Well done to Hurst and the lads for stopping the rot and getting what could turn out to be the most important win of the season. Not a great game by any means but Payne took his chance well and we generally kept our shape and limited Rochdale to very few chances. I thought Deegan and Grimmer played with good discipline but surely the Man of the Match was the ref. He was spot on all afternoon, kept the game flowing when he could and refused to give free kicks when players went down after fifty-fifty challenges. More of the same please lads against Walsall on Friday - we have not beaten them very often lately and it would be very sweet to inch towards safety with three points against them.
A pleasing result under a pleasant return of the sunshine. Payne got booed as his name was called out on the lineup at the start of the game by some in the stands. Shame on them as he provided the only goal of the game as he cheekily placed it between the keepers legs. Town should have used their advantage in the first half to get another goal however it remained at one nil. The second half seemed to venture their fans but Town kept most of it under control. Grimmer looked rusty in first half and let Mendez Laing past him a few times. However the second half saw a better time for him. Sadler, Dodds and Morris stood out as the potential MoM candidates.
I agree Morris looks promising and we need to hang onto him and Ogogo and further strengthen our midfield next season. I did not hear the booing of Payne's name and I am not sure what the aim of that type of behavior is. Payne will clearly improve with more game time though I personally would prefer Humphreys to start - he holds the ball up much better, seems more likely to score and could link up well with Dodds.
