Rochdale vs Manchester City U21 on 11 Sep 19 - Match Centre

Rochdale v Manchester City Under-21s | Crown Oil Arena, Leasing.Com Trophy Northern Group F, Wednesday 11th September 2019, 7.45pm Kick-Off

Dale get their Leasing.com Trophy campaign underway at home to Manchester City’s Under-21 side at the Crown Oil Arena on Wednesday night.

It will be Dale’s first match in 11 days, since the 3-0 win at Southend United at the end of August.

The other two teams in Northern Group F, Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City, played out a 1-1 draw in their first game, with Bradford claiming the extra bonus point via the penalty shootout.

PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW

Barry-Murphy says the Leasing.com Trophy has been a great tournament for Dale over recent years.

Click HERE to read what he had to say, or watch in full on iFollow HERE.

TEAM NEWS

The Dale boss has confirmed he will play a number of young players in Wednesday night’s game, and has also offered an injury update.

Check out what he had to say HERE.

ADMISSION DETAILS

Supporters can pay cash through the turnstiles at Wednesday’s game. Prices have been vastly reduced for the match, to the following:

Adults - £5;
Juniors (11 and under) - £1.

The Main Stand is open for home supporters, whilst visiting fans will be housed in the Reside Estate Agency (Willbutts Lane) Stand.

Click HERE for full admission details.

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 Manchester City fan making your way to the Crown Oil Arena for Wednesday’s game, click HERE and have a read of our Visiting Supporters’ Guide which is packed full of useful information!

PRE-MATCH

The Ratcliffe Bars, situated on the Club's car park, open at 5pm. Away fans are welcome.

GRAB A GRAND

For just £1, you can be in with a chance of winning £1,000 at Wednesday'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 sellers around the ground or from the Club Shop. Click HERE for full details.

REF WATCH

Referee | Michael Salisbury

Assistant Referees | Paul Newhouse & Richard Wigglesworth

Fourth Official | Alix Pashley

MATCH ODDS

Sky Bet are offering odds of 6/4 for a Dale win in 90 minutes.

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 Wednesday’s game!

Purchase from the Club Shop and around the ground on matchday for just £2. Click HERE to read the full preview.

WE’VE GOT IT COVERED

Fans in the UK can watch Wednesday’s game LIVE on iFollow! This service is also available to overseas supporters, as usual. The programme will start at 7.30pm.

Click HERE to subscribe to iFollow or purchase a match pass for the game.

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

Rochdale welcomed Manchester City U21s to the Crown Oil Arena on Wednesday night, in their opening Leasing.com Trophy group stage tie of the season.

City emerged victorious, recording a 2-0 victory.

Manager Brian Barry-Murphy fielded a relatively young Dale side for the match, which saw four players make their debut, including Peter Thomas, who became Rochdale’s youngest ever debutant. At 15 years and 22 days, the young forward replaced Luke Matheson (15 years and 336 days) as the record holder.

The home side looked to cause problems for City’s youngsters early on. Academy graduate Fabio Tavares, making his debut for Rochdale, was a handful and his tricky wing-play opened up a chance for Ollie Rathbone, whose shot at goal was blocked.

Jayden Braaf proved a thorn in Dale’s side all evening but his driven effort from outside the area was simple enough for ‘keeper Jay Lynch though, who saved well on 20 minutes.

Soon after, Jim McNulty’s pass ricocheted against a City player, allowing the Dutchman Braaf to break through on goal, but after slotting under Lynch, the right post ensured the score remained goalless.

But that wasn’t the case for much longer, as Braaf put the visiting side ahead on 32 minutes. Receiving the ball inside the area, he struck across goal and his effort went in off the post.

Chances fell for Jimmy Ryan and Calvin Andrew, as Dale tried to force through an equaliser. Ryan’s long-range effort rose over the bar, whilst Andrew struck sweetly at City stopper Daniel Grimshaw, forcing a good save just before the break.

HT | Rochdale 0-1 Manchester City

The visitors doubled their lead on 58 minutes. Adrian Bernabe picked up a pass into the area and was able to slot the ball under Lynch.

Ryan came the closest for Dale in the second-half, with a thunderous strike from range stinging the palms of Grimshaw, who covered well to maintain the clean sheet.

Barry-Murphy awarded appearances from the bench to Harrison Hopper, who got his first taste of action since a pre-season injury that had kept him sidelined, and the aforementioned Thomas, who became Rochdale’s youngest ever debutant.

Rochdale: Lynch, McNulty, Andrew (Thomas 85’), Keohane (Gillam 75’), Rathbone (C) (Hopper 75’), Ryan, Morley, Bradley, Tavares, Matheson, Phillips. Subs: Sanchez, Dooley, Williams, Clarkson.

Attendance: 1172 (114 Away)

Rochdale AFC

Standings

Preview | Manchester City Under-21s (H) - Leasing.com Trophy

Report | Dale 0-2 Manchester City U21 - Leasing.com Trophy