Another professional performance and a pretty comfortable victory. We can certainly be better in possession than we were today, but defensively I thought we were absolutely magnificent.
It was a great start, with a good tempo to our play and two very good finishes from Jolley, which he made look far easier than they actually were. However, after the second goal Rochdale were able to throw caution to the wind and commit men forward, and they already outnumbered us in midfield. As a result, they dominated the ball and played some very nice stuff at times, but without really threatening us until the final ten minutes. We defended the eighteen yard box very well indeed, and I lost count of the number of interceptions and blocks that were made, not just from the back four but also from the attacking players tracking back.
On the one occasion in the second half that we were breached Doohan produced a truly outstanding save with his feet, and I thought his composure and handling were excellent throughout.
Elsewhere, I agreed with the sponsor's choice of Jolly as man of the match, but I thought Davies and Cogley had very good games and pushed him close. We also look a far better side with Kieran Morris in the team. The first impressions of Hemmings were good: I liked his awareness of players around him, and his work off the ball, with his pressing of the keeper resulting in the first goal. McPake was poor again, but did show some signs of getting up to speed in the second half.
We are now five points clear of third place, unbeaten in nine, and eight of those games have been victories. Onwards and upwards.