Manager Keith Hill reflects on ten man Dale’s 2-2 draw with Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Ground…
There were three goals in a crazy five minutes spell during the first half, with Callum Camps putting Rochdale in front after rounding the goalkeeper.
Matty Taylor equalised four minutes later, before Ian Henderson restored Dale’s lead almost straight from kick off.
Taylor equalised again five minutes into the second half with a fine strike inside the area. Defender Niall Canavan picked up his second booking of the game with 20 minutes remaining,
“The lads have put a lot of effort into a game” Hill told Dale PlayerHD.
“The first half was filled with everything I expect but bad decisions in the second half led to us being a little bit under siege.
“We did have other opportunities in the second half but it was a hard toll and I feel a little bit sorry for the players. Again, there is a lack of confidence and belief in the individuals. In the second half, we are making too many bad decisions and you have to make good decisions in game time.
“I just can’t put my finger on it because the first half was so good. We probably should have been more than a goal to the advantage if we are ruthless in front of goal.
“There’s a lot of fight, a lot of effort, a lot of will but we need to have that controlled skill which is good decision making.
“With respect to us making sure we turn performances from these type of games into three points, the players have to do better. They can’t keep making elementary mistakes that have cost us the game today.
"It’s the goals, because we scored two good goals today, it’s the sending off, it’s having to make the half-time substitution and it’s one or two in-game decisions that aren’t quite disciplined enough for us to make sure that we win games.”
Hill confirmed that he was forced to withdraw Scott Tanser at half-time due to illness.
The full interview is on Dale PlayerHD.