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| Despite defeat to Halifax, Sam Beckwith has been a standout at the back. |
October brought with it not only the copper hues and
falling leaves of autumn, but also a first jolt in Rochdale’s relentless
charge. The freight train that thundered so irresistibly through Carlisle at
September’s end seemed, for the first time, to meet the hoardings. A second
league defeat of the campaign, and the first at Spotland, reminded us that even
in seasons of promise the track will not always run smooth.
Halifax were the culprits, edging a 2–1 win on an evening
where McNulty’s three changes to his starting XI never quite clicked. In
hindsight, the omission of Devante Rodney especially gave Dale a different
look. Aidy Barlow and Conor McBride buzzed but were too alike in their
movements, leaving Halifax’s back line largely untroubled through the first half.
The visitors were well-drilled, compact and ruthless when chances came: two
looks at goal, two goals scored, Josh Hmami with both. Suddenly, Dale were staring
at a mountain.
Only from the 60th minute, with a flurry of
substitutions and Rodney restored to the front line, did the familiar Dale
intensity return. Rodney halved the deficit with a lovely low curled finish
and, from there, wave after wave of pressure finally put Halifax on the back
foot. The visitors, previously so composed, began to unravel, and chances
flowed. Mani Dieseruvwe saw one ruled out for handball, Tarryn Allarakhia, Ryan East and Kyron Gordon all
went agonisingly close, and the equaliser seemed inevitable. Somehow, it
never came. Dale finished with the volume and purpose of Carlisle away, but
without the freight-train momentum from that start that had defined that
performance.
Were the changes costly, and do they appear a mistake
in retrospect? Undoubtedly. But even with a few players below their usual
standards, Dale still did enough to merit at least a point − that would have
been the fair reflection. A larger-than-usual Spotland crowd may have left
frustrated, but they were served a fiercely competitive game and, in the final
half-hour at least, a proper Dale onslaught. A few of us half expected this
defeat pre-match anyway. Halifax always seem to ‘turn up’ at Spotland. I think
I’ve seen Rochdale win more times at The Shay than I have on home turf.
The Halifax setback raised questions about balance in
attack, and the response from the club was swift. Within days, Dale had
bolstered their forward options with the arrival of free-agent Tyler Smith.
With a solid EFL pedigree, a family link through brother Kyron Gordon, and past
experience both at Rochdale on loan and under coach Jason Taylor at Barrow,
Smith brought both quality and familiarity.
He didn’t have long to settle before being thrust
straight into the thick of things either. His debut as a substitute came in the
most testing of environments: away at Forest Green Rovers, league leaders at
kick-off and a side many expect to be in the promotion shake-up come spring.
For Rochdale, it was the perfect opportunity to respond to the Halifax result
with authority, and to prove once more that their ambitions are not simply to
compete with the division’s best, but to outplay them.
And respond they did. Rochdale ultimately secured a
vital and hard-fought victory on a tense afternoon that saw them replace their
hosts at the summit of the table. The breakthrough came at the perfect moment −
on the stroke of half-time − when Gordon powered home a commanding header from
a corner, capping off a well-contested first half.
Forest Green Rovers threatened early, with Christian Doidge
and Kairo Mitchell combining to force a fine save from Ollie Whatmuff inside
the opening minute. That save ultimately proved pivotal. Dale responded with
chances of their own, as both Dieseruvwe and Rodney went close. While Rovers
were sharper in transition, Dale's more patient build-up play proved equally
effective, with both sides enjoying periods of pressure.
The second half saw a shift in tempo, with Dale
content to manage the game rather than chase a second. They defended with
discipline, showed game management savvy, and embraced the darker arts when
needed to frustrate the hosts − a tactic that contributed to a hefty 11 minutes
of added time. Despite that, Rochdale remained largely untroubled, and debutant
Tyler Smith twice had golden opportunities to put the game beyond doubt late
on. Had he converted, it would have marked a special moment with both brothers
on the scoresheet.
Still, the result was never in doubt, and the final
whistle confirmed a statement win. Impressively, Dale had now beaten each of
the three sides directly below them in the standings − away from home and
without conceding a goal − a run that underlined their growing credentials as
serious promotion contenders.
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| Kyron Gordon grabbed the all-important winner against FGR. |
And while he didn’t score in this particular game,
Mani Dieseruvwe’s unerring eye for goal was recognised with the National
League’s Player of the Month award for September − his second in succession.
Four goals in three games tell part of the story −
braces against both Braintree Town and Carlisle United sealing crucial 2–0
victories − but it was the manner of his performances that truly set him apart.
Dieseruvwe led the line with an authority that made Rochdale’s attack feel
inevitable; defenders bounced off him, teammates thrived around him, and
chances seemed to find him by gravitational pull.
That he followed up August’s accolade with another is
testament not only to his consistency but also to the system McNulty has built
to get the best from him. And in doing so, Rochdale make a little slice of
history: the first club to claim three of the season’s first four monthly
awards, after McNulty’s own Manager of the Month nod in August.
But while Dieseruvwe is a new arrival and a symbol of
McNulty’s willingness to evolve, there’s an equal emphasis on stability running
through this squad. That balance between renewal and continuity was neatly
captured as Ryan East and Harvey Gilmour each marked their 100th appearances
for the club − milestones that speak to the steady core underpinning Rochdale’s
progress.
That sense of continuity offered reassurance amid the
constant churn of the season − and it wasn’t long before the focus shifted
again. A brief diversion from league duty as Rochdale welcomed fellow National
League contenders York City to Spotland in the final qualifying round of the FA
Cup.
By this point, it was becoming clear that injuries
weren’t the only threat to McNulty’s carefully balanced squad − international
recognition had joined the list. Remarkably, Dale lost players to both
hemispheres: Tarryn Allarakhia received a call-up for Tanzania's World Cup Qualifier action, while first-choice goalkeeper Ollie Whatmuff earned a
place in the England U19 squad for a pair of friendlies. It was the latter’s
absence that would tell most immediately, with Rochdale confirming the loan
signing of goalkeeper Jackson Smith, the 23-year-old joining on a short-term
deal from Barnsley, bringing fresh EFL experience and assurance between the
posts.
Playing what many believe to be Dale’s strongest XI
against a York outfit who themselves made only two changes probably contributed
to what unfolded − a tense, tactical battle where neither side seemed willing
to overcommit. York’s shape mirrored Rochdale’s almost perfectly, and their
patience in possession was rewarded by moments of discomfort at the back.
Twice, errors in defence forced Jackson Smith into important debut saves that
spared Dale from falling behind before the break.
After the restart, a stunning strike from former Dale
man Alex Newby punctured the rhythm of the contest and highlighted a recurring
weakness − a lack of presence outside the box at set pieces. Dale didn’t learn
from it in the 90, though one suspects they will for the future. Yet, amid the
frustration, there were encouraging signs. A shift in shape following a raft of
substitutions saw Dieseruvwe joined up front by Levi Amantchi, with Tyler Smith and
McBride offering width and Gilmour left to anchor the midfield alone − a task
he handled admirably. The changes brought renewed energy, culminating in a
deserved equaliser and a spell where Dale looked the likelier side to progress.
However, the next wave of substitutions unsettled the
balance once more − a point McNulty himself acknowledged afterwards. The
resulting York winner from Newby, again from outside the box and one Smith will
feel he could have done better with, was perhaps a fair outcome on the balance
of play. The visitors looked one of the most complete and composed sides Dale
have faced this season, and their performance carried the air of a genuine
contender.
Among the individual performances, Kevin Berkoe again
proved a dependable presence down the left, steady and diligent in his
defensive work. Yet for all his reliability, Dale lost a degree of dynamism on
that flank. Our opponents learned that by pinning him back as a full-back, they
effectively nullified Rochdale’s attacking threat on that side. The knock-on
effect was felt by Beckwith, whose natural instinct to drive forward and
overlap was stifled without a more adventurous partner ahead of him – something
Tarryn Allarakhia, for instance, provides instinctively. It’s not a criticism
of Berkoe’s application, but rather a reflection of how fine the margins are in
personnel, where balance and bravery in wide areas so often dictate the tempo
of Dale’s play. Perhaps it is the greatest illustration of how much we miss the
injured Joe Pritchard, who possesses the complete balance for such games.
Anyway, a dress rehearsal for when the two meet in the
league perchance, with Dale having some definite adjustments to make.
