Preview | Sunderland (H)

5 April 2019

Rochdale v Sunderland | Crown Oil Arena, Sky Bet League One, Saturday 6th April 2019, 3pm Kick-Off

Dale welcome Sunderland to the Crown Oil Arena for the first time in Sky Bet League One on Saturday.

Brian Barry-Murphy was appointed as Dale’s permanent Manager on Wednesday, after two wins and two draws from his four games in temporary charge.

That run has seen Dale move level on points and with a game in hand on Southend United, who occupy 20^th place in the table.

The Black Cats boosted their promotion push during the week with a 3-0 win over Accrington Stanley. They’re now three points off the automatic promotion spots, with two games in hand.

PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW

Brian Barry-Murphy spoke about Saturday’s match after his appointment as permanent Manager on Wednesday.

Click HERE to read what he had to say ahead of the game, or watch his full interview on iFollow Dale for HERE for FREE.

OPPOSITION VIEW

“The reality is that we are playing a team who has as much to play for as us at this stage of the season,” said Sunderland Manager Jack Ross.

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

ADMISSION DETAILS

Saturday’s game is ALL TICKET. There will be NO cash turnstiles in operation.

Tickets for the match are available from the RAFC Ticket Office until 11.30am on Saturday. Tickets must be bought in-person only – there will be no telesales on matchday.

Normal league prices apply for the fixture, which you can find HERE.

MATCHDAY ARRANGEMENTS

For details on turnstiles, ticket collections, parking, road closures, bars and much more, check out our Matchday Arrangements HERE.

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 Sunderland 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 coasters! Click HERE for full details.

Don't forget to give our mascot a warm reception! Click HERE to view our preview of what the Community Trust have on.

The Dale Bar is CLOSED pre-match on Saturday. The Ratcliffe Suite will be open from 11am, but supporters are advised to arrive early as once it is at full capacity, there will be no further admission.

Home and away supporters are welcome.

POST-MATCH

The Ratcliffe Suite and the Carlsberg Lounge will both be open for one hour after the full-time whistle.

Final scores from the afternoon’s games and the Grand National will be shown LIVE on our giant screens.

REF WATCH

Referee | Carl Boyeson

Assistant Referees | David Avent & Kevin Mulraine

Fourth Official | Billy Smallwood

MATCH ODDS

Sky Bet are offering odds of 3/1 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 Ethan Ebanks-Landell as the cover star!

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

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 Reports

Report | Dale 1-2 Sunderland

6 April 2019

Dale were denied a deserved point when an 89^th minute strike saw Sunderland claim a 2-1 win at the Crown Oil Arena.

Ian Henderson’s 19^th of the season put Dale in front shortly before the half hour mark, but Charlie Wyke equalised for the visitors 11 minutes after the restart.

The visitors claimed all three points with a goal a minute from time, when substitute George Honeyman turned home a low ball at the near post.

Brian Barry-Murphy named an unchanged starting eleven for his first game in charge as permanent manager.

Automatic promotion chasing Sunderland created the first opportunities of the game, as Dylan McGeouch forced Josh Lillis into a comfortable save, before the Dale stopper had to be at his best to deny Will Grigg.

Lynden Gooch’s cross found Charlie Wyke who saw an effort superbly blocked by Ethan Ebanks-Landell, before Grigg poked the loose ball goalwards which Lillis clawed away after flying to his right.

Jim McNulty then put in another superb challenge to deny Wyke, before Dale broke the deadlock with their first real chance of the game.

Ebanks-Landell’s cross to the back post was kept alive by Joe Bunney, whose first-time low ball fell kindly for Henderson to take a touch and convert from six-yards.

Ollie Rathbone was inches away from doubling the lead with a speculative half-volley, which had Sunderland stopper Jon McLaughlin scrambling.

Sunderland’s January signing Grigg was denied by an Ebanks-Landell block, before Lillis had to turn over a curling effort from Max Power shortly before the break.

Henderson had the final chance of the game for Dale, when a ball in from the left ricocheted off a Sunderland defender and into his path, but he skewed an effort wide of the near post from an extremely tight angle.

After a quiet opening to the second period, the visitors levelled matters in the 56^th minute, when Wyke received the ball to feet just inside the area, turned and fired a low effort beyond Lillis.

The Dale stopper was then out quickly at the feet of Grigg to deny him, before his opposite number McLaughlin had to race back to his own net and turn the ball over the crossbar when his own defender had inadvertently looped a clearance over his head.

From the resulting corner, Henderson headed a deep delivery back across goal to Ntlhe, whose nod down was turned wide by Aaron Wilbraham.

Matty Done and Wilbraham were replaced by Stephen Dooley and Jordan Williams midway through the period, with the latter glancing wide Bunney’s cross soon after coming on.

Kgosi Ntlhe saw a spectacular effort drift wide of the upright, when he flicked wide Camps’ first-time strike from outside the area.

It looked like Dale were heading for a well-deserved point, until the visitors stole three points with a minute remaining, when Luke O’Nien’s pull back from the right was turned home by Honeyman.

Standings