Rochdale AFC

Summer signing Stephen Dooley made his Dale debut on Tuesday night, coming off the bench against Middlesbrough.

The Northern Irishman missed pre-season and the start of the new campaign through injury and was named in a matchday squad for the first time for the Round Two tie at the Riverside Stadium.

“He hasn't done any pre-season and he’s only done a little bit of training here, there and everywhere, but he’s almost done a 20-minute solo appearance tonight which may get him into the side,” said Hill.

“He missed the whole of pre-season and that’s a big hurdle or mountain to climb on your own when the rest of the players have done it, but for the last week we’ve seen him actually show energy on the training pitch.

“We saw things in training where we thought he could be ready, so I wanted to include him and I wanted to put him on the pitch and give him 20 minutes or so. He got it and did well.”