I am usually the type of fan who treats a defeat as the end of the world (or, at least, the end of the week), so it was a pleasure to have nothing to play for on the last day of the season. This was the first in a series of three possible games with Gillingham as they were the likely opponents for Dale in the play-offs. To be honest, I can’t really believe it is the end of the season and I can see a football-less summer looming on the horizon. It is games like this that will get me through.
Rochdale’s boss, Keith Hill, had been saying all week that he would rest players and he lived up to his word. Tom Newey, on-loan from Grimsby, fulfilled his role for the first (and probably last) time as cover for Kennedy at left-back. Jon Shaw was handed a start on his return from a loan spell at Crawley, while Lee McEvilly also returned from Barrow to take a place on the bench. Further changes saw the ‘Jones brothers’ fill the central midfield roles; Gary returning from injury to play at Spotland for the first time since February and Mark reconciled his rift with Hill to start. The big news was that, for the second time this season (after Bradford at home), David Flitcroft, Hilly’s assistant, was also named amongst the substitutes. However, this time the gaffer had promised an appearance that would roll back the years. As with the other promises, Hill would bring Flicker into the fold, but more on that later. Hill also believed that Gillingham would rest players ahead of the games on Thursday and Sunday, but, as far as I could tell, only top-scorer Simeon Jackson was rested. Maybe the Gills were showing more of their hand than Rochdale, who knows?
As for the match, Gillingham thought they had taken the lead early on when Albert Jarrett was found unmarked at the back post to tap home. To the Gillingham fans’ disgust and the Rochdale fans’ amusement, the whistle was blown early on to ensure that the deadlock wasn’t broken. It made little difference as Gillingham were ahead shortly after. Curtis Weston himself with a significant amount of space ahead of him when he received the ball on the halfway-line. With Gillingham catching Dale on the break, Weston showed pace that has obviously deserted him on my Football Manager game! The former Leeds man swept around Rory McArdle before seemingly being brought down by Newey. What happened after that is unclear, with the result being the whole defence on the seat of their pants while Weston poked the ball into the corner. In response, Dale applied pressure without really testing Alan Julian in the Gills’ goal. The closest they came were two cracking Buckley crosses that flashed across the six-yard box with no-one to tap home. Apart from that and an excellent clearance from under his own bar by Nutter, Rochdale rarely showed the necessary menace to score. In the end, it was quite comfortable for Gillingham, who strolled out 1-0 winners. I doubt the games at Spotland on Thursday and the Priestfield next Sunday will be quite so comfortable.
The second half did have one redeeming feature that made the game memorable: Dave Flitcroft. From the start of the half, it was clear he was coming on as he warmed up from the word go to a standing ovation and incessant chanting. His name reverberated around the stadium, probably bewildering the away fans and he was introduced to replace the ineffectual Joe Thompson. To my surprise, Fitcroft even took up Thompson’s right-wing berth to become a non-flying winger, a position I thought would be a tad too ambitious ay his age. I needn’t have bothered worrying. Flitcroft offered a passing masterclass with every touch being cheered by the home fans. He almost scored as well, a 25-yard strike flashing just past the post
On the defensive side of things, he was just as good, if not better. First of all, it must be said that he was booked for scything down a Gillingham player who had a free run at the defence. It was a bad tackle, but I thought the referee should have employed ‘common sense’ (Pierluigi Collina, no less, stresses the importance of this in a referee) as it is possibly going to be his final professional appearance. The ramifications of this continued as Flitcroft was involved in heated discussion with Gillingham’s number four. It didn’t kick-off to a proper brawl, but you can’t have it all, can you? Nonetheless, the Gillingham player would pay. A couple of minutes later, a 50:50 was contested between the two, which Flitcroft won while simultaneously flooring his rival with a crunching tackle. Needless to say, Flicker’s total commitment left him down seeking treatment. Later, a similar situation occurred after a Flitcroft dribble (it actually happened, I was there!), but, this time, Flicker easily won the ball as his opponent bottled it. The punishment was not over as Flitcroft outdid himself with his final challenge. Gillingham’s number four found himself in a great position just on the edge of Dale area. Making the most of his space, he decided to turn away, only to be met by the ‘Wall of Flitcroft’, who used his comparatively large girth to bounce his opponent to the floor and sent the home fans into delirious cheers (and rolling around with laughter, in my case). When he was named man-of-the-match, it just about crowned off what was an exceptional cameo that transformed a meaningless game into a piece of Dale folklore.
To add to the party atmosphere, news came through that Exeter had defeated Rotherham, which meant that Bury (who had won via a 95th minute penalty) were to miss out on automatic promotion by a single goal. It’s a shame. My heart bleeds for them, it really does. Congratulations to Will Buckley, whose consolation in the dying moments of March’s defeat at Gigg Lane probably cost Bury a guaranteed spot in League One. Now they are in the play-offs and only a fool would bet against a Rochdale vs Bury final at Wembley. Personally, I hope not as they seem to have the ‘Indian sign’ over Dale, but that has to change at some stage. Firstly though, Gillingham must be defeated and I think Dale have a reasonable chance, but we’ll have to wait and see. One thing is for sure though, I cannot wait for Thursday!
