There's no heart you can't melt

JKDH

Rochdale 0 Wycombe Wanderers 1

Approaching Rochdale is a strange experience. With the surrounding homes already plundered for raw materials to burn upon the pitch, it appeared that the local population had been sacrificed too. No people, no parking restrictions and no over zealous stewarding, “you can do what you like here as long as you don’t cause trouble”. Er, righto.

But what’s this? Men in quartered shirts boosting the profits of the local chippy, familiar signs of life after all. £2.50 a pint inside the ground (“is that lager or bitter, luv?”), as many serving staff as punters and music to cheer the soul. It’s not often you get to hear Mersey Paradise or Stereolab’s French Disko while watching the ramshackle collective that is Wycombe’s away following devouring some sensational pies. Well worth having the tannoy cranked up to 11 out of 10. This trip was always a good idea.

Are You Blue Or Are You Blind (ref)?

Rochdale away is not a fixture to usually get the pulse racing, but this was big. Big like all but a couple of Rochdale’s well-drilled side. Pre-match talk of Holt’s absence and games in hand were wide of the mark. This was about the weight of expectation - Wycombe’s bearded maestro now having to cope with smbu’s full public awayday backing. No pressure son and the boy done good, if perhaps fortunate to remain on the pitch for questioning the many questionable decisions in the 2nd half – this following a textbook yellow card. Plenty of chit chat in the Wycombe midfield these days. Long may it continue.

However, this performance was not about one man. Unfortunately, nobody had told the member of the away support who had travelled specifically to tell Neil Lennon he wasn’t very good. Make no mistake, everything good about Wycombe’s 1st half football went through Lennon. But still, one stray pass and we were treated to groans of “watch your passing, Lennon”. Good tip that, and how it paid off as he watched very closely indeed, spraying a fine first time ball out wide to Martin who side-stepped some smouldering debris to send Knight racing clear. I hope he muttered ‘turbo boost’ as he sprinted on and lashed home. I hope Lennon muttered some words of thanks as he trotted back as well….

Cut Some Rug

What followed bodes well for the run in. Very well. This is League 2, a league where good football can be played but where a desire to run yourself into the ground and throw your body around gets you a heck of a long way. Combining both might just be an idea eh? The 2nd half was ugly, football in scant supply partly due to Sergio’s absence and partly because there was another decent team out there with the cheek to turn up and play. From McGleish back, the defensive display was immense and playing a left footed player on the left is working wonders, Woodman showing great promise at left midfield too following Johnson’s switch to full back. Welcome back Williamson, well done all. Grown men in blue quartered shirts charging around for the sake of 3 points and chasing the dream of more away games within a 3 hour radius of London. It’s all about dreams.

When the whistle finally blew, the celebrations were loud, proud and tinged with no little relief at having kept the home side at bay – restricted to long-range efforts bar one alarming opening that Le Fondre blazed high. Jigs of delight both on and off the pitch, more of the same come May please. I dare to dream. So does Matt Bloomfield – leading the celebrations at the end to bring to close a superb afternoon that warmed away the cold and swirling wind.

This was a good idea. This was big.

25.02.2008. 15:48

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