How To Throw Away Promotion- Step 1

The importance of the home game against Morecambe could not be underestimated.  With many tough games in the coming weeks, a fifth successive win was absolutely essential to maintain form into the games that could decide Rochdale’s fate.  Consequently, the morale-denting draw that followed could have a very detrimental effect on Rochdale’s promotion charge.  I can only hope that the players can lift themselves for the massive game against Brentford on Saturday.

It was the usual story in the first half.  Dale played the ball around the park in a slick fashion but struggled to gain the elusive first goal.  Chris Dagnall came the closest, but the miss typified a struggle of a season for the striker.  Some excellent build-up play got Dagnall into the box in a great position and he struck the ball across the ‘keeper and into the inside of the post.  Of course, the ball bounced out instead of nestling into the back of net.  This was particularly annoying for me; I was right behind the ball all the way and it looked to be in  (sigh).  It had been an annoying fixture all night to be honest.  It was a ‘kid for a quid’ day, which meant that all the under-16s got in for just £1.  It was pandemonium when I arrived with ticket queues all over the place.  I hate myself for becoming so elitist, but I do hate fan days.  While it is great for a Tuesday night game when attendances are lower anyway, I know that the 600 that boosted that attendance will NOT be back on Saturday.  I also cannot stand the influx of kids who have no interest in the game and spend their time running around the stand.  I do not want to become a fan who refuses to accept the casual fans despite the financial gain, but it is difficult not to be irritated by their ambivalence.  Back to the game, 0-0 at half time was disappointing, but it was a matter of time.

It certainly was.  It took just 5 minutes of the second half for the previously-inneffective Will Buckley to produce a moment of magic.  After being found by the excellent Nicky Adams (he’s here for another month!), Will Buckley showed bulletproof composure from the side of the box to curl the ball around Barry Roche’s outstretched hand and into the corner of the net.  It was a sensational finish and recent form suggested that the goal may be enough, but I wouldn’t be relying on that!  There was one hurdle that Dale would almost certainly have to overcome:  Rene Howe.

  Morecambe’s on-loan striker had spent half of the previous season at Rochdale, so it was inevitable that he would score.  He got one chance.  Wayne Curtis held the ball up on the edge of the area and noticed Rene Howe streaking down the right and fed him with the ball.  My heart sank, it was surely going in.  Howe, thankfully, flashed it wide.  Maybe Dale would win after all.

Lee Thorpe did is upmost to scupper this outcome.  Having replaced Dagnall on 72 minutes, he was supposed to be the target man and outlet that Dale had lacked in the match (Dale had played a 4-5-1 with Thompson, Buckley and Dagnall taking it in turns to be the striker with mixed results), but Thorpe had been out for a few months and oozed rustiness.  Thorpe seemed uninterested in (or unable to) chasing the ball down and putting pressure on defenders.  He also was caught offside three times, which for a 33 year old striker with no pace is inexplicable.  That said, he had Dale’s best opportunity.  Adams (my man-of-the-match, beating off stiff competition from Tom Kennedy and Scott Wiseman) was the provider, once again, and left Thorpe just yards from goal with an easy finish.  It was so easy, in fact, that me and the rest of the fans in the TDS stand (WMG in old money) celebrated as soon as we saw the connection from his foot from our distant view.  When Morecambe’s ‘keeper Barry Roche stopped the ball on the line, their fans took obvious joy from our haste, leading to much embarassment.

From then on, Morecambe sieged Dale’s area with an onslaught that continued up until injury time- when disaster struck.  Barry Roche had come up for a corner and caused confusion, though Dale managed to clear.  The ball came straight back though and on to the foot of Michael Twiss, who poked the ball beyond Frank Fielding.  Two points dropped.

The method in which these points were dropped is sure to affect the players.  Going in to games against the likes of Brentford and Darlington (our next two fixtures), this could halt progress and puncture any hopes of a spectacular drive for glory.  On the other hand, it could spur the players on.  Let’s hope for the latter!

Macclesfield- Two Away Wins, Two Away Clean Sheets

To my dismay, I had to miss the away trip to Macclesfield.  Last year, I had the ‘pleasure’ of attending this game: I’ve just got the feeling back in my hands.  Dale went 2-0 down and stormed back to draw 2-2, but the ample Dale support had dwindled by that point; drifted away after sub-zero temperatures and just about every weather under the, err, sun (sleet, hail, rain, snow etc).  With no roof on Moss Rose, it was truly a test of commitment for the Dale fans and I’m glad to say I passed (I was there when Glenn Murray got the injury time equaliser)!  A year on and a uni applicant day at UCLAN prevents me from facing the somewhat better weather in Cheshire on Valentine’s day (who has an applicant day on a Saturday and on Valentine’s day?  Needless to say, I would rather have been at Moss Rose).  Hopefully, Dale would build on their mid-week away victory at nearby Chester and make it two from two on the road.

By all accounts, Dale hammered Macc in the first half.  “Footballed them to death” was Keith Hill’s summary of Dale’s dominance and it was hard to find anyone who disagreed.  That said, it took almost the entire half for Dale to take the lead in controversial fashion.  Chris Dagnall was sent one-on-one with Jon Brain, who brought him down and the referee pointed to the spot.  The collision resembled something from a playground as Dagnall was tripped while facing the other way, leaving him on his back.  My personal (a little bit biased) opinion was that it was a penalty, but what else was I going to say?  Penalty or no penalty, Tom Kennedy stroked home and Dale were ahead and deservedly so.  Despite their dominance, Dale were struggling to put their chances away (same old story) with Wiseman and Dagnall having the best of the opportunities.  That said, the way the game was going suggested that 1-0 may be enough, though that is a dangerous train of thought to follow.

The shift in the second half exemplified why Dale had to keep going and not rest on their laurels.  In League Two, it is quite regular for the team that is behind to become resurgent in the second half, making it imperative that they are finished off as soon as possible.  This is what happened here as Macclesfield tested Frank Fielding on various occasions.  Credit to the on-loan ‘keeper.  He was equal to everything that Macc threw at him, tying up his third clean sheet in four games and all three points for Rochdale.

The victory left Rochdale in a terrific league position; 6 points from the top, 2 games in hand.  With that in mind, it is imperative that Dale beat Morecambe in Tuesday’s rearranged game ahead of Saturday’s crunch match against Brentford.  The next few weeks are important, it’s going to be tight.

A Professional Performance

Keith Hill’s preferred method of describing a dull 2-0 away win against Chester is as a “professional performance”.  Maybe I was spoilt by the hammering of Aldershot, but I was expecting more and the manager’s comment suggests he agreed that both teams were poor.  Oh well, at least this game was on.  One of only eleven games that made it in the Football League!  The country was being battered by blizzards and I don’t think many were expecting this away trip to (almost) Wales to be made tonight.  Luckily, the game made it as the snow was swept off the pitch, leading to snow drifts surrounding the pitch which is always great to see.  Typically for a game as poor as this, fans weren’t treated to any players disappearing into them while making desperate sliding tackles.  It was, on paper anyway, a joyless occasion on this industrial park in a tiny stadium, but it’s the winning that counts and that validated the decision to make the trek.

This match was never going to be a classic, but the omens weren’t good from the start.  A shocking 1,300 people attended the game, 575 of which were Rochdale fans!  The recorded safety message told people to follow the ‘dark tarmac’ outside the ground (I’m sorry, it just isn’t a stadium) when evacuating, despite the darkness and the snow in some places.  Worst of all, the Chester fans had a drum.  There are people who say that musical instruments add atmosphere to a stadium.  These people are idiots.  The monotonous thudding of the drum radiated throughout the silence of the ground; adding nothing to the non-existent atmosphere, but annoyance.  This was echoed by the Dale fans, who told the Chester fans exactly where they could stick their drum.  Rightly so.

The match wasn’t much better.  The teams seemed to have switched roles as Dale were camped in the Chester half and playing like the home team, while Chester were unable to break the shackles that Dale placed on them.  Unfortunately, Rochdale had left any and all penetration on the bus and were passing Chester to death while making no inroads.  They had one clear opportunity all half, Adam Rundle (a substitute for the injured Nicky Adams) found himself free at the back post and fired a shot across goal that was saved by the ‘keeper, Danby.  Chester somehow managed to have the best chances of the half.  They had a ‘cull’ of their squad on transfer deadline day as six members of their side left, making me wonder; just how bad were the players that left?  They seemed to have no game plan and could barely string more than two passes together, but they did hit the bar near the end of the half.  Former Liverpool trainee, Richie Partridge hit the ball into the box with more hope than expectancy and the ball struck the bar.  It would have been a total fluke, but maybe that is what the game needed to break the deadlock.  Even closer to the break, Ryan Lowe was sent through one-on-one with the cold and lonely Frank Fielding though he somehow fired the ball wide.  The score was 0-0 at the break and it felt like it too.

It was going to take a miracle for the deadlock to be broken and this came on 55 minutes in the form of Lee McEvilly.  Evil replaced Chris Dagnall, who had found no space up front, and made an immediate impact.  McEvilly had developed a habit of scoring when coming off the bench, but this time he turned provider.  McEvilly backheeled a freekick that was played into the box, finding Joe Thompson free only 10 yards out.  The youngster, drawing confidence from his previous performance, took a touch before cooly placing the ball into the corner and beyond Danby.  1-0 and the points were pretty much in the bag.  Not content with his day’s work, McEvilly then doubled Rochdale’s advantage 10 minutes later, cooly playing the ball in off the post from just beyond the penalty spot.  2-0 was definitely enough to secure a second consecutive victory on the road and McEvilly celebrated this fact by carrying out my favourite celebration of the season.  Evil ran around the net to seek out a thick pile of snow before hurling himself majestically into the white powder!  It was a terrific way of marking a terrific performance which was almost improved by an additional goal for McEvilly.  By this point, Rochdale were merely toying with Chester and a period of sustained possession resulted in Rundle finding space out wide.  This culminated in a cross to McEvilly, who struck the bar with a shot from just inside the area.  This was one of the last actions of the game and the whistle blew shortly after, allowing me to scurry away and inject some feeling into my toes.

While it wasn’t a textbook display, the win leaves Rochdale in an excellent position.  In 4th place, a game in hand on some rivals and in decent form; an assault on an automatic promotion spot is not as unthinkable as it once was, could it actually happen?

A Shot In The Arm

Sometimes everything just clicks.  Rochdale’s first half performance, away to Aldershot, was a prime example.  The Dale were 4-0 ahead at half-time and well on the way to three points.  This was a remarkable scoreline as Aldershot had impressed in their first season back in the Football League, especially at home.  Recently, their form had dipped, though that gave no indication of the first half demolition-job that they endured.  Dale were simply rampant.

 

The first goal arrived on 17 minutes through the unlikely source of Joe Thompson’s head.  Nicky Adam’s corner found the box (a surprise in itself, having seen most Rochdale corners sail harmlessly out for a goal kick this season) and Thompson rose highest to plant the ball into the corner of the net.  The winger, who was playing upfront today, had previously scored two goals in his career; a header against Darlington at home last season and a strike in the 6-1 destruction of Chester earlier this season (the fact that I can remember both says quite a bit about his scoring exploits).  He soon doubled his money for the day and the career.  It took just another 6 minutes for Thompson to notch his brace, capitalising on a poor mistake from Anthony Charles by pouncing when the defender let the ball roll underneath his foot.  All that was left for Thompson to do was to prod the ball beyond the powerless Jaimez-Ruiz in the Shots’ goal.  2-0 with less than half an hour played.  The strange became the preposterous on 34 minutes when Thompson completed an incredible and, somewhat, unlikely hat-trick.  Jeff Stelling commented that ‘he knew a Rochdale fan who couldn’t understand Hill’s faith in Thompson’ on Soccer Saturday.  I think I’m accurate in saying that we all agreed wholeheartedly (I certainly didn’t champion his corner all the time), but this performance was changing our opinions or, at least, mine.  Once again, Nicky Adams provided the cross (here’s hoping his loan is extended) and Thompson headed beyond the keeper to virtually assure that the points would be heading back to Spotland with the team bus.  3-0 up, no yet half-time; surely Dale would ease off until half-time, rather than prolonging the torture.  They twisted the knife on the stroke of half-time.  Thompson decided it was time for someone else to get in on the act and Ciaran Toner was only too happy to oblige (three goals was amazing, four goals would probably rupture the space-time continuum).  Another corner made it into the box (two in a day!)  but was flapped away by the petite Jaimez-Ruiz, landing at the feet of Toner.  With plenty of composure, the midfielder smashed the ball in from 25 yards to ensure that Aldershot were dead and buried in this match.

 

The second half, inevitably, couldn’t quite live up to the first half.  It was predictable that Aldershot would come back into the game after some, probably, very strong words from their manager, Gary Waddock.  That said, it took half time substitute Marvin Morgan until the 75^th minute to eradicate another clean sheet.  Morgan had been a nuisance for the Dale defence at Spotland and he continued in the same vein here by converting Kirk Hudson’s cross.  The 80^th minute then saw them pull another back in controversial fashion.  Nathan Stanton was dismissed for a trip on Morgan that was adjudged to be in the box.  Not only was it way outside the area, I’m not even sure if Stanton was the last man (it was the only way he could be sent off for this kind of foul).  It’s likely that this card will be rescinded, but it is not really what should be happening when you are 4-1 up and cruising.  Scott Davies- a player who had entertained at Spotland by being spectacularly awful- converted the penalty, making the scoreline a respectable 4-2.

Despite easing off in the second half, this was a crushing victory for Dale and the scoreline flattered Aldershot.  This will long go down as Joey Thompson’s finest hour and may be the only time he gets his hands on a match ball.  Maybe.  That is unless he can repeat the trick on Tuesday against Chester City.  I’d be amazed.

Beating The Magpies Black And Blue

On the night when Manchester United made it 11 consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League, Rochdale clinched their third…of the season!  The recent record against Notts County was favourable and there was little threat of change in this match as ‘the oldest professional club in the world’ failed to compete with a rampant Dale.

The closest County came to opening their account for the night was in the opening minutes.  Time seemed to slow as the ball rolled agonisingly across the 6 yard box until it was harmlessly cleared.  That deflected strike was the only time that County threatened Frank Fielding’s previously under-siege goal (I repeat; three clean sheets!).  From then on, Dale ran the show, strolling to a 3-0 victory.  Despite Lillis, County’s keeper, spending most of the half repelling Dale’s relentless attacks, he could not hold out until the interval.  Poor defending characterised County’s display and their inability to clear cost them dear.  McParland, County’s boss, must have been livid as most of his defence had a go at clearing the ball and all failed.  This let in Buckley, who scrambled the ball home with ease.  This was the perfect time to score (on the stroke of half-time) and seemed to deflate an already struggling team.

The second period started in pretty much the same vein, even Dale couldn’t lose this one.  County did scare Dale with a penalty appeal, though Stanton was adjudged to have chested the ball.  To be honest, I thought it hit him on the chest, but with fog about all evening, it could have hit him anywhere!  As the half went on Dale made substitutions that further turned the screw on the beleaguered County.  Rundle came on for a clearly-knackered Adams (he’s not played a lot, but was impressive on his home debut) and Buckley was withdrawn (less time for the scouts to eye him up, roll on Monday!) and replaced by Adam Le Fondre.  Keith Hill (in a post-match interview) thought that Alfie was unlucky to be left out of the side and he clearly agreed.  From the moment his awful lime green boots (what was wrong with black or white?  It is League Two after all.) graced the Spotland turf on the 63rd minute, Le Fondre played with a fire and purpose that deemed him unplayable.  It was a majestic performance.  He seemed quicker (though I would be too with them boots, anything to make my feet a blur), stronger and more determined than I have ever seen him before.  His impact was instantaneous though gained a reward on 72 minutes.  Alfie picked up the ball out wide and proceeded to hare down the line, outstripping a couple of defenders on sheer pace, before crossing a ball into the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ (Lawro; eat your heart out!).  In the centre, Dagnall was on hand to beat two defenders to the ball and poke it home.  On an individual level, this was an important goal as no-one needed a goal like Daggers did.  His confidence will hopefully now return.  All that was left in the contest was for Le Fondre to claim what was rightly his: a goal.  With the full-time whistle dawning, Le Fondre once again set off down the right-wing, though this time he charged into the box and fired a shot from a narrow angle.  This caught Lillis unawares and he was unable to prevent the ball from going underneath him, instead deflecting it into the net.  Moments later, the final whistle did arrive and Dale had completed a devastating 3-0 win.

With the last couple of games, Dale have been unlucky, but here luck was no bearing on the result.  The determination of the players was the most notable improvement on recent performances in both defence and attack.  Going forwards there was the desire to be ruthless and rack up some goals to improve the goal difference.  Defensively was where the real improvement lay.  For the first time since last season, Dale seemed to possess leadership at the back and appeared more vocal thus contributing to a tighter defensive unit.  In particular, Gary Jones seemed to be back to his best as captain by berating the defence in particular, in order to keep concentration on the task ahead.  This was a feature of Jonah last season and I believe it has been sorely missed.  If he keeps that up, we’re going up.

This match was also notable for another milestone concerning Jamie Forrester, Notts County striker.  For his recent appearances for Lincoln and County, I can scarcely recall him not scoring against Rochdale.  Needless to say, I was delighted when he was subbed on 67 minutes; I was expecting him to be wheeling away instead of trudging away.  When it came down to it, he had absolutely no chance tonight and credit must go to the Dale back four and Frank Fielding in goal.  Well done lads, keep it up!

This morale-boosting win sends Rochdale to Aldershot on Saturday with confidence in tow.  Though the Shots have a cracking home record, they have been poor recently and Rochdale should put them to the sword.  Hopefully, this match will be the springboard that allows them to do that.  Up the Dale!