County have the opportunity to climb up to fourth in League Two on Tuesday night, as we travel to bottom of the table Rochdale AFC looking for a fifth win on the spin.
Saturday’s superb 2-0 win over Stevenage felt like a significant one come the final whistle, inflicting just a fifth defeat of the season on the visitors to climb above Salford City into sixth – also opening up a three point gap over Bradford City in eighth, following their defeat at home to Barrow.
We remain just four points behind Carlisle United and the automatic promotion places, and with none of the other sides in the top half of the table in action on Tuesday, a win would see Dave Challinor’s side close that gap even further. Even a point at the Crown Oil Arena would see us rise above Mansfield Town and Northampton Town into the top four.
At the other end of the table, Rochdale will find themselves rooted in 24th place regardless of the outcome on Tuesday night, as a 2-0 defeat at home to relegation rivals Gillingham at the weekend left them with just one win in their last 15 league outings. They currently sit six points adrift of safety, as they look to avoid dropping out of the Football League for the first time since first joining in 1921.
Our Opponents:
It’s been a miserable season so far for Rochdale and their supporters. Two managers, just five wins and 21 defeats from their opening 32 games; the club now face the very real possibility of falling into non-league for the first time in over a century.
It’s hard to believe then, that just two years ago the Lancashire side were enjoying their seventh consecutive season in League One – almost uncharted territory for a club that had previously spent 36 successive seasons in League Two, between 1969-2010.
Relegation that year however saw them part company with manager Brian Barry-Murphy, with former Sunderland and West Brom coach Robbie Stockdale hired as his replacement.
Rochdale found their reintroduction to the fourth tier to be harder than perhaps anticipated under the 41-year-old, as they again battled it out at the wrong end of the table – Stockdale eventually leading his side to an 18th place finish, still a healthy 15 points clear of the relegation zone.
It was enough to keep the Scot in the job over the Summer – but not for much longer than that, as four defeats from their opening four league games this season saw Stockdale become the first managerial casualty of the season in the EFL. Not helped by the loss of key players during his tenure in charge, including last year’s Player of the Season in Eoghan O’Connell, he left the Crown Oil Arena having managed just 16 wins in 59 games in charge.
In his place, Rochdale turned to former Morecambe and AFC Fylde boss Jim Bentley – the 46-year-old joining on a two-year deal. Bentley became known as something of a survival specialist during his time at Morecambe, keeping them in the league on a minimal budget, and despite picking up just one point from his first three games in charge, he then led the team to three wins from four games as Dale climbed out of the bottom two.
The numbers since then, however, make grim reading for Bentley and the Rochdale supporters. Just two wins in their subsequent 19 league games has seen them plummet to the bottom of the table, having already lost more games than they did in the entirety of last season (21 – at least four more than any side in League Two). Their record of five wins so far is the worst in the division, whilst only Gillingham have scored fewer than their 25 goals in 32 league outings.
Positives may have been few and far between, but the inconsistent form of the sides immediately above them in the table means they haven’t been cut adrift just yet, and where there’s life, there’s hope.
They can perhaps take some confidence from their performances against the top sides in the division over recent months – those two wins in their last 19 came at home to Salford and, more recently, 2-1 away at Bradford. They also took a point off Northampton just over a week ago, only denied all three by a late equaliser, whilst they have suffered only narrow one-goal defeats to leaders Leyton Orient and promotion-chasing Carlisle United.
In short, Bentley may well feel that his side’s performances have not always been reflected in their results, but with time running out fast he will be well aware that is something that needs to change quickly.
One to watch:
There are plenty of faces amongst the Rochdale ranks that will be familiar to County supporters. Jimmy Ball, Devante Rodney and Danny Lloyd all now ply their trade at the Crown Oil Arena, whilst striker Scott Quigley is currently on loan there, but unable to play against his parent side.
One man Rochdale have always been able to rely on this season has been Club legend, Ian Henderson. Still playing at the age of 38, Henderson spent seven years at the club from 2013-2020, scoring 126 goals before leaving to join Salford City. He rejoined in the Summer, and has since become their all-time leading goalscorer, surpassing Reg Jenkins’ longstanding record of 129.
The former Colchester forward is also the all-time top goalscorer in League One with 122, nine ahead of Paddy Madden, and has shown he’s still got the scoring touch this season despite playing in a struggling side, managing eight goals in 34 appearances.
Match Stats:
- County have won seven of the last eight meetings between the two sides, a run that included victory in the 2008 play-off final at Wembley. Rochdale’s only victory in that time saw them win 7-2 in an extraordinary game at Edgeley Park, back in 2007.
- This will be the 135th competitive meeting between the two sides, with County winning 58 compared to Rochdale’s 42. Our last league defeat away at Rochdale came in September 1990.
- Will Collar has now been directly involved in 16 goals this season in all competitions (10 goals, six assists). Only Kyle Wootton (17) has been involved in more. Will has now scored 21 goals in 65 appearances under Dave Challinor, having previously only scored twice in his entire career before DC’s appointment.
