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1 October 2013
As September turned into October, Paul Sanderson still didn't feel like he should unpack all the boxes he'd put into the attic of the family's new home outside the town of Rochdale. His club hadn't quite reverted to its horrible form of the first weeks of the season, but it hadn't built upon its successful run in early September, either. A frustrating inability to get results at home was keeping the supporters from falling in love with him, and the board was beginning to show its first signs of losing patience with him, too.
Chesterfield, a very good side, saw The Dale off, 1-3, at Spotland on 21 September. Rochdale was run off the pitch, outshot 18-2.
Three days later, they played a Second Round match for the King's Trophy, which was contested by clubs in the Royal Premier and Royal First Divisions. Rochdale drew a tough opponent, Cheltenham, but at least they could face them at Spotland. Ninety minutes passed without a goal. On 99', Craig Thompson put Rochdale ahead, but in the closing seconds of extra time, Cheltenham equalized.
On the seventh round of penalties, Cheltenham keeper John Jenkins turned Alan Foster's attempt around the post. Sergio Filipe Almeida, who'd scored the goal that made the shootout necessary, then put his penalty past Rob Rutherford, and just like that, Rochdale were out.
Rotating his squad as the fixtures came hard and fast, Sanderson sent out a makeshift lineup to face Clyde, a less formidable opponent on their best day and an even softer one when their players were tired. Craig Wilkinson and Joe Webb were the scorers in a 2-0 victory--a fairly uncommon happening when Rochdale were at home.
By now, Rochdale were up to 13th, edging closer to the middle of the table. Tonight, they took on Northampton at home, and at first, it looked like they might win in a canter. Paul Webb and Craig Wilkinson had Rochdale up 2-0 within the half hour, but then things got ugly. By half time, Northampton had equalized, and Sanderson let the club have it in the changing room.
"He had every right to lay into us like that," said Josh Moore, who was wearing the captain's arm band. "We can't let a team back into the match like we did."
Were it not for Stavros Molloy, who made a terrific save on a penalty from Simon Mulcahy after David Jones hacked down a Northampton player in the box, the match might have slipped completely away. And Rochdale blew a chance to steal the result back when Wilkinson fluffed an easy chance as full time drew near.
"I'm still looking for the winning formula," a weary Paul Sanderson said after the match, as he ran his fingers through his thick brown hair. "We're making progress, and the players believe in themselves." It was true; morale remained fairly high, despite the up-and-down pattern the club had been stuck in for weeks now.
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