Dale returned from Hillsborough with nothing to show from their efforts as they crashed to a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
Despite a morning of showers in Rochdale, it ended up being a lovely afternoon in the first of our two visits to the Steel City this season, and around a thousand Daleys headed that way for the opening day of the 2011-12 season and new manager Steve Eyre's first game in charge.
With two new kits out for the coming season, it was perhaps to be expected that we ran out in a third kit that we used last season with our new co-op sponsor on it, and given opposition kit colours in League One, chances are it will be used more often than the very nice looking new away kit this season, unless new boss Steve Eyre has some Hill style superstitions about kit colours.
The first disappointment was that pre-match hopes were dashed that Chris O'Grady would be fit to start against the side who tried to buy him a couple of weeks back, and he was forced to settle for a place on the five man substitutes bench. So with that, Steve Eyre's first ever Dale side consisted of five debutants in a game classed by Gabby Logan on the telly as a Yorkshire derby.
The opening stages of the game belonged to Dale, and it looked like we might just be on the end of a surprise result at Hillsborough. We were passing the ball around well, and certainly we weren't there to make up the numbers.
Indeed, the first chance of the game went our way when some good passing put Nicky Adams in with a chance but his effort was deflected wide. Unfortunately, that proved to be our last and only effort in the first half.
On around the fifteen minute mark, we witnessed something akin to a move involving Messi, Ronaldo, Zico, Maradono and half a dozen other players who's surname end's with a vowel as Wednesday took the lead. Well not really. It was like something straight out of the 80's that John Beck would have been proud of.
The tactic was obvious. Long throw to the biggest bloke in the stadium, and let him head it in. We knew the plan, but dealing with it was a different matter, and it was all just a little bit too easy for the former Grimsby man Rob Jones to head home from smack bang in the middle of the goal. Football snobbery? Of course. Would I have turned my nose up at us scoring a goal this way? Never.
That goal hit us hard. It settled the home side down almost immediately, and you sensed that our tactic of trying nick a goal had been ripped up in the process. Wednesday started to look very comfortable, and whilst they didn't look like adding to their lead, notably thanks to the work of Marcus Holness, but from 1-0 onwards, we didn't look scoring in a million years.
Half time came, I'll be honest, I was feeling a bit gloomy. The initial burst had been blown away by the Wednesday goal, and since that point, we'd seemed pretty toothless, and it all seemed too easy and predictable for the home side. JLAA was unable to lead the line in a way that we'd expect O'Grady to do so, and despite that, we continued to play in a way as if he could do that. It was far too easy for Robert Pershing Jones in the Wednesday defence as we pumped long balls forward that were wasted.
However, Eyre's words at half time and subsequent reshuffle certainly did the trick, as we came out rejuvenated and looking more of a threat than we had been at any stage during the game. Akpa Akpro was pushed more out wide, and in the first few minutes he did what he is so good out, cutting in from the touchline and beating defenders for pace, and he was significantly more of a threat than he had been in the first half.
Our tails were certainly up and our first effort of the second half came from that man JLAA. He forced a good save from Nicky Weaver who could only push it out for a corner. It was clear right now that Wednesday were looking a little brittle when we ran at them, and that comfortability certainly went missing at half time.
Our best effort of the game came courtesy of debutant Ashley Grimes. Overall, Grimes had a quiet game, but he showed the potential he has when from seemingly nothing at all, he curled a ball goalwards from outside of the box, only to see the woodwork come to Wednesday's rescue.
Unfortunately for us, that proved to be the last great chance of the game to get back on to level terms, and Wednesday raised their game slightly following this scare. They came close to doubling their lead, as Wednesday had their own chance to hit the woodwork, when a header came very close, but with about twenty minutes to go they got their second goal and it was an absolute beauty.
A corner came over, and Dale arguably did everything right with their clearance, but that clearance was volleyed home in spectacular fashion by David Prutton with what was by far the best goal scored against all season long so far. Probably. It was the perfect finish, and whilst cynics might have claimed that it could have gone anywhere, it didn't and judging it that way was probably down to seeing some of the "legends" we've grown up with over the years.
That second goal pretty much killed the game off, and O'Grady's introduction to a chorus of boos from the scorned home faithful was all a little too late. We might have huffed and puffed, and there was a brief hint of excitement with a penalty box scramble saw Trotman in a good position, albeit an offside one, but that was about it and Wednesday saw the game through to secure the opening day points.
There were disappointing aspects to the performance and we could have few complaints about the result. We know it's early days for Steve Eyre, and as we have seen in the past 18 months, any change of formation does not click in on the very first day, and it might take a few days before the players get used to what is being asked of them, and allowing us to get the most out of them.
Obviously, the return of Chris O'Grady will make a massive different to how we play, but even still, there were plus points we could look to from this game, such as the tactical change at half time and there were cameos from some of the new players to suggest what we can look forward to over the next season. Work to be done, but nothing to suggest that we won't get to where we want to be.
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