Sleepless nights for boss
KEITH Hill said Dale lacked the kind of energy he’s looking for in performances – and admitted his goalkeepers are causing him sleepless nights!
Speaking after the 2-1 FA Cup first round win against Gateshead, Hill said: “We showed a lot of energy in the first-half trying to break the opponents down and when we did, it was as though we went into cruise control, which is very dangerous.
“We didn’t seem to show that same type of energy that gets us our success. But fair credit to the opposition, I thought they responded well to being 2-0 down but I can’t believe we almost went on auto-pilot, and it nearly cost us.
“We’re through, we got the result and we scored two goals, but too many players were off colour.
“I tried to pre-warn the players at half-time but we fell into the trap.
“Regardless of whatever trap we fell into, our ‘keeper has got to save that shot, no question about it.
“He’s lucky in the first-half when he gets away with a misstimed pass. The goalkeepers are causing me consternation at this moment in time, because regardless of what the opposition do in the second-half with respect to getting into our final third, I can’t remember Brendan (Moore) making a real honest, unbelievable match winning save. He has actually given them a lifeline.
“I’ve got to give credit to the opponents, the way they took the game to us in the second-half. They should have been dead and buried with respect to what I expect from my team but I didn’t get it. Again, I am really not happy with the goalkeeping situation, it’s giving me sleepless nights!
“What goes in Brendan’s favour is the run of form that we’re on. We’re winning games and not losing them. Since he’s been in the side, we’ve only lost the game at Wycombe.”