Dale kicked off their 2018/19 pre-season with a 3-0 victory over Northern Premier Division side Stalybridge Celtic.
Keith Hill elected to play a different eleven in each half, and the first eleven scored on the stroke of half-time through Calvin Andrew’s header from Matty Done’s corner.
Bradden Inman doubled the scoring nine minutes after the break after exchanging passes with Dan Adshead, before Ollie Rathbone completed the scoring with time almost up.
Dale had the lion’s share of the play early on, and created almost all of the chances in the first 45 minutes of pre-season action.
Andrew nodded over Joe Thompson’s cross with the first chance of the game, inside the opening ten minutes, before Dale forced Elliott Wynne into his first saves of the game midway through the period.
Ian Henderson’s dipping effort from 25 yards was beaten away, before Done’s low drive from the edge of the area was comfortably held.
Done then saw a volley from Andy Cannon’s cross cleared away by a defender, whilst Andrew fired wide and Callum Camps had a volley from a partially cleared corner held.
Charlie Duke fired Stalybridge’s only effort well over, before Andrew broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, when he nodded Done’s corner into the ground and up into the roof of the net.
Keith Hill introduced a whole new eleven for the second-half, and summer recruit Aaron Wilbraham saw an early header blocked behind for a corner.
Dale doubled the lead nine minutes after the restart, from a short corner. Jordan Williams played short to Inman, who exchanged passes with Dan Adshead, before curling into the far corner.
Adshead himself curled an effort over, before Wilbraham headed over the crossbar.
First-year scholar Adshead volleyed a Matty Gillam cross over the bar, before he showed a sublime touch and through ball to find Wilbraham who blazed an effort over.
Rathbone rounded off the scoring with just over a minute remaining, latching on to Gillam’s lofted pass over the top before his driven effort squirmed through the arms of the Stalybridge goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Dale First-Half XI | Lillis, Rafferty, Finnerty, Ntlhe, Thompson, Cannon, Camps, Perkins, Done, Henderson, Andrew.
Dale Second-Half XI | Moore, McGahey, MJ Williams, Delaney (Neild 82’), Gillam, Rathbone, Morley, Adshead, Williams, Inman, Wilbraham.