Tuesday 6 March 2018 23:04, UK
Rochdale bounced back from their FA Cup humbling at Tottenham by climbing off the foot of League One with an emphatic 3-0 victory at woeful Walsall.
Jim McNulty, Ian Henderson and a super solo goal from debutant Bournemouth loanee Mihai Dobre moved Dale above Bury but they remain nine points from safety, albeit with games in hand.
They led on 16 minutes as McNulty outjumped Walsall defenders to loop a header home from Brad Inman's corner for his first goal for the club.
It was almost 2-0 on 35 minutes as Ryan Delaney glanced a free header wide before Dale keeper Josh Lillis parried fierce strikes from Walsall pair Kieron Morris and George Dobson. But Rochdale sealed the points on 71 minutes as Henderson's 15-yard curler found the bottom corner.
Walsall could have pulled one back six minutes later as Delaney tripped Amadou Bakayoko but Lillis impressively saved Erhun Oztumer's penalty.
But Dale added a third on 87 minutes as Romanian teenager Dobre turned a defender inside out before surging into the area and slotting into the bottom corner.
