A Win at last! And in true Dale style, they made things very difficult for themselves in doing so.
A Win at last! And in true Dale style, they made things very difficult for themselves in doing so. They took a two nil lead, allowed the visitors to pull a goal back, and it took another Neil Edwards penalty save to secure all three points.
The doom and gloom that has resided over Spotland over the last few weeks was cleared partially today as Dale overcame a poor Orient side 2-1.
This had been tipped by many people as Barrow's last match in charge at Spotland and defeat would surely have seen this be the case. Barrow had a rethink with regard to tactics, probably through desperation as much as anything, playing 4-4-2 for the first time this season and surprise surprise- it worked!
Dale started quite badly as Orient threatened to score within the first few minutes. One of their forwards managed to lob the ball over Edwards into the open goal. Somehow, Edwards managed to scramble back and push the ball off the line onto the post and it was scrambled away. The guy defies belief. He had no right to save it, and I still don't know how he did it. The man is true class. Thank God we got him signed for another couple of seasons.
This sparked the Dale into action, and in particular Isidro Diaz. He went on a wavy run down the right hand side before going past countless defenders. He managed to put the ball into the middle, where Lancashire managed to flick the ball into the net.
Fifteen minutes later Dale went two nil up when Robbie Painter managed to score his third goal in three matches. This was the follow up goal that many fans have felt that Dale have been lacking this season. Indeed, this is the first time that we have gone two goals in a match since the Barnet match last season.
The rest of the first half continued with Dale seeming pretty comfortable. Orient had a goal rightly disallowed when they scored but the ball was over the dead ball line, before the shot. Carl Griffiths infuriated the home fans and Andy Barlow with a touch of WWF, before telling the Sandy Lane to F*** O***, when the Dale fans pointed out to the referee at his errors. Very nice. A couple of minutes later, in the final minute of the first half, the O's managed to scramble a goal home, from a yard or so out. As Edwards retrieved the ball from the net, City reject Carl Griffiths tried to snatch the ball away. Again, he tried a bit of all in wrestling in his efforts.
The second half came and Dale were up against it. Orient pushed for an equaliser, without really threatening. They had a lot of pressure but didn't really came close. They had a couple of shots which went straight at Neil Edwards.
Oh yeah, Edwards saved another penalty. Orient had an attack and Mark Monington came in from behind bringing him down. I couldn't tell whether it was inside the box or not, but he was sent off for a second bookable offence. He could really have little argument with that. The penalty ensued and Neil Edwards saved the day yet again. In the following celebration, I injured myself. I think I have pulled a muscle in my chest, and I am writing this in absolute agony. No joke. Cheers Neil!
Graham Barrow obviously disagreed with the sending off or penalty decision and had wandered onto the pitch near his dugout, as he expressed his disagreement. There were shades of Graham Taylor in Holland as featured in the Do I Not Like That! program. Barrow knew that that decision could have cost him his job. Barrow was subsequently dismissed from the dugout and forced to sit out he rest of the game from a seat next to the chairman.
Dale managed to hold out with some ease as the home fans rejoiced singing "We only need ten men!" Indeed this was probably the noisiest Sandy Lane this season. It definitely has an effect on the players. It has been said how Dale players' heads drop when they concede a goal. Perhaps this is because the fans go quiet when we concede a goal. Maybe, maybe not.
Obviously one win does not mean that all of the problems have gone away, but what we did have was a performance with pride from the players and more attacking football, especially in the first half. There was a debut for young Mark Williams who has impressed in the reserves. He seemed to do okay with a cracking tackle halfway through the second half. Neil Edwards was man of the match if only for the two saves which must bring him closer to the Wales squad. If he cannot get in on present form, he will never play for them. Andy Barlow made a good return to first team action due to an injury to Dean Stokes. Peakey looked all right as he also returned but did look at times that he needed more first team action. Still, form is temporary, class is permanent as the cliché goes. The pairing of Painter and Lancashire proved itself. Two goals. You can't argue with that
Dale : Edwards, M.Williams, Barlow, Bailey, Monington, Hill, Diaz(Leonard), Painter, Lancashire (Johnson), Bryson, Bailey(Farrell) , Peake.