York travel to Rochdale this Saturday for a reunion with last season’s National League rivals. Dale have struggled for form in League Two this season, so can City get their first away win of the season and create more good memories at Spotland?
We’ve met before…
York fans won’t need their memory jogging about City’s last trip to Spotland. Josh Stones, 103rd minute, chaos. The 1-1 draw that day was a continuation of York’s dominance in recent meetings with Rochdale, as the Minstermen had won the four previous encounters whereas Dale have only won one of the last twelve games between the teams. The final-day title decider wasn’t York’s only visit to Spotland last season, as an Alex Newby double helped them to a 2-1 win there in the FA Cup 4th qualifying round.
To find the last time Rochdale defeated York at Spotland, you have to look back to the 2001/02 season when they twice came from behind to run out 5-4 winners. The overall head-to-head record between the two clubs throughout their history shows that, of 122 meetings, York have won 51 compared to 46 for Rochdale. This will be the first meeting between York and Dale in the football league since 2014.
What to expect from Rochdale
Having secured promotion through the National League playoffs, Rochdale lost manager Jimmy McNulty who took the job at Stockport County. His replacement, Ian Watson, had impressed while in charge of South Shields, but has experienced a tough start to his first EFL managerial role. Dale lost their first three League Two games, showed signs of a recovery by winning four of their next six, but have since reverted to poor form and are currently on a five-game winless run in the league. They currently sit in 20th, just three points clear of the relegation places. The FA Cup proved a welcome distraction last week, though, as they won 2-1 at Fleetwood after extra time to progress to the 2nd round.
The main reason for their lacklustre results has been a porous defence: the 26 goals they have conceded in their 14 games is the highest figure in the league. This has been a particular issue recently, with their last two league results being a 5-0 defeat against Accrington and a 4-2 loss at Port Vale. Things aren’t too much better at the other end of the field: Dale rank bottom of the league for shots on target and second-bottom for xG, although some clinical finishing has ensured that their actual goals scored (17) has outperformed their xG (11.8) so far. They still like to dominate possession where possible, with an average of 54% the sixth-highest in League Two.
Watson has changed Rochdale’s preferred formation from the three at the back favoured by McNulty last season to a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 system. There have also been significant changes to the playing squad, meaning that only two or three of the starting eleven from the Rochdale line-up against York in April are likely to start this game.
In goal, an injury to Brighton loanee Nils Ramming means that second-choice keeper Sam Waller will start. There may be two young loan players among the back four, with Charlie Tasker (also from Brighton) at left-back and Chelsea prospect Kaiden Wilson at centre-back. Wilson’s centre-back partner will be the 37-year-old Aden Flint, who has impressed since joining Dale on a short-term deal in September. Club captain Ethan Ebanks-Landell recently returned from two months out with injury so offers another centre-back option, but may be more likely to appear from the bench. At right-back, Tobi Adebayo-Rowling is another player who has shaken off a recent knock to return to action, and will be keen to reacquaint himself with the Minstermen.
At the base of midfield, Harvey Gilmour remains a regular, and is likely to be joined by one of Jamie Paterson, Ed Francis or Baba Adeeko. Those three are also contenders for the more advanced midfield role, but recent games have seen Zain Silcott-Duberry occupy that position. On the left wing, Glenn Middleton should start having been one of Rochdale’s more impressive players this season since joining from Doncaster, while either Luke Hannant or Cian Hayes will line up on the right flank. Derby loanee Dajaune Brown is Dale’s top scorer this season with four goals, and is likely to start at centre-forward, with Emmanuel Dieseruvwe out with a hamstring injury and 41-year-old Ian Henderson mostly restricted to substitute appearances.
York team news
City’s impressive display in the 4-0 FA Cup win over Northampton last week may make head coach Scott Lindsey keen to stick with the same side, which would mean Alex Hunt continuing in a more advanced midfield role, with the likes of Joe Grey, Alex Newby and Frankie Maguire left on the bench. Josh Stones could be pushing for a start after scoring his first goal of the season last weekend, and he will undoubtedly be keen to be involved at a ground where he scored so memorably back in April, but an appearance from the bench seems most likely. Mark Kitching has been passed fit to start after missing training earlier this week with a knock picked up against Northampton, so the only absentees through injury are Morgan Williams and Craig Hewitt.
