Manager Keith Hill reflects on his side’s 2-2 draw with MK Dons…
Dale were cruelly denied all three points when Ben Reeves’s injury time strike, which looked to be heading wide of the target, deflected up and into the back of the net.
“There are loads of positives to take out of the game,” Hill told Dale PlayerHD.
“I’ve always considered this, Stadium:mk, one of the hardest places to come in the EFL, never mind in League One, and we’ve scored two goals.
“We’ve reached 50 points with 12 games to go. That’s the quickest we’ve reached the 50 points mark in League One.
“There are also a lot of positives throughout the course of the season, but at this moment in time I feel sorry for my players. What I’m putting them through is quite ridiculous – Calvin Andrew has had tonsillitis and hasn’t trained all week.
“Joey Thompson is with the medics at this moment in time – it looks as though he’s got some sort of bug, and there are other players who aren’t 100-percent match fit yet.
“We were playing against a technical side who wanted to pass the ball around and I thought we played well. I thought the game plan was very good.
“We deserved to be 1-0 up. We absorbed a lot of pressure in the second half without really looking in too much danger, so their equaliser annoys me.
“Sometimes you can’t stop a bad bounce and that’s what happened with the second equalising goal in the 92nd minute.
“I’ve got to give my players a lot of credit because they’re prepared to go out there and play for me while not being 100-percent fit.
“Steven Davies, as a result of not being 100-percent fit, is now not fit again.
“Matty Lund is serving a two game suspension, Donal McDermott is still suspended, while Joe Bunney and Josh Lillis aren’t fit yet. During the week, Reuben went over on his ankle and he’s going to be out for two or three weeks.
“And to add insult to injury, Matty Lund gets called up to the national side. All due respect to Matty, he deserves to represent his country, but the timing of it couldn’t have been any worse from my perspective.
“I’ve got to look at the bigger picture. In January, did I feel as though we had a team capable of mounting a promotion play-off challenge? 100-percent.
“I couldn’t have envisaged what’s happened since. Not with respect to results, but with injuries and suspensions. I’ve never dealt with anything like this before.
“Sometimes you can’t stop the negative bounce, but one thing I am pleased about is that we’ve reached the 50 point mark with 12 games to go.”
Dale are back in action on Tuesday night away at Scunthorpe United and Hill says he’ll have to assess the squad before selecting his team for the match.
“I’ve got to look at Calvin Andrew and other players who probably shouldn’t play on Tuesday. I’ve got to look at it, assess it and evaluate it, because I don’t want any more serious injuries.
“We’ve got Matty Gillam and Aaron Morley, and I’ve got a 16-year-old left back who I think is amazing, so I might utilise him.
“It’s in these types of situations where it’s why not.”
Watch the full interview on Dale PlayerHD.