The triple substitution on 65 minutes changed the course of, what had been up to then, a frustrating afternoon, and in particular the introduction of Macauley Bonne. On paper he was the replacement for Tom Hopper, but actually it was his channel-running as a outlet for our defenders to go a little more direct - which is what Charley Kendall had been tasked with - that proved to make all the difference. That's what led to the own goal, and he fired an effort into the side-netting shortly after that as well.
More than that, it was his experience, intelligence and his gamecraft that really got us going, getting in a confrontation with an opponent that saw them both cautioned. That seemed to lift everyone around him, and from that moment, even whilst we were behind, we felt in more control of the game, which was no mean feat against a Rochdale side that were well-organised and kept possession well.
I think Maher was justified in making the tactical switch with Coker starting ahead of Walker for that reason; whilst three up front could've posed more of an attacking threat, if we coughed up possession as much as it transpired we did - with Taylor and Morton particularly culpable, I thought - then we wouldn't had enough control of the game for the front three to have had any influence.
What the introduction of Bonne, Walker and Appiah-Forson, and subsequently Chambers-Parillon, did was to give us more intent in attacking areas. We actually worked the ball into fairly good positions throughout the game, but the ability of Bonne to run in the channels turned the Rochdale defence around; to that point, even when Kendall was released in similar positions, he seemed to lack the physicality to maintain possession, and so the move either broke down completely or we had to reset, allowing the visitors the opportunity to recover.
In the end we were well worth a point, and it could've been all three as Chambers-Parillon curled off-target and Walker sent an effort narrowly past the right-hand upright; it certainly wouldn't have been unfair on Rochdale, who themselves had earlier chances to extend their lead when Rodney smashed over and later, after Taylor had misplaced a square pass, when Ralph did superbly to read the play and dispossess Mitchell.
There are still areas where we can - and, I expect, will - improve. The midfield three all worked hard, especially out of possession, but equally were wasteful at times, and Bridge wasn't at his threatening best, even though he occupied defenders just by being an outlet on the left. Hopper and Kendall were not as effective as a partnership as when they had Walker around them on Tuesday. We were possibly a little more direct with Goodliffe in the centre of defence as opposed to Golding, but he is fairly solid and is willing to go up and win the ball in both penalty areas, so their competition for places is fascinating. Chambers-Parillon will be fighting for a midfield role soon enough, but for now I quite like him being an impact sub for 15-20 minutes at the end of a game and, as he works his way back into full-time football, I wouldn't rush him into a starting berth.
It's still a big battle to get into the play-offs this season, but I thought the squad showed a lot of fight today. It's only the third point we've gained this season after conceding the first goal, and the fourth where we've been behind at any time. Personally, I'd prefer us to take the lead and control the game so we don't have an opportunity to improve that statistic, but realistically that won't always be the case and sometimes you have to show your mettle, and that was clear in abundance this afternoon.
