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.