For the first 20 minutes or so we played well, pressed and passed well, quickly responded to Rochdale's goal which was against the run of play...then it all went wrong.
By half time (sooner than that to be fair) it was evident that Rochdale had gained control of the middle third. We were all saying it at half time...bring on Pollock, take Lewis off. Give the midfield some creativity to supplement McWilliams tenacity.
The first 15 minutes of the 2nd half was a continuation of how things ended in the first half. Rochdale's sub's improved their performance, ours managed to do the polar opposite. It made no sense swapping the strikers round (as many others have commented). Then equally as baffling, Brady withdraws McWilliams and brings on a winger. Which effectively left the middle of the park, which was being dominated by Rochdale, with no ball winner as well as no creativity. Who was going to get the ball out to Connolly? We quickly found out the answer. No one! Somewhat predictable to be fair (I said at that point it would end 1-3).
Ill try and be balanced here. Brady has out thought his opponent in each of the other games. His clever change of formations (Cov and Colchester prior to the sending off) both got us on the front foot (Cov) and helped contain (Colchester). Against Port Vale, he responded well as well with his subs. Yesterday though, he was outwitted by the Rochdale manager and pretty much admitted that in his post match interview, citing tactics as something to think about. Fair play to him for that.
I think in summary, Rochdale 'did a job on us' yesterday. They clearly knew we would play a high line, and their number 18 on countless times helped them break up the pitch quickly (2nd and 3rd goals) when we inevitably lost possession due to our inability with the ball in central areas. At 1-1, the right changes made...we could easily have ended up winning it. Food for thought for the management team for sure...
I would put yesterday down to (in the main) VERY poor tactics, but also that not a single player turned up and had what could be described as a good game. No one for me, would have got 7/10. All 4's and 5's in the mains, with the odd 6.
Etete was half decent and shouldn't have been subbed (my mom). Not sure how Lewis managed to play for the full 90 minutes, he was literally shocking. McGowan wasn't much better (another 4/10). Big Sid had a stinker. The goalkeeping for their first goal was suspect, he came out to claim it, changed his mind and dithered (and ended up in no mans land) and it was a simple header over him into an empty net. I haven't seen the replay but that's what it looked like to me from behind the goal.
Best to forget about yesterday and hope that the management team identified our obvious weaknesses and rectify them in time for Tuesday. Im sure they will...
Still reckon we need to add a McCormack-esq player to the squad sooner rather than later as a priority...
One final observation. Their number 18 was absolutely outstanding. I'd be very surprised if he's still with them at the end of this month, let alone after January's transfer window. He was apparently mom for them against Forest in the cup (according to one of their fans I spoke with on the way back to my car). I haven't seen many players of that calibre show up against us in this league over the years, he looked like a real prospect destined to go all the way...
Absolutely spot on Drilling, really hope we don’t have to suffer BAS up front on Tuesday, we need some creativity in the Center.