IN OPPOSITION
PAST RECORD PAST PASTRECORD RECORD
Rovers and Rochdale have been regular sparring partners in recent years, and today’s clash will have to go some way to match the entertainment value of last season’s meeting. That match, on New Year’s Day 2019, started and finished with impressive headers - Alfie May lofting Mallik Wilks’ cross into a top corner in the first minute, and James Coppinger making it 5-0 with a diving header from Matty Blair’s delivery. Ali Crawford also scored a memorable free-kick from an almost impossible angle - a strike which went on to be voted Goal of the Season at the end of the campaign. That 5-0 result matched Rovers’ record win over Dale, but was the fourth time they have achieved it after three successes by that margin at Belle Vue in the 30s. Today’s sides have been regular opponents with 114 encounters dating back to November 1923, with Rovers claiming victory in 56 of those meetings. Kieran Sadlier rescued a point for Rovers in the reverse fixture at the Crown Oil Arena back in August with a late leveller.
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