| It seems that reports of the death of our season have been greatly exaggerated following an outstanding defensive display up at Hartlepool this evening. There were several fantastic performances on the Dale team this evening, with Kevin Townson being amongst the pick of them. It was a display filled with the kind of team spirit that has been lacking in the last four matches, and it seems that we are on the right track again. True, one swallow does not make a summer, but there were so many positives to come out of this match, that even the late equaliser for Hartlepool failed to spoil a good night to be a Dale fan.
No Dale players let themselves down this evening. Neil Edwards returned to the scene of his best game for Dale, and had his finest performance of the season, making several great reflex saves, including one Banks-esque in the first half. Michael Oliver came in to central midfield and had his best display of the year. Whether this was because he was in his preferred central role, or because he was playing against his former rivals Hartlepool is unknown, but on this display, he could yet figure greatly in the upcoming weeks. The defence, boosted by the return of Wayne Evans, was solid and coped with almost everything that was thrown at them.
All this despite having another atrocious referee who completely lost control of the match in the first half, and practically showed off his incompetence in the second half. It will sound like sour grapes, but he was dreadful and out of his depth.
But the signs are very encouraging after a run of four consecutive defeats, and hopefully, this will bring renewed hope and confidence into the Dale squad that has been so lacking in both qualities in recent weeks.
Those amongst the 200+ Dale fans arriving at the ground were greeted with surprise in the team selection for this game, with four changes from Saturday's defeat at Southend. In came Wayne Evans after missing the Southend game with injury, in came Michael Oliver for a rare start in central midfield, in came Dean Howells on the left hand side, and in came Kevin Townson up front alongside Graham Lancashire who had recovered from Saturday's knock in time to play.
The game kicked off with Dale kicking away from the Dale supporters housed in the Ice Rink end on a bobbly pitch. The central parts of the pitch were in a pretty bad state, but there was plenty of grass out wide. Thankfully, it was nowhere near as bad as the grass car park behind the Ice Rink end which seems to be muddy 12 months round.
In the early stages, it was clear why Hartlepool had done so well in recent times. They played decent football, with all players committed to winning tackles, and plenty of movement as well. Although not the tallest of teams, they seemed very accomplished at winning balls in the air. They looked capable of causing a great deal of damage if we had allowed them too, with one or two very early panics. There was a couple of moments of desperate defending from Dale, when hoofing it as far upfield as possible was the only option.
It seemed like Dale were beginning to weather the storm, with Townson up front providing a welcome break from defensive duties, however, what was the turning point of the game came after 14 minutes. It appeared that Hartlepool had taken the lead when Adam Boyd headed down for Pools, but Neil Edwards pulled off one of his miraculous saves, by getting down and scooping the ball off the line to keep Dale in it. It was a most fantastic save, and would have silenced all of the Edwards doubters.
Four minutes later, and the travelling support had a goal to celebrate. A corner came in from the right hand side as we looked at it, and it was headed out of the box. The ball was headed out to Gary Jones who was some five yards outside the box, who turned and let loose, sending the ball into the far corner of the net in what had goal of the season written all over it. However, the referee decided that it was time to get involved in matters. He disallowed the goal for an incident which took place some several seconds earlier, as the corner was first delivered. There appeared to be a clash between a Dale player and a Pools player, with both falling to the ground. It happened at or around the penalty spot, was nowhere near the movement of the ball and was within full view of the referee as the corner was delivered. If he felt that it was a foul, then why not blow earlier? If he genuinely thought it was a foul and was playing advantage, then Hartlepool had full advantage as the ball went straight to one of their players who headed it out. Had Jones not scored, he would not have brought play back for the free kick. Perhaps he didn't want to aggravate the home supporters?
Disappointing as this was, it seemed to give the Dale players renewed optimism and the belief that they could score (assuming the ref didn't disallow it). However, the next few minutes started to get very scrappy indeed, and the referee did nothing to help matters by completely losing control of the game, booking six players in a twelve minute spell. The incidents began when Hartlepool leading scorer Henderson put his big foot into Wayne Evans after the ball had been played in a very dangerous challenge. Bayliss was promptly booked for pushing Henderson in retaliation for the challenge.
Two minutes later, Gary Jones and Graham Lancashire were both shown yellow cards for the same offence, as tackles piled in front of the two dugout. It was very difficult to make out what was going on as challenges from two very committed teams rained in. It seemed somewhat unfair as a result to book two Dale players for the same challenge, which didn't look worthy of a yellow anyway. We then had two further bookings before the end of the first half.
With just three minutes left before half time, Dale took the lead for the first time in a match since January, when loan signing Dean Howells got in a super cross from the left hand side to Graham Lancashire who was situated at the near post to head home for Dale.
It was to be expected that the second half would consist of a defensive display from Dale, and given the recent run of form, the question on everyone's lips was "Could we hold out for the full match?". Well a great deal of the second half was spent looking at watches, espicially given that Hartlepool boss Chris Turner made a double substitution at half time to bolster the Pools attack.
We had the early storm from the home side, that we all expected, but the Dale defence coped pretty well with it, even if they had to resort to the odd desperate clearance. When things got too much for them, they found Edwards in vintage form behind them.
It looked like Hartlepool had grabbed themselves an equaliser fifteen minutes into the second half, when Sam Shilton collected the ball after Dave Flitcroft was caught in possession. He went on a run, before letting fly from the same sort of position that Gary Jones had done in the first half. Thankfully, it went just wide of the post, though Taffy looked to have just had it covered.
Again, Dale looked to have weathered the storm, and were looking pretty dangerous on the break. Debutant Townson was very impressive, with pace, movement and control and he certainly looked ready for the first team. Perhaps Parkin has been saving him to unleash him on the final few weeks of the season? Well he wouldn't have played had it not been for a flu bug to Ellis and Plattini still not recovered from his calf injury, but Townson looked to be more of a one for the present rather than just a prospect. His pace terrified the experience Aspin, and Aspin was perhaps relieved to be brought off for Ian Clark who was seemingly brought on for his traditional goal against Dale. This saw Hartlepool switch to a 4-4-2 system for the final few minutes, but it didn't appear to be any more effective.
With time ticking out, it looked like United had snatched it at the death, when Henderson fired home from inside the box, but Edwards pulled off yet another magnificent save to tip it over the bar for a corner. Unfortunately for Dale, they saw Tony Lormor pop up at the back post to hand Hartlepool a share of the spoils.
There was enough time left for the officials to spoil things. Kevin Townson almost brought Dale a late winner, but the linesman incorrectly gave offside, when it was nowhere near. Then a deflected Dale shot was given as a goal kick instead of the corner it should have been, as indicated by the Neil Kinnock lookalike linesman who seemed convinced of the corner.
Michael Oliver, who had his best game in Dale colours tonight by a long, long way, was another player who almost snatched it late on. He had a low drive which had the ex Blackburn keeper Williams beaten, but it edged just inches wide of the post.
The last chance of the game came courtesy of yet another refereeing cock up. Lee Todd was adjudged to have made a back pass to Neil Edwards on the edge of the box. It was clear to everyone inside the ground that it came off Lee Todd's knee, which is considered acceptable. Not to the ref who gave the back pass. Todd was furious with the decision as was the Dale players and officials in the dugout. Todd implored the referee to consult his linesman but he refused. Todd lost it and didn't cool down despite being given a yellow, and the ref really had no option but to issue another yellow as the protests continued. Fortunately for Dale, the free kick proved to be pretty harmless, and the final whistle soon sounded, to applause from the Dale support, and questions surrounding the parentage and sexual habits of the referee.
The game could have gone either way, but the fact that we came out of the game with a point, shows that Steve Parkin has managed to restore a bit of belief into the Dale team. The return of the team spirit was a welcome return, and everything looks rosey again for the future. The late equaliser for Hartlepool was a kick in the teeth, but the great performance should see more confidence returning to the Dale squad.
The sending off of Lee Todd was perhaps made all the worse by the referee admitting after the match that after consulting with his linesman after the game, that Todd was in the right and that the ref had made a mistake. Why he couldn't consult his linesman at the time (perhaps because he had already ignored them on at least three previous occasions?), and why the hell wasn't the linesman's flag not up to indicate that it had come off Todd's knee?
All in all, this was a good point at one of our promotion rivals, and despite the fact that we came so close to winning (and it should have been 2-1 anyway!!!!!!!!), we must be pleased and impressed, that things are changing again for the better. Things are heading in the right direction again. There are good times lying ahead!
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.