Better but...

[Christies Child]

.....we desperately need some pace to really force a win in the last 20.

So pleased for the Taylor family who sat just in front of us. The handshakes to his Dad said it all.

With Yates back the defence, down the right looked a bit more assured but DA is getting caught time and time again but still manages to put in a performance.

That tackle on Howe near the end of the game was one of the best tackles I've seen all season at any level of football.

All in all a point seems fair but at half time......??????????

[P/T Indie]

Thought yates played really well and made some good tackles and closed down well on his side. Also especially in the second half he was trying to overlap something which we have been missing.

The only change I would have made today would be to put Parish in for Adams apart from that thats as good as first 11 as we have.

The defence looked better and it was time mcstay had a game however the midfield once again was non existant and letting them have far to much time and space.

Think a draw was a fair result although the table looks grim tonight as results didn't go our way.

[Welshrimp]

We're not stretching the defences width-wise. All the creativity (what there is of it) is still trying to come from crosses, but without the extra space that a stretched defence creates, our forwards don't stand a chance at getting to the ball - the defence has too much time to regroup while the ball is on its way. Partly this is the result of Tommo's departure, partly the result of still not playing through the channels.

Much happier with today's back 4.

A good fightback after the interval. The first half was a pretty drab affair all round.

[Martin]

The first half was dreadful. I think we looked half a yard slower all over the pitch. The second was a great improvement and the game became more open. In the end, a draw is a fair result.

Personally, I thought the defence looked shakey early on and the goal was a poor one to concede. Individually, they all played ok, but as a unit there were gaps at times. I'm sure a lot of that was down to the changes and as the game progressed they did look better. Yates and McStay, though a little rusty, should be fighting for a regular place.

Barry Roche is looking a good acquisition this season. His single handed (or legged) triple save was superb and he made one or two telling saves throughout.

Midfield I thought Drummond had a quiet game whilst Craig Stanley tried to drive the play a bit. Curtis was back on the left, not his best position and I thought Wainwright struggled all afternoon.

Rene Howe worked hard throughout and put in a wonderful cross for the equaliser, and I agree about that tackle Christies Child mentions.

Aaron Taylor: Tried hard and naturally found the step up difficult at times, but did enough to show that with careful nurturing he can do something at this level. His finish was first class.

I think we're in this part of the table for the duration, there wasn't much to show me otherwise but at least the draw settles the boat a little after last week.

[OvertheBar]

It was such a relief today to avoid defeat, and it was, once again, a fair result.

Defense - Roche was ok and made a sensational triple stop. How good to see Yates back in, he adds so much more to the side. Adams was ok, he is another clever player at this level, THAT tackle was awesome and I hope he can keep going. Bents and McStay were a good pairing. McStay was solid all game, in the air and on the deck, his tackling and overall defensive play was good. So 'happy' would be my assessment of our defensive unit for the first time this season.

Midfield were ineffectual as aleady said. Drummie, Stanners, Curtis and Wainwright all played below parr. Nothing too horrendous but nobody set the world on fire. So 'could do better' in this department.

Strikers - brilliant. Howe worked very hard all game and provided a superb cross for the goal. We did get around the back a few times and caused Rochdale to feel pressure. Taylor, what a superb header, it was right out of the top drawer and almost popped the net off the stanchion, it takes a striker's instinct to score headers like that. The lad did ok, with lots of energy and will certainly improve once he figures out what to do with the ball once he wins it. So 'something hopeful' here and of course something to cheer.

The Crowd - The North Stand were fabulous. Singing, bouncing (loved that bit), encouraging, even jibing at the Main Stand who just wouldn't stand up? All the old geezers around me were bouncing I can tell you when Aaron scored his goal, and my wife sang her socks off throughout, much to their amusement. If we could just get another 500 hundred into the North Stand the atmosphere would be electric. So 'fantastic effort' after a miserable result last week.

[Keith]

All the old geezers around me were bouncing I can tell you when Aaron scored his goal...

That's no way to talk about Coops, Freez and Yozzer... oh, hang on...
That's no way to talk about Coops and Freez

[OvertheBar]

I did say 'bounce' Keith...not leaping like a salmon

The singers were really brilliant this afternoon, I just hope that any undecided folk will get down to CP against Accrington, snuggle up to the balloon boys in he middle of the North Stand and join in. Failing that, if they just stand normally next to me and the missus they can join us in a Christie Croak or two.

[marky]

Well for family reasons I made an unexpected appearance at Christie Park on Saturday. I must say we were dreadful in the first half and could easily have lost it by half time if it wasn't for Roche's triple save. He's a very good shot stopper but he really worries me in the air. Anyway, it was great to see Yates back in the side. He was my personal man of the match. McStay was obviously nervous to start with and made a couple of errors but he grew in confidence as the game went by and should keep his place in my opinion. Adams played better than against Rotherham but is still far too slow. Our midfield were totally ineffective all game and I've no idea how Stanley got official man of the match. Wainwright had an utter nightmare and I was amazed he stayed on so long. Howe's cross for the goal was brilliant and he had a pretty good game. Taylor struggled for me, but he scored a good goal and as a striker that's what he's there for so he did his job. Overall, we played 10 times better in the second half, although we were really inviting pressure in the last 15 minutes and could easily have lost it. As it stands, we're now the second worst team in the league so we really need to start winning games.