AHEAD OF THE GAME: Rochdale AFC (A)

Rochdale vs Woking

Enterprise National League

Saturday 21st February

15:00 Kick-Off

On the road once again, the Cards prepare for a tough test as they travel up North to take on table-toppers Rochdale, looking to bounce back from their midweek defeat at Sutton.

In a dramatic first half, the U’s took the early lead at the VBS Community Stadium, before poor defensive play from the hosts allowed Turner to level in the 14th minute. Sutton were then able to retake the lead in the 27th minute, which, despite a later red card reducing the hosts to ten men, proved to be the decisive goal in a 2-1 loss for the Cards.

Woking now take to the Crown Oil Arena looking to make amends, with a tough task as Rochdale fight to make it ten league games unbeaten.

It was a point well-earned for the Cards in the reverse fixture, played back in October, with a goalless draw at the Laithwaite Community Stadium seeing Jaaskelainen become the first goalkeeper the Dale faced this season who they could not net against.

Two familiar faces in the squad on that afternoon were ex-Cards Dan Moss and Tarryn Allarakhia, who will certainly be striving to make an impact against their former club if they feature on Saturday afternoon.

Opposition Watch

Currently nine games unbeaten in the league, Rochdale’s last league loss came on December 30th, a 2-1 defeat on home turf against Hartlepool, meaning the Dale remain unbeaten in the league this year.

Recent results, however, suggest a minor slip in performance as, after stringing together seven consecutive wins, the Dale have dropped points in their last two fixtures.

Indeed, last time out, they welcomed Scunthorpe, boasting five back-to-back wins at home, a streak which the Iron ended by holding Jimmy McNulty’s side to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday, February 17th.

The point they gained from the fixture, however, was enough to move them back to the top spot, as they leapt over York City, with the Dale still pocketting a crucial game in hand.

After finishing fourth last season, Rochdale lost out on a play-off semi-final spot after Southend came from behind to lead 4-3 in extra time in the first knockout stage. A frustrating end to their season, the Dale would certainly like to secure automatic promotion this term, meaning they strive to put more points between themselves and their closest competitors in York City.

Having played a total of 31 league games so far this season, Rochdale have dropped points on just seven occasions, with their draw against Neal Ardley’s side adding to that number. Against tricky opposition on Saturday, the Cards will be hoping to do one better than the reverse fixture and bring all three points back to Surrey.

Around the Ground

Tickets for our Enterprise National League fixture against Rochdale AFC are on sale and can be purchased HERE.

Travel:

Supporters planning to travel to Rochdale on Saturday, 21st February, should be aware of major railway disruption across Manchester due to large-scale engineering works.

Between Saturday 14th and Sunday 22nd February, Network Rail is carrying out a £7.9m upgrade to tracks and signalling on the southern approach to Manchester Piccadilly. As a result, no trains will run into Manchester Piccadilly from the south or east, and services across the region will be heavily affected.

This means that train travel through Manchester will be very difficult and many long-distance services will terminate early at stations such as Stockport, Crewe, Preston, or Manchester Victoria. Rail replacement buses will be in operation, but these are expected to be very busy, with longer journey times and possible queues. Direct routes towards Rochdale via Manchester Piccadilly are not available.

The Crown Oil Arena is just over two miles from junction 20 of the M62. Enter OL11 5DR for Sat Navs.

One to Watch

Fresh from signing a new deal which keeps him at the club until the summer of 2027, Harvey Gilmour is certainly a key player to the current high-flying Rochdale side.

Indeed, he recently received the January Player of the Month Award, seeing him win all but August’s honour as he picked up the award for the fifth consecutive month.

Back in October, he reached a milestone of 100 appearances for the club and, since then, he has found the net at crucial moments of the campaign. In a brief overview of his influence, he boasts the winner against Aldershot in November, an 81st-minute winner against Morecambe on Boxing Day, and more recently a 90th-minute winner against Southend in January.

Throughout this season, his standout influence in midfield has clearly been key to his side’s success, and he will be one Woking will look to keep quiet upon their Saturday afternoon visit.