Preview | Portsmouth (H)

28 September 2018

Rochdale v Portsmouth | Crown Oil Arena, Sky Bet League One, Saturday 29th September 2018, 3pm Kick-Off

Dale return to the Crown Oil Arena on Saturday for back-to-back home league fixtures, with Portsmouth up first.

A 3-0 win over Gillingham last time out at the Crown Oil Arena gave Dale their first home league win of the season, thanks to Ian Henderson’s superb hat-trick.

Kenny Jackett’s Portsmouth are unbeaten in Sky Bet League One this season, currently sitting in second place behind Peterborough United, who they beat 2-1 earlier this month.

The teams played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Crown Oil Arena last season.

PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW

Keith Hill says competing in League One is "special" and that Dale should enjoy the journey.

Click HERE to read his pre-match thoughts. iFollow subscribers can watch the Gaffer's interview HERE.

SOCIAL SNIPPET | 🎥🗣️ Here's some of what the Gaffer had to say ahead of Saturday's game against Portsmouth at the #CrownOilArena 👇 #RAFC pic.twitter.com/9U4W79ba9I
— Rochdale AFC (@officiallydale) September 28, 2018

OPPOSITION VIEW

Jackett says his side have some exciting games coming up, starting with Dale on Saturday.

Click HERE to read his thoughts on Portsmouth’s official website.

ADMISSION DETAILS

It is pay on the day at the Crown Oil Arena on Saturday.

Supporters can pay through the turnstiles for the Pearl Street Stand, the Sandy Lane and the away stand. However, supporters wishing to sit in the Main Stand must purchase a ticket from the RAFC Ticket Office before going to the turnstiles.

Normal league prices apply for the fixture. They can be found 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 Portsmouth 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

Youngsters can get creative with the chance to make their own sweet or savoury treats at our Junior Event before Saturday’s game! Click HERE for full details.

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

The Ratcliffe Bars, situated on the Crown Oil Arena car park, are open to both home and away supporters from midday.

REF WATCH

Referee | John Busby

Assistant Referees | Ian Dudley & Nik Barnard

Fourth Official | Duncan Street

HEAD TO HEAD

Dale	Draws	Portsmouth
1	2	5

FLASHBACK

Dale were 3-0 winners over Portsmouth at the Crown Oil Arena back in March 2014.

It proved to be an important win in Dale’s season, which ended in promotion back to Sky Bet League One.

Click HERE for the full flashback, including highlights.

MATCH ODDS

Sky Bet are offering odds of 13/8 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.

The new features for the 2018/19 season return and there is a pull-out caricature poster of Calvin Andrew inside!

Click HERE to read the full TVOS 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 Previews

Match Reports

Report | Dale 1-3 Portsmouth

29 September 2018

Aaron Wilbraham’s wonder strike couldn’t prevent table-topping Portsmouth claiming a 3-1 victory over Dale at the Crown Oil Arena.

Wilbraham put Dale in front inside four minutes with a stunning half-volley from 30-yards, but the visitors equalised through Jamal Lowe midway through the first-half.

Goals from Brett Pitman and Matt Clarke after the break secured the three points for Kenny Jackett’s side, who moved to the summit of Sky Bet League One.

Keith Hill made three changes to the starting eleven from last week’s game at Sunderland, with Jimmy McNulty, Jordan Williams and David Perkins coming in.

Dale got off to the perfect start when Wilbraham opened his account for the club in fine style.

He latched on to a bouncing ball 30-yards from goal, sending an exquisite half-volley over the Portsmouth goalkeeper into the far top corner.

Jack Whatmough saw an overhead kick attempt fly well wide for the visitors, before they struck the bar through Nathan Thompson’s fierce effort.

Ollie Rathbone’s attempt to emulate Wilbraham’s goal dropped wide from 40-yards, before Callum Camps well struck free-kick was well held by Craig MacGillivray.

The visitors grabbed their equaliser in the 25^th minute when Brett Pitman squared from the left side of the area to Lowe, who converted home from inside the six-yard box.

Dale goalkeeper Josh Lillis denied Ronan Curtis on two occasions as Portsmouth looked to add to their tally before the break, holding a back-post effort comfortably before denying him well from close range.

Sam Hart was forced off with an injury on the stroke of half-time, with Andy Cannon replacing him.

His first action came shortly after the interval, when he saw a drilled cross beaten away by MacGillivray before Rathbone’s follow up effort was high and wide.

Calvin Andrew replaced Williams five minutes in the second period with Dale’s second change, before Ian Henderson’s turn and strike flew narrowly over the bar.

Rathbone saw a shot beaten away at the near post after Cannon’s lay-off from a free-kick on a tight angle, but it was the visitors who grabbed the next goal.

Lee Brown’s deflected cross from the left byline was met Pitman, who stole in at the near post to flick the ball beyond Lillis.

And Pompey grabbed a third inside the final ten minutes. Dale couldn’t clear a Portsmouth corner which ended up falling to Clarke, who smashed home from the corner of the six-yard area.

Standings