Frustration of self-implosion
ROCHDALE’ boss Keith Hill was bitterly disappointed to see his side’s preparations and the firm foundations laid in the opening half hour at Sunderland undone by ‘self-implosion.’
Dale’s unbeaten away run in League One came to an end with a 4-1 loss in the north east against a Black Cats side widely tipped for a return to the Championship as champions.
While there was no disgrace in losing to the divisional favourites, Hill was frustrated as his side shipped three quickfire goals in an eight-minute spell just before the break.
“We weren’t here to make up the numbers – we were here to try and win this game, and I’m bitterly disappointed that we competed so well and then self-imploded,” he said. “We could have turned the crowd against them, but we supported Sunderland in being so charitable – we were so charitable that it was almost like Christmas.
“That’s something we have to deal with. It might be some hard miles from the players in that we might have to experience this again, but hopefully they’ll learn and educate themselves.
“The lads worked so hard and then undid all the hard work. But it’s a true reflection of the game and the lack of mental consistency that you need as an individual or a group of players to consistently turn out positive results, and that’s the big difference between the two sides.
“We shot ourselves in the foot, so I’m disappointed, but I hope it’s a learning curve for the players. It’s trying to salvage something in the second half and I’m putting substitutions on to try and change it. We had the first opportunity of the half and there’s a great save from the goalkeeper, but we never really got going.
“Sunderland played at probably 80 per cent and won 4-1, and that’s annoying from my perspective because I expect us to be better than that. I expect us to be better than a little bit of self-implosion, because for 37 minutes we were reasonably happy. We had one or two opportunities and I wasn’t overly concerned but then the concern is the selfimplosion individually and sometimes collectively, and it was individual. You’ve got to deal with the ball and you’ve got to deal with the strikers better. You can’t really – but I have to – forgive central defenders for not marking a striker on a simple cross that comes into the box.”
One aspect of the day that pleased Hill was the turn out of Dale supporters, with more than 1,200 making the journey.
“I’m really pleased our supporters turned up,” he said. “When you consider our home gate was 2500 last week, 1,252 is a magnificent effort. It’s just a shame that we didn’t give them what they wanted.
“It’s nice to celebrate with your own supporters when we’ve been successful away from home but there’s no celebration today. There’s a lot of contemplating, and I hope the players contemplate as much about their performances as much as I do.”