Dale reignite their momentum as pitch solutions fall into place

 

Harvey Gilmour ran the midfield against Aldershot.

Back in October, I wrote that a defining trait of any good side is its capacity to bounce back. Up until that point, Rochdale AFC had embodied that resilience perfectly, responding to every setback in the most convincing manner possible: with victory.

The trip to York, however, delivered the harshest chastening of the campaign so far. A brutal 15-minute collapse condemned Dale to a 4-1 defeat, the sort of loss that lingers. That made the next fixture against Aldershot − now under the stewardship of former Dale manager John Coleman − a genuine test of their mettle.

Even the build-up carried its own drama. The inflatable pitch covers, brought in by the club’s ownership group to protect the surface from the worst of Storm Claudia, had done their job − though the pitch still resembled more of a cow field than a footballing stage.

It was also one of the fixtures included in the National League’s new 3Up campaign − an initiative I’m fully supportive of, with the greater upward mobility provided by three promotion places only serving to strengthen the entire pyramid.

Jim McNulty made one change to the starting XI, as Connor McBride replaced the injured Tyler Smith. There was also a welcome return to the matchday squad for Joe Pritchard, who had been missing through injury since August.

What followed, however, was a scrappy, disjointed first half on a surface the players never quite managed to decipher. The weight of pass was a guessing game, and yet Dale still found themselves in promising positions in the final third − only for the final ball to fall short or the finishing to lack conviction. It was surprising, too, that Coleman had brought his team to play rather than contain, and the Dale midfield of Harvey Gilmour and Ryan East found themselves pressed in a way they had not been used to on home turf this season.

The second half was a different story. The much-needed substitutions injected not only energy but a noticeable shift in mood. Jake Burger’s brief stint at left wing-back immediately gave Aldershot more to think about, stretching them in ways Dale hadn’t earlier.

Aidan Barlow, just on the pitch and immediately looking sharp, took the ball on the half-turn and slipped a neat pass into Tobi Adebayo-Rowling on the right. The low cross that followed had trouble written all over it, and Gilmour arrived on cue to thump it in from the edge of the six-yard box. And once the breakthrough came, the follow-up changes helped see the game out with a measure of control.

Further up the pitch, both Mani Dieseruvwe and Devante Rodney would have known there is more to come from them. The fact Dale are finding goals from other areas of the team is encouraging, but it shouldn’t lessen the responsibility on their shoulders in games such as this.

Devante Rodney puts the Aldershot defence on the backfoot.

It was heartening, too, to see Ethan Ebanks-Landell shrug off his York nightmare with a return to form. He and Sam Beckwith were excellent throughout.

This team has shown it can win games in all manner of circumstances, and this was another example: a hard-earned victory against an Aldershot side who are surely better than their league position suggests. The win took Dale to 40 points for the season, a figure reached in only 17 games, which beat the previous quickest of 20 games in 2009/10.

A trip to Tamworth the following Saturday was the next competitive action for Dale. The Lambs, while considered one of the National League's smaller sides, occupied ninth spot in the table and had secured a tenth-placed finish the previous season. Their narrow plastic pitch had proven an extra man against many bigger opponents over previous seasons and here it was also wet and slippery thanks to the wintry weather conditions in Staffordshire.

McNulty rang the changes once again with his starting XI. It had been remarked upon after the Aldershot game that, sooner or later, the freshness brought onto the pitch from the bench was going to be needed from the start of a match and, Casey Pettit in particular, had made the strongest case for inclusion from the opening whistle. McNulty gave him that nod here over Ryan East.

Tobi Adebayo-Rowling saw plenty of the ball against Tamworth.

Elsewhere, Devante Rodney had to miss out due to, as McNulty confirmed, the No.10 suffering post-match when playing on an astroturf-type service, so Aidan Barlow joined Connor McBride behind Mani Dieseruvwe. Tarryn Allarakhia returned from international duty to replace Kevin Berkoe, who was recalled from his loan by Salford City earlier in the week.

Kyron Gordon’s third goal of the campaign sent Dale into the interval with a deserved lead, and Dieseruvwe’s coolly dispatched penalty midway through the second half extended their advantage.

The hosts later clawed one back when the defence switched off, setting up a tense finale for the travelling Dale faithful, but McNulty’s side held firm.

The performance, in many respects, was one of the more impressive of the season. Dale's control of the ball − and the speed with which they regained it − was outstanding. The Harvey Gilmour–Pettit partnership shone, a blend of defensive steel and offensive intelligence that gave Dale a platform to build from. Out wide, the wing-backs provided consistent width and a steady stream of deliveries into the box.

And yet, for all that good structure, Dale still relied on Dieseruvwe's penalty to make the difference. Without it, Dale could easily have let points slip. The chances were there − and good ones at that. Barlow, Pettit and Dieseruvwe all had first-half opportunities that really should have resulted in more meaningful efforts on goal. Dale do take shots, despite some narrative to the contrary; the issue was that, at times, they weren't shooting well enough.

The build-up was good, the positions were good, the volume of attacking play was good… but the final touch lacked ruthlessness. Dieseruvwe, even with his goal and a few ‘nearly’ moments, still needed to do more to truly unsettle defenders. Dale were getting the ball into dangerous areas, but not turning that into the kind of scoreline their play deserved.

Defensively, there was plenty to admire. Ebanks-Landell was back to his imperious best and Kyron Gordon was outstanding at both ends of the pitch, his influence far greater than any praise could properly convey. However, the unit as a whole switching off for Tamworth's goal was an avoidable blemish. Still, the bigger question wasn't so much about the back line − it was about how clinical Dale could become at the other end. The York match had shown why Dale had to make the most of their chances; this game showed they were still creating more than enough of them.

Mani D coolly converted his spot kick against Tamworth.

The result put Rochdale back at the top of the National League and, in the grand scheme of things, that was the headline. A crucial away win, three points secured, job done. Yet anyone who watched the game would have known that beneath the satisfaction lay a familiar frustration: Dale creating enough to win matches more comfortably, but not putting teams away when the openings came.

There was then the distraction of the final National League Cup group game before Rochdale could return to league action, with Everton’s under-21s visiting Spotland. Most supporters were watching less for the result and more to see how the pitch coped and, to its credit, the surface held up reasonably well. The night also proved useful in footballing terms, giving Joe Pritchard valuable minutes on his return from injury − capped with an assist − while Bryce Hosannah made his Dale debut. Tom Myles impressed in goal, and Levi Amantchi deservedly took home the man-of-the-match award. In the end, it was Jake Burger who settled the contest with the only goal. Despite the win, Dale exited the competition, though it was a conclusion few were overly concerned about.

Levi Amantchi was MoM against Everton's U-21s.

Ahead of Dale’s next league fixture, the hosting of Eastleigh, the Ownership Group announced it had once again hired inflatable dome pitch covers, no doubt at great expense (reiterating just how much this club would struggle with the involvement of the Ogden family).

The club then issued a further statement that underlined just how precarious the whole situation with the pitch had become. In short: the surface wasn’t just struggling, it was failing. Waterlogging had already wiped out two fixtures, and the deterioration had been so sharp that the club openly admitted what we supporters all suspected – there was “no confidence” in getting through the season without drastic intervention. The inflatable MacLeod covers, useful as they’ve been, were essentially described as a sticking plaster over a much deeper problem.

So, with the surface getting worse by the week, the club had secured permission from the National League to do something rarely seen at this level: a full mid-season pitch rebuild. Not a tidy-up, not a partial relay − a complete strip-down to the drains, installation of new drainage and gravel layers, and the laying of a new profile topped with a HERO hybrid carpet that will be playable immediately. The work, guided by consultants OBI, is expected to take four to five weeks.

It begins straight after the rescheduled Southend game on 7th December, and it means two league fixtures − Hartlepool (30th December) and Brackley (3rd January) − will have to be played elsewhere. The club say they’re in advanced talks over an alternative venue and aim to confirm details before the diggers roll in. The plan is to return to Spotland on 24th January for the visit of Truro City.

The message was clear: this is expensive, disruptive and far from ideal. But with the pitch in its current state, the club believe it’s the only viable route to ensuring the season can be completed properly. And, if all goes to plan, Dale will not only emerge with a playable surface for the run-in, but with a pitch finally capable of matching the ambitions being built on it.

The pre-Eastleigh announcements weren’t done there, either. The club brought in left wing-back Ryan Galvin on loan from last season’s National League winners Barnet. This was a positive move. It gave McNulty three solid options in that position but with the bonus that Joe Pritchard and Tarryn Allarakhia can play in other positions. In a previous blog, I referred to Pritchard as the new Jimmy Keohane and we were about to see more of that.

Tarryn Allarakhia can play in several positions.

In less welcome news, the club then announced that goalkeeper Oliver Whatmuff had suffered a quad injury against Tamworth and was facing being on the sidelines into the New Year. To their credit, the club reacted quickly. In came Nathan Broome on a short-term loan from Bolton Wanderers − a 23-year-old with a background shaped by some of the country’s strongest academies. On paper, he looked a smart, agile keeper with the sort of grounding that should allow him to adapt quickly. He was handed the number 25 shirt, and it didn’t take long to see why McNulty had moved quickly to secure him.

So to Eastleigh − another potentially awkward fixture on a pitch deteriorating by the day and with a side forced into changes. Yet Dale began with purpose. Joe Pritchard, starting for the first time since returning from his knee injury, offered intelligence and balance on the left. Ryan Galvin, newly arrived from Barnet, had to wait his turn from the bench, but his presence added further depth to the wing-back options. And then there was Tarryn Allarakhia, who immediately looked like the game’s most dangerous player.

The first half should have yielded more. Dale racked up corners, dominated territory, stretched Eastleigh in every conceivable direction − and still somehow went into the break goalless. Ryan East, restored to the XI at the expense of the impressive Casey Pettit, drifted wide right to great effect, linking superbly with Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Kyron Gordon and Devante Rodney. On the opposite flank, Pritchard and Tarryn Allarakhia knitted with an understanding that felt remarkably natural for a first start together. The balance was good, the patterns flowed, and yet the score stubbornly refused to budge. But for a terrific save from debutant Broome – who looked instantly comfortable with the ball at his feet and calm under pressure – Dale could even have found themselves behind against all logic.

The pressure finally told after the break. Allarakhia, who had tormented Eastleigh all afternoon, got his reward when his driven cross was diverted into the far corner by a defender. From that moment, the only question was how many Dale would win by. The introductions of Connor McBride and Aidan Barlow added fresh energy and further discomfort for a retreating Eastleigh back line, and it was no surprise when Allarakhia added a second – cushioning a volley beautifully into the top corner after another well-worked move down the right.

Celebrating against Eastleigh - a squad together.

Could Dale have scored more? Absolutely. They were dominant and, once again, the only frustration was the familiar one: the scoreline didn’t quite reflect the control. But, in context, the positives far outweigh the nitpicking. A reshuffled side, a debutant goalkeeper, and still Dale played with a level of quality and depth that simply hasn’t been seen at Spotland for years. The winning machine rolled on, and McNulty’s men stayed top of the Enterprise National League table with a fully deserved three points.

The only concern is that Dale’s title rivals are matching them stride for stride, leaving those two games in hand as the only immediate advantage. Making the most of them may well define the entire season.

Many thanks again to The Voice of Spotland/Dan Youngs/Rochdale AFC for use of images.

Dale seek firmer ground – at home and on the road

Inflatable pitch covers have been deployed.

November’s curtain-raiser for Rochdale AFC was meant to bring yet another clash of first against second. Forest Green Rovers and Carlisle had already been dispatched, their ambitions dimmed by Rochdale’s early dominance. Next in line were Scunthorpe United – surprise contenders whose rapid rise had caught many off guard.

But the drama never arrived. A touch of seasonal rain proved too much for Spotland’s struggling surface, the pitch once again unable to cope with the kind of weather long expected at this time of year. What should have been another night beneath the floodlights became instead a reminder of an enduring problem.

As Rochdale supporters, I don’t think any of us could fault the effort behind the scenes. The club showed that it was doing what it could: the pitch had been covered since the Sunday before, the ground staff had used every machine available – from Terralift to Air2G2 (whatever they are). The detail in the club’s update was reassuring in one sense; there was clearly no lack of activity or intent.

But good intentions don’t guarantee good outcomes. Despite all that work, the playing surface continued to hold water and, once again, we were left wondering whether another home game would survive the weather. When a club openly warns fans that a match may not go ahead, you know the situation has moved beyond “unfortunate” and into “unsustainable.”

Yes, it is true that a referee ultimately decides if a match can proceed, and yes, those unusually mild November temperatures complicated the use of covers. But the fact remained: the pitch was saturated and all those short-term mitigations – the aeration, the pro-coring, the injections of dried seaweed – hadn’t brought us any closer to a permanent fix.

Credit must go to the ground staff for their commitment; they were clearly working flat out. Yet the truth was, no amount of effort could overcome whatever structural limitations are causing our pitch to hold water while other clubs in proximity have no such issues.

In a statement two days after the postponement, Director Jamie Willoughby acknowledged just how serious and complex the situation has become, stressing that the issue “has the 100% focus of the club, the board and the ownership group.” He confirmed that all available options were being explored – even some “extreme” ones that come with “significant technical, logistical and regulatory challenges.” It was encouraging to hear that nothing was being ruled out, and that if a feasible solution could be found, it had the backing of the majority ownership group to proceed.

That commitment has now been matched by short-term action: the club has installed an inflatable dome pitch cover ahead of the Aldershot fixture – the same type used during the FA Cup tie against Spurs in 2018. The raised system is designed to keep the surface sheltered from further rain while allowing the ground staff to continue working underneath. It’s not a long-term solution, as the club itself admits, but it represents a practical step forward – the kind of decisive, visible measure supporters have been waiting to see.

It is time for lasting, decisive action, though – and it seems, finally, that the club is prepared to take it. Whether that means the team playing elsewhere to allow for a full reconstruction, major investment in a modern surface, or a complete overhaul of the drainage infrastructure, the club must move beyond patchwork fixes.

I should add that this is an issue the Ogden family have inherited, not created, and no blame lies with them on that score. But regardless of how we got here – and hopefully one day we’ll have clearer answers on just how we did – Spotland deserves better. The players and coaches deserve better. And so do the supporters who turn up rain or shine.

Devante Rodney gave Dale a deserved lead at Boston.

Thankfully, two away games offered Rochdale a brief escape from their waterlogged woes. The road would call first at mid-table Boston United − a chance, at last, to get back onto a playable surface. However, the postponement against Scunthorpe, coupled with the prior free weekend brought on by their absence from this season’s FA Cup, left many fearing Jim McNulty’s title contenders might lose a touch of rhythm and sharpness. That did show a little in this performance, but not enough to stop Dale’s class and superiority shining through.

McNulty made two changes from Dale’s previous league game. Tarryn Allarakhia and Connor McBride returned to the starting line-up, while Ian Henderson made the matchday squad on the substitutes’ bench in place of Levi Amantchi (who has not been recalled from his loan spell by Walsall, despite rumours circulating to the contrary).

Rochdale dominated the first half, carving out chance after chance that should have put the game to bed early. Allarakhia in particular was proving a menace, cutting in to shoot with his right foot or crossing with his left when shown outside. Shots were blocked, deflected, or hacked off the line as Boston clung on, yet the hosts remained a threat on the break. When goalkeeper Ollie Whatmuff slipped midway through the half, Jordy Hiwula almost punished, dragging wide, and Boston’s movement on the counter kept Dale honest whenever possession broke down.

Still, Dale stuck to their patient build-up, dictating the tempo and forcing Boston ever deeper. The pressure finally told when Devante Rodney rifled into the top corner − a goal that reflected Dale’s control.

The second half began with another big chance for Rodney, who struck the post from a softly-earned penalty that would have doubled the lead. The miss shifted momentum. Boston grew into the game, encouraged by a few shaky moments at the back. Suddenly, the home side’s counters carried more menace, and Rochdale were forced onto the defensive.

Enter substitute Tyler Smith. Since returning to the club, his work rate and intent have been constant − all we’d willed for was an end product, and he finally got the goal his efforts merited, finishing off a slick move from Tobi Adebayo-Rowling’s square ball to make it 2–0. It should have been enough, but Boston refused to fade. After a spell around the Dale box, a cross from Dale’s left wasn’t closed down, and Alex Lankshear − whose name, to my ear, sounds like a Hot Fuzz character’s attempt at “Lancashire” − ghosted in front of the Dale defence to steer it goalwards and pull one back. Whatmuff was insistent the ball hadn’t crossed the line, but the referee gave the goal.

Thankfully, Smith wasn’t finished. Fellow substitute Dan Moss clipped a ball over the top for Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, who brought it down to draw in two defenders before finding Smith in space. He finished clinically with his left foot to seal the points and ensure the scoreline reflected Dale’s superiority – even if the performance itself was less comfortable than the numbers suggest.

Indeed, it wasn’t as smooth or controlled as recent outings. Whatmuff was busier than he’d have liked, and there were a few rare errors from the usually reliable Ethan Ebanks-Landell, but it was still job done, especially as Dale’s title rivals all picked up a maximum elsewhere, reinforcing the fact it would be Dale’s feted games in hand that would make the difference.

Tyler Smith finally got the goals his hard work has merited.

The first of those came just three days later, beneath the glow of York City’s LNER Community Stadium floodlights, on a rain-lashed, breath-clouded Tuesday night − the stage once again set for autumn drama. And drama there was, though not in the way the travelling Dale supporters had hoped.

Instead of providing a reassuring cushion, the game left Dale bruised, humbled 4–1, the scoreline owing less to domination than to a fifteen-minute collapse early in the second half that turned an even contest into a rout.

There had been no hint of the storm to come during the opening exchanges. Dale began brightly, commanding possession and playing largely in York’s half. They avoided the traps set by the hosts − notably the temptation to press goalkeeper Harrison Male, which would have opened up space behind them − and for the first 20 minutes they looked comfortably the better side.

Tyler Smith, starting after his two goals at Boston, had the best of several early chances, racing onto a glorious Sam Beckwith pass over the top. His attempted lob was smartly deflected by Male, who stayed big to make the save. From there, York began to find space out wide, showing real quality with their deliveries, though their finishing initially spared Dale further trouble.

That luck ran out when one such cross finally met the head of Ollie Pearce, the league’s standout striker, who guided it deftly inside the post while Ollie Whatmuff sprawled in vain.

It felt cruel, given Dale’s earlier control − but they struck back almost immediately. Emmanuel Dieseruvwe slid in wing-back Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, who took the ball on the bounce and lashed home with conviction. “Game on,” we thought, as the sides went in level after a fascinating, evenly poised first half.

Unfortunately, Stuart Maynard’s half-time reshuffle for York proved decisive. Powerhouse Josh Stones, now pushed in front of Pearce and Ollie Banks, completely altered the dynamic. Dale’s defence simply couldn’t cope as space opened everywhere. Stones bullied his way to two goals, punishing hesitancy and defensive disarray with ruthless efficiency.

To be fair, there was quality in his finishing − but the defending was alarmingly passive and the response from the bench sluggish; by the time changes arrived, Pearce had added another and the contest was effectively over at 4–1.

I count myself among Jim McNulty’s strongest advocates. His system and this squad have more than justified belief this season, outclassing several of the division’s heavyweights without conceding a goal. But if there is a sliver of criticism, it lies in moments like those fifteen minutes at York.

McNulty is steadfastly committed to his system − and rightly so − but when the tide turns so violently, a change in personnel isn’t always enough. Perhaps earlier introductions − Tarryn Allarakhia for Kevin Berkoe to force Joe Felix deeper, or Dan Moss for Ebanks-Landell with Kyron Gordon moving central − might have stemmed the flow. Yet sometimes, when an opponent has cracked the code, it’s shape, not just substitutions, that must adapt.

Still, this remains a minor grumble. This side has put Dale in an enviable position and earned the faith of us supporters. Dale may currently sit fourth in the National League but are still within easy reach of top spot. Lessons will be learned in time for Aldershot on Saturday − provided, of course, those working on the pitch at Spotland have learned a few of their own.

As always, thanks to TVOS/Dan Youngs/Rochdale AFC for use of images.