Rochdale and Oldham Athletic will compete for the Ernie Cooksey Trophy in Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two match.
The Trophy was introduced for the pre-season friendly between the sides in July 2019, in memory of the former Dale and Latics player, and was also played for earlier in the 2021/22 campaign when the two teams met at the Crown Oil Arena.
Ernie was treated for skin cancer in 2006 but suffered a reoccurrence two years later and sadly passed away in the summer of 2008.
He played nearly a hundred games for Dale between 2004 and 2007 after joining from the Latics, where he had made 40 appearances. He proved to be extremely popular with both sets of supporters.
The trophy, in Ernie’s memory, was made possible thanks to the Dale Supporters Trust and Oldham Athletic Supporters Foundation who came together to fund the new trophy.