Manager Keith Hill reflects on Rochdale’s 4-3 defeat at the Northern Commercials Stadium…
Dale were on the wrong end of the seven-goal thriller, after an action packed first half was followed by two late goals in the second half.
Two of the Bantams’ goals came as the result of a set-piece into the area, something Hill was left very disappointed with.
“It’s more than disappointing. The players have got to make better decisions,” he told iFollow.
“We do our due diligence and we plan all week but it gets thrown out of the window by bad decisions and we get heavily punished. I’m so disappointed. It’s probably the most disappointed I’ve ever been as a manager at Rochdale Football Club.
“We created chances and we missed a penalty. There are two sides to every game and they [Bradford City] also created chances but we didn’t defend their set-plays.
“There’s an organisation and the players are absolving themselves from any responsibility. It's hard for me as a manager - I may as well just stay at home all week, turn up on Saturday and then just put the names into a hat and tell the players to go out and play DIY football, because the set-play organisation is a sad reflection on me and my staff.
“Set-plays can win you games or lose you games. Today, I believe, it has lost us a game that we should have got something from. That’s down to players to accept their responsibility and actually see it through, and that’s what’s disappointed me today.”
Substitute Steven Davies levelled the scoring with 15 minutes of the match remaining, but the home side’s winner came through Tyrell Robinson four minutes later, when he broke away, latched onto a Charlie Wyke through ball and rounded the advancing Josh Lillis to finish into an empty net.
Hill was frustrated with the manner in which the fourth goal was conceded.
“It’s DIY defending. I’m making decisions and I’m putting players on the pitch to do better than the players that I’ve withdrawn and they’re arguably doing worse. I’m disgusted with some of the player decisions today, really disgusted, at key components times within a game, and it’s as though they don’t want to do it.
“Football is a fight and the opposition can sense weakness, whether it’s a substitution or a starter, a starter or a finisher, and like I said, I’m disgusted with the individual player decisions today – basic skills and responsibility.
“But within that game, I’ve also seen moments of brilliance as well, and we’re just not marrying it up.”
Watch the full interview on iFollow.