Dale stormed back to the top of the league following a superb win at Luton Town. The first vs second tie finshed 1-0 to the Dale, with Paul Wheatcroft scoring the decisive goal. Report Online.
What more can we ask for? Dale stunned a sold-out home crowd by producing a dogged display and taking all three points to send us top of the table once again. Luton are supposedly one of if not the best team in the division, but there was no evidence of that today, Dale's tactics worked a treat and the defence was as solid as ever.
After a 4 hour coach journey to the game in cramped seats I was hoping for a little leg room at the game - not to be! How Luton can get away with cramming so many seats into that away end is beyond me. Many Dale fans had trouble sitting down and as a result spent most of the match stood up. As expected the home parts of the ground were full, and Dale did their best to keep the numbers up with a large and very vocal contingent in place. The home fans seemed intent on winding Dale up with songs of 'You all support Man United' Yeah sure we do! But the last laugh came to Dale.
Dale opted for a 4-4-2 formation for the game which saw McAuley play at left back and Doughty push up to left wing. Paul Wheatcroft and Michael Oliver started despite concerns over their fitness. The game itself was a lively affair. Luton started brightly, but they never really got any chances. They did have the ball in the back of the net, but they had to foul the keeper to do so and the free-kick was given to Dale thankfully.
The Dale goal came courtesy of loanee Paul Wheatcroft. Tony Ford did excellent on the right before hitting a low shot which the keeper could only parry to Wheatcroft who smacked the ball into the empty net. The Dale end erupted and chants of 'We are top of the league' were soon ringing around the ground.
The second half for Dale would of seen us facing the alamo, but Luton despite all their possession never really broke through, due to excellent defending. When they did get through our bald-messiah in the nets kept them at bay with two good saves. Dale had an excellent chance to seal the game. In the dying minutes Doughty flew through on goal, he rounded the keeper but took it too far and could only manage to hit the side netting.
Out of nowhere the fourth official indicated 4 minutes of stoppage time, and the Dale fans were back to nail-biting. But luckily Luton created nothing of note and time played itself out. The final whistle went and the scenes of jubilation in the away end were magnificent. Despite the fact that we were kept in the ground for almost 30 mins afterwards didn't matter either, we are back at the top of the league.
An absolutely excellent display from Dale. Every player was great. The defence deserves a special mention - Griffiths and Jobson were like rocks at the heart of it. Gary Jones in midfield looks like he is playing the best football of his career. Matt Doughty proves that not only can he play excellently at left back, but he was awesome on the wing as well, beating his man seemingly at will. Platt up front was battered and bruised as usual but he never let it get to him and was his usual self.
What more can be said? Well if we can continue to grind out results like this then we are going to be doing a lot better than many of us thought this pre-season. Automatic promotion seems like a realistic target now. With our current home form also being excellent, we have as good as shot as any, and with players starting to return from injuries soon, we will be in a great position to sustain our challenge at the top. Up The Dale.