Rochdale vs Southend United on 27 Apr 19 - Match Centre

Rochdale v Southend United | Crown Oil Arena, Sky Bet League One, Saturday 27th April 2019, 3pm Kick-Off

Dale welcome Southend United to the Crown Oil Arena for the final home game of the 2018/19 season.

Back-to-back wins over the Easter weekend saw Dale move up to 14^th, meaning a draw against Southend guarantee safety.

The Shrimpers are still fighting for their lives, with last weekend’s 3-2 win over Burton Albion moving them out of the relegation zone.

Callum Camps scored a late winner in the reverse fixture between the two sides earlier this season.

PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW

Brian Barry-Murphy says his players are excited ahead of the game.

Click HERE to read what he had to say, or HERE to watch his interview in full.

OPPOSITION VIEW

“We just have to show a committed and concentrated performance and we need to be completely focused on the job,” said Southend boss Kevin Bond.

Click HERE to read what he had to say in full on Southend’s official website.

ADMISSION DETAILS

Click HERE to read our update admission prices article.

BRING A FRIEND VOUCHER

Season ticket holders who still have ‘bring a friend vouchers’ in the back of their book can use them at Saturday’s game.

To redeem the voucher(s), all you need to do is bring the voucher to the RAFC Ticket Office, either in the run up to the game, or on the day of the fixture. These cannot be redeemed at the turnstile or online, and can only be redeemed once.

Click HERE for more information.

Please note, however, that you will need to be quick to redeem these, as seats are very limited in the Smith Metals Family Stand and the Main Stand.

FIRST TIME VISITOR GUIDE

Are you a first-time visitor to the Crown Oil Arena? Click HERE for all of the information you may need in order to plan your visit and make the most of the matchday experience at Rochdale Football Club!

AWAY SUPPORTERS’ GUIDE

If you are a Southend United fan making your way to the Crown Oil Arena for Saturday’s game, click HERE and have a read of our Visiting Supporters’ Guide which is packed full of useful information!

PRE-MATCH

There’s a FREE Junior Event in the Carlsberg Lounge before Saturday’s game, where youngsters can make their own squishys! Click HERE for full details.

The Ratcliffe Bars, situated on the Club's car park, open at midday. Away fans are welcome.

Click HERE to view our preview of what the Community Trust have on.

HALF-TIME

This season marks the 50^th anniversary of the Club’s first ever promotion. To commemorate this, members of that team will be VIP guests of the Club on Saturday.

They will be introduced to the crowd at half-time. Make sure you give them the reception they deserve! Click HERE for full details.

REF WATCH

Referee | Ben Toner

Assistant Referees | Declan Ford & Natalie Aspinall

Fourth Official | Marc Edwards

MATCH ODDS

Sky Bet are offering odds of 7/5 for a Dale win on Saturday.

Click HERE for the full betting preview.

MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

Rochdale AFC’s matchday programme – The Voice of Spotland – is back on Saturday, with a retro feel to it!

Purchase from the Club Shop and around the ground on matchday for just £3. Click HERE to read the full preview.

FLASHBACK

Dale were convincing 3-0 winners over Southend on their visit to the Crown Oil Arena in October 2016.

Click HERE to watch highlights from the win.

WE’VE GOT IT COVERED

Fans in the UK can listen to match audio commentary on iFollow, whilst overseas supporters can watch the match live! The programme will start at 2.45pm.

Click HERE to subscribe to iFollow.

To access commentary/watch live via your desktop, click on the 'iFollow' tab on our navigation bar. Hover over the 'More' tab and more selections will appear, which is where the 'iFollow' tab is located. Once you’ve clicked through, a link will appear on the left-hand side of the page for you to access the commentary. This will appear on the site around half an hour before kick-off.

We will be tweeting live updates from the match and will go behind-the-scenes with our Instagram Story feature. Follow @officiallydale (Twitter and Instagram).

Match Previews

Dale secured their place in Sky Bet League One for a sixth successive season with a 1-0 win over Southend United at the Crown Oil Arena.

Ian Henderson’s 20^th goal of the season eight minutes after the break proved to be the difference, making it three consecutive wins in the process.

Rekeil Pyke replaced Stephen Dooley in the only change to the starting line-up from Dale’s Easter Monday win at Bristol Rovers.

Dale started well, with Callum Camps’ turn and shot testing Southend goalkeeper Mark Oxley from distance, before he poked wide Pyke’s pull-back after the on-loan Huddersfield Town man had beaten his defender on the byline.

Aaron Wilbraham nodded a Joe Bunney cross wide of the near post, before Josh Lillis was called into action, making saves from Harry Bunn and Taylor Moore’s looping header.

Camps had another chance before the break when a long ball forward bounced into his path, but goalkeeper Oxley was out quickly and bravely to deny him.

Eight minutes after the interval, Dale broke the deadlock, through captain Henderson.

Bunney’s corner was cleared as far as Ethan Hamilton who saw a shot from the edge of the area saved, but Henderson pounced to slot home his 20^th of the season.

Henderson then clicked a corner wide, with MJ Williams inches away from making contact at the back post.

Camps then had an effort blocked from Pyke’s cross, as the forward anticipated a weak ball back to the goalkeeper and squared, before Hamilton saw two efforts from distance saved by Oxley.

Dale were comfortable as the game came to a close, holding on to the lead that will see League One football at the Crown Oil Arena in 2019/20.

Rochdale AFC

Standings

Preview | Southend United (H)

Report | Dale 1-0 Southend United