CocaCola Football League 2(European Potential Champions League Group ENG/4).
Rochdale vs Grimsby.
Spotland Stadium - Tuesday 12th September 2006.
Rochdale FUCKING WIN!
Hereford was good. Bristol Rovers was pretty good. Well today against Grimsby it was really good!
A few months ago Grimsby Town docked at Spotland with a view to going top of the league. What happened that day was a decent Rochdale performance produced a 2-2 scoreline. A last minute equaliser – straight from a corner – by Rickie Lambert securing that point. They didn't go top of the league, we moved a point closer to safety and everyone went home cold, but entertained.
This weekend the fishy whiff moored at Spotland in the summer sun and with Rochdale unbeaten in 3 games, surely we were in for a decent performance, against a Grimsby side who were a shade of that which missed out on promotion the season earlier.
Oh my goodness what a performance! Not that we can get carried away, but this was the third good performance on the trot and FINALLY we got the result we deserved, that being a win and three lovely points. 1-0 it was to be, but it should have been much more. The chances were made, the chances were missed – again! But finally we took one, and Sako was the man with a tidy finish at the Sandy Lane terrace.
What followed was more Rochdale dominance, but we almost threw it all away. First Rankin hit the bar with a nice shot, then James Sharp spannered up a head back to the keeper, straight to Rankin. Rankin clean through but Gilks has done what he's done all season, and that is to be fucking awesome. Rankin helped him out with a poor touch, but it was still sure goalkeeping by our player of the season so far. As for Sharp. Poor tackle against Hereford lead to a joke penalty, but he was still stupid given the conditions and the player was going nowhere. A shocking refereeing decision on a top tackle gave away a penalty at Bristol Rovers and now this. Despite these moments of brain fade he's done well. He takes no shit and is a proper defender. I like him.
So those scares aside, Rochdale continued to threaten. There were nerves, we all worried we'd throw it away, but we didn't! We won. We were good again. Is this a mini-run of good performances before the shite returns? Maybe, or maybe its a run of good performances, and then we'll sign a “fox in the box” and start turning performances into wins more often and more comfortably. A strong keeper and defence and a potent attack can do well in this division. But i'm not getting carried away. On todays performance we're not relegation certs, but every dog has its day. The signs are better though.
Daggers, Barker and Sako were all awesome today. Daggers has upped his game and looked very dangerous. Sako continued to be good and Barker looks like a top player at this level. That's three good games for the new attacking signings now.
Up The Dale!