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| Jake Burger drives forward against Tamworth. |
By the time Rochdale AFC emerged from the festive break,
they had slipped from first to fifth in the National League without kicking a
ball. The irony was hard to miss. A temporary move from Spotland to
Accrington’s Wham Stadium, after pitch problems at home, ended in familiar
frustration as a nationwide freeze rendered yet another surface unplayable,
postponing the scheduled game against Brackley. Those title rivals spared by
the freeze took full advantage.
When football finally returned, it did so not in the league
but in the FA Trophy, with a fourth-round trip to Tamworth offering no
immediate route back to the summit. It did, however, provide something else: an
opportunity for several first-team regulars to continue their rehabilitation
after spells out through injury and international duty.
There had been a reshaping of the squad during the enforced
downtime, too. Liam Humbles, who had barely troubled the starting XI since joining
the club in the summer, was sent on loan to Altrincham until the end of the
season.
Levi Amantchi, Charlie Waller and Nathan Broome returned to
their parent clubs following expiration of loan spells, while Ryan Galvin was
recalled by Barnet. Amantchi’s five months at Dale were modest in numbers but
timely in impact, his late-July arrival yielding 20 appearances and a pair of
goals, the most significant of which secured safe passage through to the FA
Trophy fourth round at Leamington. Upon returning to Walsall, he was almost
immediately transferred back to the National League, this time with Gateshead.
Broome’s contribution was briefer but more impactful:
drafted in amid injury to Ollie Whatmuff, he brought calm and competence
between the posts, keeping clean sheets in two of his four outings. Waller, likewise,
made a competent fist of covering Sam Beckwith’s injury during his one-month
stay. Galvin departed with a respectable record in Dale colours − five
appearances, four wins – even if he himself did not set the world ablaze at left
wing-back.
None were long-term fixtures, but each served a purpose at a
moment when the squad needed reinforcement.
Amantchi’s departure in particular, however, left Dale with
a familiar problem. Emmanuel Dieseruvwe’s injury had already exposed the
thinness of options at No.9, forcing reliance on the evergreen Ian Henderson − now
40 −
with only a brief and not-entirely-convincing flirtation with Tyler Smith as an
alternative. Smith is much more effective operating at No.10. So, when the club
announced it had moved to reinforce that position, the news was greeted with
palpable relief − albeit tempered by more than a few raised eyebrows.
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| Perry, Duku and Bilongo joined Dale in the same week. |
The reinforcement arrived in the shape of Manny Duku, a
33-year-old Dutch forward recruited from mid-table Tamworth, a signing that
offered both cause for optimism and reason for caution. Duku had made fast
starts before. At Raith Rovers in 2020/21 he scored in every League Cup group
game, including a superb first-time finish from a tight angle against Hearts,
later adding a penalty in a 3–2 league win over the Tynecastle side. Ten goals
in 12 appearances suggested momentum appeared firmly with him.
At his best, Duku showed sharp movement, finished chances
well and was willing to press − never rapid, but quick enough. The
concern was sustainability. That early burst at Raith gave way to a 16-game
drought as his off-the-ball intensity faded, a pattern that repeated itself at
Inverness Caledonian Thistle. More recently he has drifted through the English
non-league, posting respectable returns at Solihull and Tamworth. Now he
arrives at Spotland as a calculated gamble − one that may depend on
whether competition with Dieseruvwe can keep him engaged beyond any initial
surge.
Duku was joined at Spotland by left wing-back Bryant Bilongo
on a 1.5-year deal from Bristol Rovers and Coventry City U21 captain Callum
Perry, on an initial one-month loan.
Positionally, the pair feel very much like McNulty signings:
versatile, option-heavy additions. Looking at the refreshed squad, Bilongo, Joe
Pritchard and Tarryn Allarakhia can all operate at left wing-back; Perry and
David Tutonda provide competition at left centre-back; while Pritchard also
offers an option as a No. 10, as does Allarakhia, who impressed there before
his AFCON sojourn.
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| Tom Myles was involved in a penalty shoot-out v Tamworth. |
None of that, however, was put to the test at Tamworth. With
none of the new arrivals featuring, or indeed announced at this point (and Duku
was cup-tied into the bargain), Rochdale named an XI that spoke clearly to
where the FA Trophy sat in McNulty’s list of priorities − some distance below the
league campaign. Tom Myles started in goal behind a back three of David
Tutonda, Liam Hogan and Dan Moss, with Bryce Hosannah and the returning
Allarakhia operating as wing-backs. Casey Pettit and Jake Burger anchored the
midfield, while Aidan Barlow and Tyler Smith supported Ian Henderson up front.
Tamworth, by contrast, treated the tie with greater
seriousness, fielding a strong side that ultimately prevailed on penalties
after a 1–1 draw in normal time. Dale had taken the lead before the interval
through Smith’s very well-taken effort, but as the contest wore on the hosts’
greater cohesion began to tell. An equaliser in the final 20 minutes dragged
the tie beyond 90 minutes and into a shootout.
Sudden death beckoned after the opening exchanges from the
spot. When substitute Charlie Waller’s penalty struck the upright, the door was
left ajar, and Matt Curley stepped through it, converting to send Tamworth into
the fifth round and bring Dale’s Trophy interest to a quiet end.
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| Casey Pettit converts his penalty against Tamworth. |
There was little time to linger on any disappointment that
might have been felt at Tamworth. Just three days later, Rochdale were on the
road and back to league business, heading to the north-east to face Gateshead.
Pre-match confidence was understandably high: the Heed sat bottom of the
National League and had already been dismantled by Dale in the reverse fixture
earlier in the campaign.
Yet, as so often in this division, context mattered. In the weeks
leading up to the game Gateshead had acted, reappointing Rob Elliot as manager
and reshaping their squad − changes that would be tested for the first time against
Rochdale, and which threatened to render league position and past form largely
irrelevant.
In the event, Dale’s return to league action was marked by a
2–0 success. On a chilly Saturday afternoon in the north-east, Jim McNulty’s
side did what good sides do on the road – struck when on top, weathered a
wobble, then finished the job.
The headline belonged to Manny Duku. Thrown straight in
after arriving earlier in the week, the striker marked his debut with a goal
that demonstrated sharp movement and an instinct for being in the right place
at the right time. Just after the half-hour, Dale carved Gateshead open. A neat
one-two between Kyron Gordon and Tobi Adebayo-Rowling created the angle for
Gordon to slide Devante Rodney in behind. His delivery across the box was
perfectly weighted and Duku, sliding in, did the rest.
Duku could – perhaps should – have doubled his tally minutes
later. Ryan East’s high press forced the turnover and, after driving forward,
he fed the debutant once more. This time former Dale loanee Tiernan Brooks was
equal to it, but the chance underlined Dale’s superiority during a first half
in which they broke with pace and purpose. At the interval, the sense was not
just that Dale deserved their lead, but that they might regret not making it
more emphatic.
Gateshead, to their credit, emerged with greater intent.
Crosses began to rain into the area, testing Dale’s defensive shape. Former
loanee Levi Amantchi came closest, his header crashing back off the bar, while
Aidan Elliott-Wheeler skewed another opportunity wide. It was a reminder that
one goal rarely settles anything, particularly away from home.
In the midst of this, Oliver Whatmuff’s return between the
posts was significant. Calm to the point of serenity, he exuded an assurance
that steadied those in front of him. Nothing was hurried, nothing looked
awkward. If goalkeeping is often about temperament as much as technique,
Whatmuff offered a masterclass in the former.
The decisive moment arrived late on and again it was crafted
expertly. Adebayo-Rowling’s cross from the right missed Henderson but found East on the edge of the
area and the midfielder made no mistake, slamming his finish into the near
corner. It was a goal that cut through any lingering doubt and restored
control.
The second half had lacked the fluency of the first and ball
retention was not always convincing, allowing Gateshead more territory than
McNulty would have liked. Yet defensively Dale were largely sound, if
occasionally exposed by crosses – an area that will need tightening,
particularly as new recruits learn the nuances of the system.
With pressure beginning to build down Dale’s left, the
introduction of David Tutonda at left centre-back felt like astute game
management, offering fresh legs and positional nous to help see the contest
through.
There were reminders, too, that not all debuts arrive fully
formed. Callum Perry, operating on the left of the back three and
understandably short of match sharpness after limited recent game time, showed
glimpses without quite settling into a rhythm. That McNulty was able to manage
his minutes rather than expose him late on felt sensible, and Perry looks a
player who will benefit quickly from regular football.
Bryant Bilongo, introduced later, also looked like a player
still learning the structure, occasionally caught out of position but visibly
receiving instruction from the bench.
There were plenty of encouraging individual notes. Jake
Burger’s ability to carry the ball through midfield gave Dale a different
dimension. Casey Pettit provided his now-familiar steadiness and looks
increasingly like a starter waiting to happen, perhaps in a three or with East
pushed wider as he was here in a second-half reshuffle. Duku, beyond the goal,
showed enough movement and physical presence to suggest, with a little more ruthlessness, he can more than
capably deputise for Mani Dieseruvwe, especially with Henderson’s intelligent
running on offer as an alternative too.
In the end, this was not a performance to stir the soul, but
it was one to please the pragmatist. A job done, points secured, debuts bedded
in.
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| Duku celebrates with team-mates after opening his account. |
What now lies ahead for Dale is a frenetic stretch that may
go a long way towards defining their season. First comes a testing trip to a
much-improved Solihull Moors, before the long-awaited return to Spotland to
face strugglers Truro on newly laid turf. That is followed by the rearranged
visit of Southend United, after the National League finally ruled that the
original fixture should be replayed rather than allowed to stand.
Beyond that looms February, and what looks like the true
examination of Dale’s promotion credentials: a daunting run against Boreham
Wood, Carlisle United, Forest Green Rovers and Scunthorpe United in almost
consecutive games. If Dale emerge from that run anywhere near the summit, they
will have done very well indeed.
As always, thanks to The Voice of Spotland/Dan Youngs/Rochdale AFC for use of images.
