Caretaker Brian so proud of Dale effort
ROCHDALE coach Brian Barry-Murphy hailed his players for the way they rounded off a tough week with victory against Shrewsbury.
Dale sacked the most successful manager in the club’s history on Monday when they parted ways with Keith Hill, and Barry-Murphy was asked to take charge of a shell-shocked group of players.
However, goals from Kgosi Ntlhe and Jim McNulty secured a first home win since Boxing Day and closed the gap between the relegation-threatened club and the safety zone to three points.
“It’s a great victory for the players and everyone associated with the club,” said Barry-Murphy.
“We put a lot of effort in after what was a very difficult week for the players – they expended a lot of emotion early in the week, so to roll off with a win was euphoric.
“They deserved it, they showed a lot of courage and I’m proud of how the players have rallied, though I didn’t expect anything different.”
After a scrappy opening, Ntlhe brought a terrific save out of Steven Arnold with a dipping 25-yard effort. However, the Shrews keeper was beaten when Ntlhe scored from the resulting corner in the 16th minute, firing home Brad Inman’s delivery.
Ian Henderson missed a great chance to double the lead, firing over from six yards.
However, McNulty turned home from close range three minutes into the second half after Ntlhe’s shot had been parried by Arnold.
Rochdale keeper Andy Lonergan kept out Shaun Whalley’s free-kick and a header from Omar Beckles, but the Shrews finally pulled one back when Greg Docherty slotted home in the last minute and, during a tense finale, they struck the bar through Aaron Amadi-Holloway.
“I’m disappointed because I didn’t think we played as well as we have been doing,” said Shrews boss Sam Ricketts.
“We’ve conceded at set-pieces, which is bitterly disappointing as it gave them a foothold in the game.
“We got back in it, scored one and should have scored more, we had good chances especially in the first half.
“I felt we were good enough to come here and win, and that’s what we tried to do.”