Goodwill To All Men (Take That Holty And Simmo!)

It’s a cliche, but ‘what an advert for League Two football’ this really was as it had a little bit of everything.  Rochdale vs Shrewsbury Town is no derby, but many elements of this Boxing Day fixture added to the spice and made this a fantastic occasion.

There is definitely something special about Boxing Day fixtures.  I know footballers have a busy festive period, but a winter break that would deprive English Football of a full Boxing Day fixture list would be a catastrophe.  It’s hard to put a finger on just what makes the matches so thrilling.  You still get cold.  You still can’t see a thing until the sun sets.  Maybe it’s because every third person has a hangover?  Or maybe the players have an extra desire to put on a show?  Whatever it is, a game on Boxing Day is never boring when you support Rochdale (a couple of the Premiership games were crap 0-0’s).

To add to the atmosphere, Shrewsbury’s visit saw the return of Paul Simpson and Grant Holt to Spotland.  Simpson is a former player and manager at the club.  It’s fair to say he’s not the fan’s favourite at Dale, but as he has been back before, he was somewhat an afterthought today.  The big issue was Grant Holt, a former star striker at Dale.  Having made his reputation at the club before joining Nottingham Forest (who can blame him?), Holty got a big reception everytime his name came over the tannoy.  This wouldn’t continue up until full-time, but I’ll get to that later.

The first half was entertaining with both sides creating chances, though it was ultimately a very even half.  Many of the chances weren’t really notable with clear opportunites being extremely hard to come by.  This was typified by the performances of Adam Le Fondre and Jon Shaw.  Playing due to Lee Thorpe’s ‘ankle’ injury, the Rochdale frontmen worked exceptionally hard and battled for every ball without any great effect.  The best chance fell to Le Fondre, who, after some excellent aerial work by Shaw, found the ball at his feet with the goal gaping, though he could only blaze over from 10 yards out.  Rochdale had another good opportunity through Joe Thompson.  The Rochdale winger received the ball on the right-side of the box after some good work from Dale to spread the play.  Unfortunately, his driven shot was blocked by a defender as it was just about to nestle into the bottom corner.  As for Holt, he had what was, probably, Shrewsbury’s best opportunity, though he was unable to get above his five-yard header and it sailed over the bar. 

The second half continued in the same vein as the first with chances for both teams.  The most notable difference though was Grant Holt, who had suddenly come alive.  After a reasonably quiet first half display, the Shrews had become more direct and used him more as a target man.  This seemed to play into his hands and he created many opportunities as well as holding up the ball using his strength.  On the hour mark, the inevitable happened.  Receiving the ball at the edge of the box, Holt flicked the ball over the onrushing McArdle’s outstretched leg and volleyed the ball (without it bouncing) beyond Russell and into the top corner of the net.  It was a spectacular goal that deserved to win any game, though what followed soured it somewhat.  Holt raced towards the Shrewsbury fans and slid along the turf and proceeded to celebrate like he’d won the FA Cup.  This did not sit well with many Dale fans, including me, as it showed a total lack of respect for the club that had given him so much.  The atmosphere of the fans changed from one to anger, which was magnified by the Shrewsbury fans; who sang “Holty give us a wave” (he duly obliged) and “Holty is Superman” before repating the trick for Simpson.  Unfortunately for them, the anger transmitted to the Rochdale players.

One player in particular seemed to feel it more than most.  Lee McEvilly had been introduced on 54 minutes, taking the place of Jon Shaw.  Having only recently returned himself, ‘Evil’ was eager to impress and had been a team mate of Holt when they were both at Dale a few years ago.  On 67 minutes, he got his chance to draw Rochdale level.  A free-kick was won at the edge of the Shrews’ box and McEvilly marked out a huge run up.  With every step towards the ball, you could feel every Rochdale fan willing the ball into the net.  McEvilly reached the ball and sidefooted it underneath the wall and into the bottom corner of the net with almost laser-perfect accuracy.  The home stands erupted with arms flailing and fans falling all over the place.  What a game the last home match of the season was becoming, but it wasn’t over yet.

Five minutes later, Hill made another telling substitution as Dagnall replaced Le Fondre.  The striker made some excellent touches that turned the screw on Shrewsbury throughout the match and it paid dividends with 7 minutes still to play.  Clark Keltie’s corner was flicked-on by Adam Rundle and chaos ensued, resulting in Ben Davies’ goal-line clearance thundering into McEvilly and rebounding into the net.  Once again the crowd went mad, assured that it would be McEvilly grabbing the headlines and not the returning Holt.  All that was left was the chance for gloating with “McEvilly is Superman”.  The best way to extract sweet revenge was definitely the wonderfully sarcastic “Holty give us a wave” from the Rochdale fans as they savoured an important victory.

This victory will hopefully start some momentum yet again.  The next two games; Port Vale (A) and Accrington Stanley (H), are must-win encounters and after today’s performance, it’s hard to see anything but six points coming Dale’s way.  No pressure then.  Up the Dale!

I’m Glad I Didn’t Travel

A trip to Exeter City’s St James’ Park is a long one.  The massive amount of time spent travelling can all become worth it if three points are claimed.  Unfortunately, the Grecians absolutely battered Dale and full time was a relief for me- and I was only watching Soccer Saturday on Sky!

The demolition job was almost complete after half an hour.  Steve Basham opened the scoring after 16 minutes when he tapped into the empty Dale net.  No problem, I thought, Dale often come from behind.  I was slightly more concerned when Basham doubled their advantage on 31 minutes.  Scott Wiseman celebrated his shiny, new Dale contract by giving away a penalty and getting his marching orders.  Basham converted the spot-kick with little problems and Exeter were well on course to continue their excellent season as the league’s surprise package.  As for Dale, just keeping the score respectable was probably the best I could hope for, especially as I cannot recall them being heavily defeated all season long.

For a while, it seemed like Dale were going to accomplish what was requested of them.  They kept the scoreline at 2-0 for 39 minutes of the second half- and then subsequently conceded two goals in three minutes.  ‘Luckily’, it wasn’t a hat-trick from Basham (that would have sent me over the edge), but two from Craig McAllister; who become Dale’s main tormentor.  A brilliant solo goal made the score 3-0 with a routine finish just 3 minutes later making the scoreline 4-0.  4-0 is, plain and simply, a rout.  Dale did produce a consolation for the tavelling fans (if any of them were still there) in the final minute of the match by notching a penalty, but by then the damage was done, signalling the end of Dale’s 2 month unbeaten run.

4-1 is just not acceptable in this period of Dale’s history, especially against a team who are promotion rivals.  The team will have to do a lot better on Boxing Day as they play Shrewsbury Town at Spotland, another team who are direct rivals in the league table.  It’s going to be tough against the big-spending Shrews.  On this performance, maybe I better hope for a draw?

Cherries Bear No Fruit For Dale

Despite Dale’s excellent record of being unbeaten since early October, it is a frustrating festive period that is being endured at Spotland.  Three 1-1 draws in four games has stunted progress, while maintaining a grip on a play-off position.  With these league result finding themselves punctuated with the FA Cup loss at Forest Green and the postponement of the Darlington clash, there is a feeling of anticipation for the next victory from Keith Hill’s men.  This feeling will remain until, at least, Saturday’s trip to St James’s Park (in Exeter, not Newcastle) after the latest draw against AFC Bournemouth.

The Cherries are a club that is riddled with problems.  Often in some sort of financial woe, they started the season on -17 points after beginning the campaign while insolvent.  To make matters worse, Kevin Bond was sacked before barely a month had elapsed, with Jimmy Quin taking the helm- brave man.  They have since battled their way to three points, despite their patchy away form, and even hit the headlines in the process.  Unfortunately, this was due to Darren Anderton, or ‘Sicknote’ if you prefer, coming off the bench and scoring the winner in his final appearance before retirement against Chester.  While this is certainly ‘Roy of the Rovers-esque’, Bournemouth will need a miracle similar of comic proportions if they are to avoid joinin certainties, Luton, in the Blue Square Premier (or bankruptcy) next season.  Dale were hot favourites, ensuring that would things would probably not go to plan.

There was only one team in the game in the first half, though Dale failed to capitalise on their dominance, a regular occurence this season.  Will Buckley was perhaps guilty of missing Rochdale’s clearest opportunity.  The winger, who is being courted by many Championship clubs (including Preston North End- if my extremely reliable source to be believed), completed a mazy run after a rapid counter attack, before firing hopelessly wide when one-on-one with Shwan Jalal in the Bournemouth net.  It was a gilt-edge opportunity to say the least and one that Dale were sorry to see slip through their fingers, especially considering the events that occurred just before the break.  Matt Tubbs found himself through on goal and when he moved the ball onto his left foot he was hauled down by Marcus Holness, who was deputising for the suspended Rory McArdle.  The referee immediately pointed to the spot to the pleasure of the travelling few (who need applauding for taking the long trip despite doubts about whether the pitch would be passed fit) from Bournemouth and the displeasure of me and the Rochdale supporters.  It seems like the actual tackle was 50/50 in terms of whether it should have been penalised, though there was no denying that Tubbs was well offside.  Lee Bradbury stepped up to take the spot-kick, but I think we all knew that, with his experience, it was a formality and it proved to be just that.  The half-time whistle came just moments after the restart and was greeted by a chorus of disgruntled boos from Rochdale fans, who could barely contain the disbelief at the poor performance of the officials.  As it was, the goal came at the worst possible time, but, if Dale had taken their chances, it shouldn’t have posed a problem.  A more clinical performance from Lee McEvilly (starting his third term at Sportland) and Adam Le Fondre up front would certainly improve matters.

The second half saw the game continue in the same vein, with Dale very much on top and Bournemouth happy to protect their lead.  Changes would be required and Keith Hill recognised this, to his credit.  Time for the return of 4-3-3!  It had been successful against Barnet (though not Foprest Green) and with half the deficit, why the hell not?  Lee McEvilly had been signed on-loan from Cambridge United of the Blue Square Premier so his fitness wasn’t quite ‘tiptop’.  Add to this his less-than-svelte figure and it resulted him being comprehensively knackered by the hour mark.  Unfortunately, my attempts to convince my gullible friend that he had a part-time job as a Santa Claus while at Cambridge United was successful (they are a professional club!).  Sigh!  As a result, he was replaced by Jon Shaw, while Chris Dagnall also replaced Adam Rundle to complete the three-pronged offensive.

The change in formation yielded dividends in the 67th minute when Dale drew level.  Adam Le Fondre played a one-two with Clark Keltie in the box before firing a stunning effort into the roof of the net from an unbelieveably tight angle.  It was no more than Dale deserved, though Buckley again missed the chance to give Dale the lead with less than ten minutes remaining.  A wonderful move saw the youngster running on to a ball just 12 yards out.  With the goal gaping, Buckley, once again, hit the shot wide and with it went Dale’s chances of gaining a victory that they had earned.

I think two points dropped is an accurate assessment here.  Despite the officials’ diabolical performance, the fact remains that Dale did not take their chances, of which there were numerous.  They must do better away to the resurgent Exeter City on Saturday.  They must move ahead of Bury again.  For my Christmas’ sake.

F*ck*n H*ll!!!

Time to talk about the mother of all missed opportunities.  You overcome a divisional rival in extra-time of a first round replay.  You get drawn against a non-league team that is renowned for struggling year after year.  The promise land (the third round) is in your grasp.  Surely, you are only 90 minutes away from securing an away trip to Old Trafford (or Derby County at home).  Nope.  Oh the disappointment of falling at this hurdle.  Does missed opportunity cover it?

I am talking about Rochdale’s trip to the New Lawn, the game against Forest Green Rovers.  Contrary to popular belief, this is not in Nottingham, but instead Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds.  Forest Green Rovers of the Blue Square Conference Premier struggle every year to survive in the division.  This season has been no different with the team languishing towards the bottom of the league.  It was a great surprise (or no surprise depending on your levels of cynicism) when the underdogs took the lead just before the half-hour mark.  Jonathan Smith was on hand to strike from 10 yards at the back post after the ball had come a long way across the Dale area.  B*st*rd!  A much-changed Dale side; with a rest for Stanton, a return from injury for Simon Ramsden and Jon Shaw (off the bench) and the return from a loan at Stanley for Kallum Higginbotham, offered no reply in the rest of the half.

The second half began in a more positive way for Dale as they pressed to peg back the home side.  Le Fondre almost continued his excellent form and had a header cleared off the line.  This narrow escape proved to be crucial for Forest Green as they took heed of the warning and doubled their lead.  Josh Low found some room in the area and flicked the ball over Russell to make the game safe and kill off Rochdale’s chances of a third round ‘glamour tie’, even with 35 minutes of the game still to play.  Sigh!

The disappointment of this result far surpasses many that I will suffer this season.  The only consolation is that Dale got more prize money and gate receipts than Bury, who crashed out in the first round, and they need it more.  It’s not much to hold on to, but it’ll have to do as the winter begins to bite.  We better get promoted now…

Gillingham 1-1 Rochdale

530 miles is a long way on a miserable Tuesday night.  That’s my excuse for not travelling down to Kent to see Rochdale take on Gillingham, despite Dale’s superb recent form.  The Gills had been thrashed 4-0 on the previous Saturday at Bury in a result that had so far summed up their season.  Among the pre-season promotion favourites for many, Gillingham had been hampered by poor away form which limited their league performance to a mid-table position.  Rochdale, on the other hand, are still unbeaten in the league since early October, leaving them vying for promotion places.  A 1-1 draw in this game didn’t change matters for either team all that much.

 

Gillingham started the stronger, as expected, and had an early header cleared off the line.  This merely delayed the inevitable as they were to go ahead on 17 minutes.  Former Rushden and Diamonds striker Simeon Jackson gave Gillingham the lead and immediately missed an excellent chance to double the advantage.  It was looking grim for Rochdale; Gillingham home record suggested that Priestfield Stadium would be an impenetrable fortress and one that Rochdale certainly couldn’t breach.  At half-time, there seemed to be little chance for Rochdale to get on level terms despite a reasonable performance.

 

The loss of Scott Wiseman, who had been so impressive since deputising for Ramsden after his injury, with a hamstring injury further compounded the misery until the 61^st minute.  Adam Le Fondre made it 5 goals from 3 games and drew Rochdale level by curling the ball into the top corner and beyond Royce in the Gillingham net.  Rochdale managed to retain the 1-1 scoreline until the final whistle to deny Gillingham and gain an impressive away point.  Results like this are essential to a promotion campaign as many of Rochdale’s immediate rivals will struggle at this ground, so I have to say I’m pretty happy with the final score.

 

Next up in League Two is a big clash with 2^nd place Darlington.  It will be a tough match at the Darlington Arena, hopefully the result will be better than the 2-1 playoff defeat there in May.  Before that, Rochdale travel to the New Lawn to face Forest Green Rovers in the FA Cup.  Please oh please Dale. Do not become another name on the wall of league scalps for non-leaguers to sneer at!