September 20th - a memorable night

Aldershot Town are League Two’s only remaining representative in the Carling Cup. Last night they came from behind to beat League 1 opponents, Rochdale, 2v1 at the Recreation Ground.

The win saw the Shots through to the last 16 of the competition (Football League Cup) for the first time since the competition was launched in 1960.

I’m sure the 500 or so Shots fans still struggling to get into the Recreation Ground as the Carling Cup 3rd round encounter with Rochdale kicked off last night were tempted to turn around and walk back across the High Street to the comfortable surroundings of The Crimea for a pint.

Opened in 1856, as the Crimea War was coming to a close, the pub lasted for about seventy-five years before it was rebuilt in the 1930s and its recent makeover was undoubtedly much needed!

The Crimea War started as a squabble between French Catholics and the Russian Orthodox churches in Turkey. Czar Nicholas I tried to dominate Turkey to gain access to the Mediterranean……the Russian army moved in and the French and British troops opposed them.

And on September 20th 1854 the French and British won a famous battle at Alma…….

I’ve always considered supporters of Rochdale FC to be kindred spirits….any fan who can follow a club claiming the longest unbroken run in the bottom division of the Football League (broken only by promotion to L1 in 2010) must be counted as ‘one of us’.

Rochdale’s long history has forever been wrapped up in a survival blanket. They avoided becoming a founder member of the fourth division in 1958, a fate that inevitably befell us, by virtue of their above average finish in the last year of the regional leagues.

But we didn’t have to wait long for our first encounter. Rochdale’s immediate relegation to Division 4 led to our first competitive fixture with the Lancashire club ….a no score draw on January 9th 1960.

Rochdale’s fortunes flickered in the late sixties and for a brief moment they played with the slightly ‘bigger boys’ and the ‘fading stars’, just as we did for a while in the seventies and eighties….

But for most of the years from 1959 to our demise in 1992 it was the convention that we both survived in the basement, the Shots winning at the Rec and the Dale winning at Spotlands (at home: 14 wins, 7 draws, 3 defeats and away: 3 wins, 7 draws and 14 defeats).

Yes, it’s fair to say that our history of engagement is pretty average and for most of the time lacking any colour.

Derick Allsop’s, Kicking In The Wind is an evocative account of ‘The real life drama of a small-town football club’ – and it could just have easily been written about Aldershot.

‘The Third Division (L2) is the factory floor of the game, where diligent tradesmen endeavour to stave off injury and competition long enough to make a living, buy a comfortable semi and run a second-hand car……And yet, within inevitable constraints, a club like Rochdale can still have its ambitions and motivation….The supporters, too, yearn for greater things – a Cup run, the play-offs, even promotion. Faith and hope will forever bond all football people.’

And beyond the mediocrity of our on-pitch encounters, just a hint of the unexpected delivered by way of an odd sequence of transfers.

The 1970 season started with the great Peter Gowans (who sadly died in 2009) moving back north in a surprise deal with Rochdale, taking with him Tony Godfrey, our legendary, if somewhat short in stature keeper. And then Jack Howarth packed his bags in 1971 and went north too….it was all a bit odd.

Perhaps it was a mistake, having something to do with the on-screen, and Rochdale born, Jack Howarth who in 1960 auditioned for the role of Albert Tatlock in Coronation Street where he made his screen debut in episode one, transmitted on 9 December 1960. Jack went on to appear in over 1700 episodes, making his last appearance on 25 January 1984.

Anyway after their expedition north, Jack and Tony came back in 1972 and Aldershot secured promotion to Division 3 at Stockport on the last day of the season.

Gosh, I’m really struggling to make any connection between Rochdale and Aldershot memorable……ok, so what about Gracie Fields?

Born above a fish and chip shop on Molesworth Street, Rochdale she was adored by the millions of allied troops that she entertained during the Second World War, even if the British government officials were less fond of her. Yes, poor old Gracie was refused a passport in 1945 because she had become an Italian citizen on her marriage to Monty Banks five years earlier……in a service held in St Michael the Archangel, the oldest church in Aldershot. Dating back to the Saxon period, the oldest part is the tower built in the 12th Century…….

Now, history is of course interesting but last night was exhilarating……

Michael Rankine’s 47th minute equaliser, scored with an overhead kick, was just reward for another towering performance. And Danny Hylton’s spectacular winner in the 78th minute was a goal good enough to win any competition on the world stage…….yes, it was just that….spectacular.

In the first half, Rochdale were competent and kept up with the pace and tenacity of a fluent Aldershot. Their 45th minute successful strike the result of a relentlessly direct style of play. An outdated approach that by the end of the game was about as efficient as our own operation of a set of turnstiles…..

Throughout the 50 years and more of following the Shots Rochdale have always been the model of average. But last night will live on in my memory, as the day the Shots beat Rochdale and went on to play…….

And just a footnote for Aldershot Town manager Dean Holdsworth…..we play in red and blue, not white.

September 20th was a memorable night……even if it was without colour.