PDP Lead Coach Chris Brown said he was pleased with the Youth Team’s performance in their convincing 4-1 victory over Morecambe.
Dale were dominant for the majority of the match, and although they bagged four times, Brown thought his side could have scored more.
The win moved Dale up to second in the table, and stretches their unbeaten League record back to September.
“I’m pleased in some respects, not in others,” said Brown.
“I thought we were quite sloppy in the first half, even though we were leading 2-1 at half-time. There were some good passages of play, but we were sloppy when we got the ball back.
“We could have changed the play a little bit quicker, but with a couple of changes we dominated play in the second half. It was a comfortable victory, even though we should have had more goals with the opportunities we created.
“The two full-backs, Luke [Matheson] and Nathaniel [Appiah], I thought were outstanding. They were positive and dominant in the final third. They won the ball and went both inside and outside, dribbling and passing the ball.”
James Neild opened the scoring, whilst two Aaron Morley penalties sandwiched a strike from Fabio Tavares.
Dale created a number of chances in the second half, and Brown thought the margin of victory perhaps should have been wider.
“It was pleasing, but overall I think we should have had even more goals. It’s a win on the board with four goals. It’s positive that we’re creating opportunities.
“I thought some of the passages of play in the second half were excellent. The chances created to taken ratio wasn’t where we wanted it to be, and some were simple finishes.
“The goal we conceded was a bit sloppy, we weren’t really squeezing the play enough and we got caught square. It’s something that can be rectified quite quickly in training, but in games we need to make sure we stay concentrated to get the clean sheet.
“But it was a positive performance, the lads are happy, and we’ve got to go into the Blackpool game on Tuesday and try to end the game positively and continue our good work.”
The Blackpool game will be the Youth Team’s last of the year, and Brown is hoping to go into the Christmas break on a high.
“We’re 100% hoping for more of the same. We’ve got a benchmark of where we’ve been playing at all season with the standard that the lads have been showing. Sometimes we’ve dipped below that, sometimes we’ve surpassed that.
“Tuesday is just around the corner, so they can take their performances and confidences from today into that. Fingers crossed we play at the same level and score a few more goals, because I think we deserve that.”
The Youth Team face Blackpool at Stalybridge Celtic’s Bower Fold on Tuesday. Kick-off is at 1pm. Click HERE for full details.