Newport shot for Dale youngsters

ROBBIE Stockdale takes what remains of his Rochdale squad to Newport County on Saturday for the final game of the 2021/22 season.

Dale will draw a line under a difficult campaign in south Wales with a threadbare squad shorn of several senior players.

Dale were forced to draft in goalkeeper Jake Eastwood at the weekend after Jay Lynch joined Joel Coleman on the sidelines, while promising young midfielder Ethan Brierley was recalled from a loan spell at Spennymoor and went straight into the starting XI to face Bristol Rovers.

Following the thrilling 4-3 reverse against Joey Barton’s promotion chasing side, Stockdale said: “The players will have a bit of recovery time as always. We want to go to Newport and try to perform and win the game, of course we do. That will be the plan. There might be a couple more youngsters bloodied in that game.

“Peter Thomas would have been involved on Saturday but unfortunately he got an injury in the week so it will be a case of counting who’s available and seeing if there’s a bus full!”

Dale led 2-0 and 3-1 against Rovers were undone late on as Aaron Collins completed a hattrick with goals in the 89th and 95th minutes.

“I would have been really disappointed to have drawn it, so to lose it in the manner that we did isn’t good enough on our part. I thought the players, performance wise, for the main, were very, very good,” said Stockdale.

“I thought the game plan worked - we should have scored more goals with the opportunities that we had.

“Every goal that you concede is preventable, in my view, and some are more preventable than others, and we did gift them a couple I think. Their first goal is offside, mind.

“It’s a difficult one because I still come off the pitch very disappointed that we haven’t got the result but pretty pleased with lots of aspects of the performance and if we’re a team that everybody tells me that has got nothing to play for, which I don’t buy into – the players were battling, they were running and fighting for every scrap out there.”

“We can’t concede four goals at home and expect to get anything out of the game, but there were lots of aspects of our performance that pleased me.

“I was pleased [at halftime] but we should have scored more goals. We should have come in having scored five - it could have been 5-2 at half-time. I know that sounds really daft but on the reflection of the game that’s what it should have been like.

“We’re down to the bare bones in terms of players – we’ve got six or seven who would be classed as senior players missing – so the players that are out there at the minute are giving me everything and I can’t fault them”

Luke Charman opened his goal scoring account for the club, netting a brace to put Dale 2-0 up.

“I’m really pleased.

Luke has needed those, like any striker.

“I thought his general play was very good as well. Luke has been getting closer and closer so it was great to see him get his first goals. The first one was an excellent finish, because you’ve got a lot of time when you go through one-on-one with the goalkeeper like that. It has taken him a long time to get up to speed and think now you’re seeing the benefits of that.

“You try to get them up to speed but then it’s like they hit a brick wall because they are not used to it. He’s coming through that now and I think we’re seeing the benefits.”