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Pictured
DISGRACEFUL

Shocking moment Rochdale fans storm pitch and confront players before returning to their seats in win over Scunthorpe

ROCHDALE fans invaded the pitch and got in the faces of Scunthorpe players after their side scored an 83rd-minute winner.

They jumped and danced around and also set off a flare following Max Taylor's goal, which sealed a 2-1 victory for Dale against League Two's bottom club.

Rochdale fans got carried away after their late winner
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Rochdale fans got carried away after their late winnerCredit: Dan Westwell
One fan jumped in the face of a Mason O'Malley while 'celebrating' the goal
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One fan jumped in the face of a Mason O'Malley while 'celebrating' the goalCredit: Dan Westwell
Another Dale supporter goads the Scunny left-back
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Another Dale supporter goads the Scunny left-backCredit: Dan Westwell
Rochdale's Max Clark pleads with a fan to leave the pitch
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Rochdale's Max Clark pleads with a fan to leave the pitchCredit: Dan Westwell

Rochdale players had to plead with some of the supporters to leave the field of play after getting carried away with the winner.

Following the incident the fans were allowed to return to the stands - but there was no announcement on the tannoy and no arrests were made.

Scunthorpe could now face an FA probe given it is the second time in a fortnight visiting fans have entered the pitch, on the back of similar scenes against Oldham.

The incident marred a first victory of 2022 for Rochdale, whose boss Robbie Stockdale is desperate to see his side start games like they finish them.

Dale trailed to Emmanuel Onariase's 13th-minute opener for the Iron, but after Liam Kelly equalised early after the restart, Taylor won it when firing home at the second attempt seven minutes from time.

After the match Stockdale said: "There were some honest words spoken at half-time and we got a response, but we've got to start more games like that.

"Let's hope this is the start of a nice little run.

Defeat leaves Scunthorpe in even deeper trouble in the relegation zone, and was described as "a missed opportunity" by their manager Keith Hill.

He said: "The players seemed confident at half-time, but the second half performance really hurt."

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