County 1 Rochdale 0
With two games remaining, Dale’s fate is sealed, yet for County it’s still anywhere from 2nd to 8th
Wednesday 26 April 2023
It’s a look back at Saturday afternoon today, with Simon Lomas and Tom from All Dale Aren’t We. Tanto’s winner at the weekend kept alive County’s hopes of automatic promotion, but with Stevenage winning at Swindon last night, I do feel the top three is out of reach now.
I think Stevenage are nailed on to beat Grimsby this Saturday to clinch promotion in front of their own fans. Even if something goes wrong, they’ve got Barrow on the final day who haven’t got anything to play for now.
Can we catch Northampton? Maybe. They host Bradford on Saturday, who can actually maintain their own automatic promotion hopes with a win, but they’re extremely inconsistent, and I do honestly think the Cobblers will also win to seal their place in League One.
With the whole Dave Challinor subplot surrounding the final day of the season, I’ve always thought County v Hartlepool might be a must-win game for both teams, although that one could now be a dead rubber in terms of promotion and relegation battles. I suppose we’d still be playing for a home game in the second leg of the play-offs, although I don’t think that makes too much difference this season. I actually think we’d have a better chance away from home in the second leg.
Finally, a huge thank you to Kingsway Carpets for sponsoring today’s edition. They’ve currently got clearance stock available in store, so if you need a new carpet at the moment, it’s definitely worth having a look.
Enjoy today’s issue.
Des Junior
Saturday’s match in one word:
Simon - Uninspiring.
Tom - Unsurprising.
Pre-match thoughts:
Simon - Just win first and foremost, but it would be nice to win well to open up a better goal difference over Carlisle.
Tom - I thought we needed to just go for it as our destiny was out of our own hands.
Post-match thoughts:
Simon - Take the three points and move on, although there wasn’t much to get excited about. I was more frustrated by Salford’s deflected late winner as without that our play-off place would have been all but assured.
Tom - Disgusted with the performance, dropping out of the Football League with a whimper.
Verdict on County:
Simon - Thought we were decent enough first half but lacking that clinical edge. Madden should have buried that early chance, and if that went in I'd imagine we would have scored a bagful. Hippolyte also wasted several chances, so it was a relief when Tanto scored at just the right time; a massive goal for him and us. Second half we really lost our way and our shape was absolutely dross.
Tom - County looked a solid side without even having to get out of third gear. I've watched a few of your games this season and you’re definitely my pick for the play-offs, or maybe even sneaking into the top three.
Verdict on Rochdale:
Simon - Absolutely dire. Went down with a whimper. They really showed nothing in the first half, and even though they had a lot of ball in the second half while we were playing shite, they still failed to create anything. Their side lacks presence throughout, a team of short arsed with very little ability.
Tom - Nothing that I didn't expect. This squad is easily the poorest I've ever seen in my lifetime. To not even register a shot on target is disgusting.
Top Hatter:
Simon - Probably Tanto. He’s raw as anything and his touch can be wayward, but his pace did cause problems and he scored the all-important goal.
Tom - In a weird way nobody stood out but I'd have to give it to the lad who scored the goal as he made the difference on the day.
Top Dale:
Simon - Slim pickings. I’ll just go for Danny Lloyd as he never stops trying; he’s also pretty much the only one I knew.
Tom - Danny Lloyd.
Atmosphere:
Simon - Flat really. There was an air of expectancy that we’d just win, and shooting towards the Cheadle End in the first half the atmosphere is always worse. In the second half we did nothing in our performance for fans to get behind. It didn’t have an end of season feel to it really for a game where both teams had something to fight for.
Tom - If I'm honest it was quieter than I’d expected. Our own atmosphere was great in a weird way, a bit of a party atmosphere as we knew what was coming.
Hopes for the rest of the season:
Simon - Just win these last two and hope for the best.
Tom - Giving some of our youth players a chance to prove their worth in the final couple of games.
The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our 1-0 victory at home to Rochdale on Saturday 22 April 2023, as told from his three County-related WhatsApp groups…
3.21pm: Results above us going in our favour, results below us not. Result at EP is all that matters though.
3.39pm: How are we not winning this game?
3.40pm: We’re playing too conservatively and not putting away our chances when they come.
3.42pm: Right. Crawley are winning which means Dale are down. Enough fucking about, let’s have these.
3.55pm: What a goal! I knew he’d come good.
5.04pm: We won without playing well there. Should’ve been more and should’ve been better. But never mind.
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