dale the lead on the stroke of half-time.
Rochdale 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
- Rochdale's remarkable late salvo earns them Wembley replay against Tottenham.
- Ian Henderson gave Keith Hill's side the lead on stroke of half-time with fine finish.
- Lucas Moura and Harry Kane edged Spurs in front at Spotland, the latter netting a late, late penalty.
- Steven Davies popped up for Rochdale in the 93rd minute, keeping his composure to force a lucrative and deserved replay.
- A trip to Sheffield Wednesday or Swansea City awaits the victor.
An incredible late salvo from Rochdale. Davies' late, late strike has earned them a trip to Wembley after Harry Kane looked to have settled things with a penalty.
Ian Henderson had given the Dale a deserved lead on the stroke of half-time, but goals from Lucas and Kane seemed to have ended their FA Cup dream. That was until Davies popped up with a composed late strike, which sent Spotland into raptures and Keith Hill's men to Wembley.
That's all from IB Times UK. Have a good evening.
And that's half-time!
Ian Henderson has sent Spotland into delirium with a goal on the stroke of half-time. Rochdale have defended well and attacked with purpose and are actually good value for their lead.
Tottenham, profligate through Son and Llorente, have not learnt their lesson from Newport County and have it all to do again.
Not much to report from the last five minutes or so. Tottenham trying to attack with Trippier making diagonal runs into the box but Rochdale are standing firm for the time being.
Great ball in from Cannon is just about dealt with by Spurs. They seem to be targeting the back post but Trippier is dealing with the onslaught.
Lucas Moura, fresh from his cameo against Juventus, makes his full debut for Tottenham, who field a strong team.
Harry Kane is included on the substitutes' bench, allowing Fernando Llorente a chance to impress, while Winks, Foyth, Rose, Sissoko, Vorm and Alderweireld are all given the nod by Pochettino.
Dele Alli and Davinson Sanchez are among the substitutes, but Christian Eriksen, Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen have been given the afternoon off.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is under slight pressure to break his trophy drought as a manager, but the Argentine has set his sights higher than the FA Cup.
"I hear a lot about winning trophies and in the last 10 years, there have been a lot of examples with coaches who win trophies like the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and yet six months after, they were sacked," Pochettino was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
"You can maybe win the FA Cup, League Cup, if you say, 'OK, in five years, we are going to win the FA Cup or League Cup.' Then you protect your best player for the FA Cup, forget the Premier League, and forget being in the top-four.
"We need to think about winning big trophies like the Champions League. The pressure is to win the Champions League and also the Premier League.
"That doesn't mean I don't want to win the FA Cup or League Cup, but in this process, to build a team to win or to get a winning mentality, is normal,"
Some more thoughts from Rochdale boss Keith Hill:
"The players have got to believe, trust themselves and elevate their games.
"They've got to remember why they turned professional – for games like this. Every week they're competing in League One to try and aspire to be a Premier League player.
"This is a unique opportunity for the players. They've earned it, and they should embrace it and not fear it. I just want them to enjoy the test. It's more a test of mentality for the players against the speed of the opponents.
"We've got talented players, and it's up to those players to play above and beyond their performance levels, and I do believe that players up and down the Football League pyramid are more than capable of doing that for 90 minutes plus. It's what we're striving for – minimum mistakes, maximum impact."
Rochdale, currently bottom of League One, are not being backed to cause an almighty upset against Tottenham this afternoon, but manager Keith Hill insists his players are not frightened of taking on Spurs.
"Tottenham will be competitive, but we've got to be as keen and as competitive as we've always been. We need intelligent energy, and we won't differ too far away from the way that we do things, if at all, and it's important that the players embrace the occasion," Hill said.
"We've no fear, and our FA Cup form has been pretty good this season. We've scored 12, conceded two, and I think we've been excellent. We can take our cup form into the Tottenham game."
Rochdale's defence may be able to rest a little easier this afternoon; they may not have to try and stifle Harry Kane, who is struggling with an ankle problem picked up against Juventus in midweek.
"He twisted his ankle, he received some knocks [against Juventus]," Pochettino admitted at his pre-match press conference, per football.london.
"We need to assess tomorrow if he's fit. Maybe he has the possibility to start, if not 100 per cent and there's not the possibility to play 90 minutes, then to be on the bench, or if we see that he's not capable of half an hour or 20 minutes then to stay here like with all the players who we did the same."
Good afternoon and welcome to IB Times UK's live coverage of Rochdale vs Tottenham.
A trip to face either Sheffield Wednesday or Swansea City awaits the victor at Spotland, where new turf has been freshly laid after Mauricio Pochettino expressed his concerns.
Tottenham are the substantial favourites for this afternoon's clash, but they were given a handful of problems by Newport County in the fourth round. They did eventually find a way past the League Two outfit via a replay, though they will hope to get the job done today against Rochdale, who languish at the bottom of League One.
Tottenham may have to do without Harry Kane, who is struggling with an ankle problem, but Rochdale have striking concerns of their own - Calvin Andrew is out with an Achilles problem.
Stick with IB Times UK for the latest team news, updates and reaction from Spotland.