Andy Lonergan spoke to www.rochdaleafc.co.uk after Tuesday’s game against Oxford United at the Crown Oil Arena…
He reserved praise for his back four, on a night where conditions made it difficult.
“Wind kills football and there’s nothing you can do. You just can’t factor in how difficult it can be,” said the on loan goalkeeper.
“I don’t know if it was obvious to everyone off the pitch, but on the pitch, the wind made it difficult, especially in the second half.
“But you’ve got to dig in and every point is vital. I thought we did well and I thought we defended well. I also thought the two centre-halves and full-backs were really good. The gist I’m getting is that we concede a lot of late goals, so to see that game out tonight, I’ll take that as a good point.”
The goalkeeper admits he has been impressed with Kgosi Ntlhe since he returned to action.
“Kgosi has been absolutely fantastic. I’ve said to one of the lads that I think he could be a Premier League left-back. And that’s because centre-halves are normally 6ft plus. But as an athlete, he could be whatever he wants to be.
“That’s two Man of the Match Awards for him. And to be honest, I thought I should have got Saturday’s, but never mind! No, I’m only joking. He was absolutely brilliant on Saturday and again tonight - he deserves it. He’s such a nice kid as well – he lifts everybody.”
Lonergan has been outstanding since his arrival at Rochdale, consistently pulling off a string of top drawer-saves in every game he has played in, so he was pleased to have had a bit of a quieter evening on Tuesday.
“Tonight, I think I’ve made one of the best saves I’ve made since I’ve been here, when they hit the bar, so I was pleased with that. But in general, that’s one of my quietest games. At Plymouth, for example, I made a lot of saves but let in five. It is good to say I’ve kept a clean sheet, but, for me, it’s not the be all and end all.”