A strong Dale side won 1 - 0 at a bitterly cold Radcliffe Borough this afternoon with a Calum Byrne strike in the 29th minute sealing the victory.

Both sides struggled to get going early on and there were few chances of note before Calum scored what proved to be the decisive strike. Good lead up play provided thechance for him and although he did not hit the shot cleanly it bounced over the Carlisle keeper and into the net.

Dale had a good call for a penalty waved away in the 35th minue when the ball clearly hit a Carlisle hand in the box. Half time came with Dale one nil up and in command of the game.

Dale kicked off the second half and although there were few real chances were comfortable throughout. Josh Brizell was the victim of a poor challenge on 62 minutes and although he tried to carry on he was replaced by Roche minutes later.

Overall the match gave many first teamers valuable playing time and it was good to see Kenny Arthur back and he was commanding at the back. The match finished with Dale as worthy winners and our thanks to Radcliffe Borough for accomodating us at such short notice.

Rochdale:

Arthur, Flynn, McArdle, Brown, Brizzell, ( Roche ) Toner, Jones, Hogan, Higginbotham, Byrne ( Murray ),  Andre ( Bentham ).

Goal - Byrne 29 minutes.