Preview | Gillingham (H)

24 January 2020

Rochdale AFC v Gillingham | Crown Oil Arena, Sky Bet League One, Saturday 25th January 2020, 3:00pm Kick-Off

It's a return to the Crown Oil Arena on Saturday for Rochdale, as we welcome Gillingham in Sky Bet League One.

The Gills are unbeaten in eight league matches and sit 14th in the table.

Dale suffered a late defeat last weekend but had won successive league matches beforehand, and sit four places behind Saturday's opponents.

PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW

Brian Barry-Murphy says the players have trained amazingly well this week. Click HERE to read his pre-match thoughts.

TEAM NEWS

The Dale boss also offered an injury update on his squad. Click HERE to read.

ADMISSION DETAILS

It's Kids For A Quid on Saturday! All Under-16 tickets are priced at just £1. Fans of both Clubs can pay on the day.

Supporters can pay cash through the turnstiles in the Smith Metals Family Stand and Sandy Lane Stand. Gillingham fans can also pay cash at the turnstiles of the Reside Estate Agency Stand. Fans wishing to sit in the Main Stand must purchase a ticket before heading to the turnstiles.

Click HERE to read our admission details for the 2019/20 season in full.

TICKET COLLECTIONS

All ticket collections can be made from the Ticket Collection Cabin, which is located on the Club's car park, opposite the five-a-side pitch.

Tickets will be available to collect from 1pm.

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 an Gillingham 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.

We wish you all a safe journey!

FLASHBACK

⚡️👀

Ian Henderson scored the first hat-trick of his career when we welcomed Gillingham to the @CrownOil Arena last season ⚽️⚽️⚽️

That third goal though 😍 #ThrowbackThursday #RAFC pic.twitter.com/Jk0kG02CQf
— Rochdale AFC (@officiallydale) January 23, 2020

HEAD TO HEAD

DALE	DRAW	GILLS
16	17	16

PRE-MATCH

We're holding a Chinese New Year party in Desmond's Den, where youngsters can make their own hats to take home!

Youngsters can also play plenty of fun games, and play on the PlayStation 4s with the latest FIFA on them, as well as a junior event before the game.

Desmond’s Den / Carlsberg Lounge opens at 2pm. Click HERE for full details on how to access.

The Ratcliffe Bars, situated on the Club's car park, are open from midday this Saturday.

Click HERE to read what the Dale In The Community Sports Trust have going on.

GRAB A GRAND

For just £1, you can be in with a chance of winning £1,000 at Saturday's game!

There will be one guaranteed winner of £100, and the chance to win the Man of the Match's shirt.

Get your ticket from one of the sellers around the ground or from the Club Shop. Click HERE for full details.

REF WATCH

Referee | Paul Marsden

Assistant Referees | Paul Hobday & Oliver Bickle

Fourth Official | David Benton

MATCH ODDS

Sky Bet make Dale strong favourites at 9/4 for a win on Saturday.

Don’t forget that Sky Bet customers who select Rochdale as their favourite team on their Sky Bet profile, for every losing bet made, 50% of the stake will be passed on to the Club!

So, if you are having a flutter ahead of the match, make sure you do it via Sky Bet and select Rochdale as your favourite team!

Click HERE for the full betting preview.

MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

Rochdale AFC’s matchday programme – The Voice of Spotland – returns for Saturday's game!

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.

New for this season, match audio passes are available to purchase for just £2.50 for UK users. Click HERE to subscribe to iFollow or purchase a match pass.

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 throughout the match on Twitter, and follow our behind-the-scenes content on our Instagram story (@officiallydale).

Match Previews

Match Reports

Report | Dale 2-2 Gillingham

25 January 2020

Dale came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against Gillingham in a pulsating game at the Crown Oil Arena.

Ian Henderson netted his 123^rd Dale goal from the penalty spot just before the half hour mark, but the visitors equalised just minutes later through Jordan Roberts.

He put the Gills in front on the stroke of the hour, but Stephen Dooley’s thunderous effort earned Dale a point.

Brian Barry-Murphy made one change to the starting eleven from last weekend’s game at Wycombe Wanderers, with new loan signing Tyler Smith starting in place of Calvin Andrew.

Dale started well but neither side could create a clear-cut opening, with Gillingham’s new signing John Akinde poking effort into the arms of Jay Lynch at the near post.

The opening goal came when Jimmy Ryan’s ball was latched on to by Rhys Norrington-Davies, who beat Gills goalkeeper Jack Bonham to the ball inside the area, with the stopper bringing down the Dale man.

The referee pointed to the spot and Henderson’s conversion was never in doubt, sending Bonham the wrong way.

However, the lead lasted just four minutes, when Roberts headed in a corner from close range.

Smith saw an effort well blocked at source and Jimmy Keohane sent a low driven effort past the far post.

After the break, the lively Smith fired a couple of efforts off target from distance before Keohane was replaced by the fit-again Ollie Rathbone, but it was the visitors who took the lead.

A long-throw into the area fell kindly for Roberts via Akinde and he rifled home from 12-yards.

Barry-Murphy responded by bringing on Matty Done and Aaron Wilbraham in place of MJ Williams and Smith, with Wilbraham creating Dale’s equaliser with his first touch.

He nodded the ball into the path of Dooley, who fired a rasping drive into the far top corner to drag Dale level.

Wilbraham then saw a dinked cross nodded off the line before he appeared to be shoved as he went to head Henderson’s cross.

Norrington-Davies fired an effort off target and Done saw a low shot well held, before Lynch made a fine save with his body from Mikael Mandron’s strike.

Dale almost claimed all three points in stunning fashion through Done, when he turned his man on the halfway line, saw the goalkeeper off his line, and sent an effort just inches over the crossbar.

Henderson also fired wide of the near post as Dale pushed on in search of the winner, but had to settle for a point in a pulsating game.

Standings