Getting away with it

Shrewsbury Town FC 1 - 1 Rochdale AFC

Journey:

11:30 am, Mr. Keane and Keane jnr. are stood on my doorstep. It is bank holiday Monday and the sun is shining.

Flushed with the success against Port Vale just two days ago there was real optimism in our ranks that Dale could continue their recovery against Shrewsbury today. Personally I would be delighted with a haul of four points from the two Easter games. Shrewsbury have pretty much the best home record in the league - so a point at the New Meadow would be a real achievement.

Whilst 4 points would probably not catapult Dale back into the automatic promotion berths it would leave them with three games and their fate very firmly in their own hands. If Dale won today - apart from me almost certainly having a case of the vapours - who knows what might be possible.

With my passengers safely installed we joined the M62 and headed south. Having travelled as far as the A627/M62 junction Jane had one of her senior moments and forgot where she was and where she was going. As has become the tradition this season the shotgun passenger is pressed into service as Jane's carer. Whilst Mr. Keane was perhaps slightly rougher than Messers Turner or Culshaw - he managed to coax her into doing SatNav things once more and we were on our way with Jane bonging happily to herself.

M62, M60, M62, M6, M56, M53 - Wales. Does it seem odd to anyone else that a trip to a town in England requires a detour through the land of expensive road signs? I mean c'mon: Wrexham/Wrecsam! Something similar had been planned for Rochdale - using local names for places on road signs - however, there is apparently some legislation on the use of profanity on public signage. The plan was abandoned.

Wales has plusses and minuses. It is extremely beautiful - I like a bit scenery the other side of my windscreen as you know. Unfortunately, this means the place is infested with English tourists - with caravans. As the Welsh borders are a roundabout rich environment the influx of caravans means only one thing - traffic jams. A journey which Jane had calculated to take 1hr 45mins took 2hrs 20mins.

Thus somewhat agitated and muttering dark oathes against the British Caravan Club I arrived at the New Meadow just after 2pm.

Weather:

Hot. Perfect conditions for sitting in a tail-back behind a caravan with an 'I heart Wales' sticker in the rear window.

Food:

With Mr. Keane and Keane jnr. despatched to the away end I joined Mr. Culshaw in the 'retail concourse area' beneath the main stand. In english that means - there are some shops. As we made our way to the commentary positions I picked up a chicken and mushroom pie - which by my reckoning is practically salad. Well it is nearly summer afterall.

Ground:

I have a confession to make. I did a bad thing. I am not proud of myself.

When I arrived at the New Meadow, Mr. Keane made a very valid point. Unless you are an official or an invited guest - you can't actually park at the ground. You have to park miles away and then get a bus back again.

Following the trials and tribulations of getting to Shrewsbury - I wasn't in the mood for yet more delays, so I made a quick assesment of the situation. Based on experience of the parking arrangements at football grounds, the general quality of stewards and the fact that I was resplendent in an official looking Rochdale AFC polo shirt - I decided to tell a huge fib.

I pulled up to the gate, wound the window down, looked the steward square in the eye and said: 'Mike Brookes, Rochdale Football Club'. The steward looked quizical and slightly flustered, so I followed up with: 'you have my car park pass'. 'You need to see him', he said and pointed to another steward just inside the gates. No going back now then.

I pulled up next to the designated steward and told my whopper again: 'Mike Brookes, Rochdale Football Club'. This chap really did look harrassed as he fumbled with various clip boards and such, so I followed up with: 'you have my car park pass'. Now, what I knew - and he should have known was that Mike Brookes was already in the ground. Fortunately his nerve cracked first - 'they've made a right mess of this today you know - here you are sir'. I smiled patronizingly, grabbed the pass and sped off. I got away with it!

I had been to the Gay Meadow a couple of times in the past, but this would be my first visit to the New Meadow. It really is rather splendid. I got quite excited about Dean Court having three matching stands - the New Meadow has four! My only criticism - if it really is one - is that it looks a little anti-septic. Perhaps just a bit too new. That said, it glittered and sparkled like a shiny new penny in the Easter sunshine. Very pretty.

To complete the effect something in the order of 800 Rochdale fans had made their way through the traffic jams to watch the game.

Action:

Unsurpisingly, nothing of note has happened since Saturday - so lets crack on with the team news.

Gary Jones continuing injury problems would once again rule him out - although he did appear briefly to do some light training before the game. Wiseman looks set to be out for the rest of the season having been diagnosed with a hernia. Following his injury on Saturday, Higginbotham would also be unavailable. Stanton would return from his suspension.

Fielding in goal. Ramsden, McArdle, Stanton & Kennedy at the back. Thompson, Keltie, Toner and Buckley in midfield. LeFondre and Dagnall upfront.

With the sun beating down from a clear blue sky, Mr. East got things started.

Now, I could dwell on what happened next - but it would be enough to say that Rochdale got a pretty comprehensive footballing lesson from the men of Shropshire. Ok then, lets dwell...

St. Adam threatened the Shrews goal early on with what ended up being a fairly tame effort - aside of that it was all Shrewsbury. Dale old boy Grant Holt had the travelling fans heart's racing when he attempted to beat a poorly positioned Fielding - from around forty yards. The effort ultimately went wide - but not before Fielding smashed into post as he frantically back pedalled and then collapsed into an undignified heap. A collective sigh of relief rose from the away end as Fielding regained his feet, gave himself a shake and carried on.

The first half was torrid for Rochdale. Once, twice, three times the Dale net gaped - at the mercy of the men of Shropshire - but their efforts flew over or wide. Only good fortune and the tenacious efforts of the Dale defence prevented the Shrewsbury avalanche bearing fruit - the reinstatement of Stanton proved critical in holding the the Shrews at bay.

As I made my dash for the comforts of the press room, a replica shirted Shrewsbury fan (probably espying my RAFC polo shirt) burst from the crowd and shouted, ' I bet you're embarrassed aren't you?'. It was a fair point - but with things still poised at 0-0 and considering the Shrews stanglehold on the game, quite who should be more embarrassed was open for debate.

The press room was pretty rubbish. Even allowing for my undignified gallop from the commentary area the buffet had already been stripped clean, save for two rather curly sandwiches - which I ate anyway. With a cup of free coffee in hand I trudged back to my commentary position. Mr. Keane's texted half time update pointed to the brilliance of Stanton in the first half and that he was developing a very healthy tan in the spring sunshine. I settled into the frigid shade of the main stand and waited for Shrewsbury to deliver the killer blow.

I didn't have to wait long.

Two minutes into the second half that man Holt struck.

An embarrassing mix up between Keltie and Toner saw them both try to clear the ball on the edge of the area. The resulting tangle spewed the ball out to the Shrews left - Moss fed the ball back into the area where Holt was prowling, his back to goal, McArdle shepparding him. Holt turned, Holt drove, Holt scored. 1-0 Shrewsbury.

The home fans heaved a sigh of relief and the home team relaxed. The intensity of the first half passed - Shrewsbury sat back. Dale toiled but got little change from an organised and disciplined Shrews back line.

Dale were not great. In spite of a good deal of effort and the introduction of Thorpe and Rundle they struggled to produce any serious effort on the Shrewsbury goal. The thing was - Shrewsbury were quite happy to watch Rochdale's hapless efforts and retired further and further into their own half.

Mr. Culshaw and I speculated along the usual footballing lines as to what might get Dale back into the game: (A) a moment of brilliance, (B) a mistake or (C) a set piece.

On seventy seven minutes options A and B put in an appearance.

With the game seemingly won Shrewsbury had set themselves to protect their hard won lead. In what appeared to be a final desperate throw of the dice - Dale went 4-3-3. Rundle being given a free role in midfield.

Perhaps the men of Shropshire were confused when Rundle popped up on the right - because he had acres of space to deliver a ball forward from just inside the Shrews half. Coughlan's untidy clearance found it's way directly to Dagnall. From twenty yards out, Dagnall controlled, Dagnall launched, Dagnall scored. 1-1!

With thirteen minutes left on the clock Shrewsbury repeated their performance at Spotland and collapsed. Dale scented blood in the water and pressed forward. Having set themselves for defence, Shrewsbury seemed incapable of recovering from their tauper. The closing moments were all Rochdale and but for the thickness of a coat of paint, Thorpe's late header could have delivered a thoroughly unlikely winner for Dale.

When Mr. East finally indicated the end of procedings, things were all square at 1-1.

Summary:

Gutsy. No one would have been surprised if Rochdale had given in at 1-0 down. But they didn't. In spite of an untrammeled battering in the first half Rochdale managed to hold themselves together - even after some sketchy defending had led to Shrewsbury's opener, Dale continued to persevere.

Admittedly, Dagnall's goal represented pretty much the best of Dales's efforts on goal - but what an effort! He had looked to be building to something against Port Vale - today he delivered.

Sometime's you footbal teams to death - sometimes you get away with it. Dale stay fifth.

Turner Watch:

Mr. Turner has got talent - Ant and Dec beckon.

13/04/09