The three points gained at a three sided Shay were very welcome indeed, but the manner of the victory left a lot to be desired. Dale were dragged down to the level of Halifax and almost saw the home side snatch a late equaliser. This win now leaves in sixth place, after back to back wins against Scunny and the Shaymen.
There were over a thousand who made the journey to the Shay from Rochdale, including around fifty who walked! They were very vocal in the opening stages, when at times it looked all too easy. Steve Parkin opted to go with the same side that started on Saturday.
The start of the match went exactly according to plan, and Dale looked a class above the Yorkshire side. It didn't take long for Dale to make the difference in class show. After only six minutes of the match, Clive Platt followed up his goal on Saturday to take the lead. The goal came about when Clive Platt headed a Mickey Oliver cross past Town keeper Tony Parks with ease, to send the travelling army wild.
However, things seemed to change pretty quickly. Whether it was complacency or whether the players were feeling the effects of their third game in seven days, but Dale allowed Halifax to get back into the match. Halifax's answer to get back into the match, was to hoof it. Perhaps not as bad as John Beck's Lincoln, but it was long ball all the same. The Dale defence failed to really get a grip of this, and there were a couple of minor scares at the back.
Dale seemed content to put up with this, but they never really looked comfortable with it, and our worst fears were realised after around twenty minutes, when the facially challenged Bradshaw volleyed home from the edge of the box to silence the Dale fans.
This goal at least showed that Dale had not won the game already and that there was plenty of work still to be done. It wasn't easy, but for the last 15-20 minutes of the first half, Dale regained their superiority. They weren't helped by the referee who seemed content to allow Clive Platt to be continually manhandled by the Town defender Stoneman. But it wasn't just Plattini who suffered. Keith Hill was having his shirt pulled big style by one defender, and had the free kick given against him, when if anything, it should have been our penalty!
The second half began, and Dale once again allowed the home side to come at us. For a while, Dale were just not clicking, and the home side looked the more likely team to score than we did. Fortunately, Halifax proved themselves to be dreadful at times, with many passes going straight out of play.
However, Dale managed to regain the lead, with what was really their only shot on target in the whole of the second half. But what a shot! Gary Jones rifled the ball in from outside of the Halifax area, giving the Town keeper Parks no chance at all, with the ball rebounding off the post on the way in.
This should have been the cue for Dale to kill the game off, just like they did against Scunny on Saturday. However, it didn't go according to plan! The last few minutes seemed to drag on for ages, and there were plenty of scares. Great saves by Edwards, last ditch tackles by Evans and Hill on more than one occasion. Most Dale fans were worrying towards the end, and it's not often you hear Dale fans whistling for the final whisle. Some of the Halifax fans had already given up the ghost, with some walking out with 20-25 minutes still to go!
The final whistle inevitably came, much to the delight of the Dale fans behind the goal. The result was far more important that the style of victory, and this win puts up right up there with the leading pack. Dale have not had the easiest of starts to this season, but we have come out with 7 points out of 12, which most supporters would have taken at the start of the season.
Dale man of the match: Gary Jones. Jones again added that presence that was missing from the Dale midfield in the opening two matches. Not only that, but he worked himself into the ground, and followed it up with a super goal to win the match for Dale. The competition for place in the Dale midfield has really got the lot of them working their socks off. With Jones missing the first two games through suspension, he has had twice as hard as the rest of them to win his place back.
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