Rochdale AFC continue their meteoric rise to the dizzy heights of top of the National League by welcoming Blackburn Rovers’ Under-21s, also known as “the reserves’ reserves”, to the Crown Oil Arena tomorrow evening.
Having conquered the mighty Truro City in front of a crowd that could just about fill the queue at Greggs on a Saturday morning, Dale now look set to prove their dominance over the teenage hopefuls and part-time hair models of Lancashire. Kick-off is at 7pm, and tickets are free, presumably because no one in Rochdale is daft enough to pay actual money to watch Blackburn’s junior squad learn how to do throw-ins.
Manager Jimmy McNulty has been talking up his side’s resilience after Saturday’s 1–0 slog in Cornwall, where gale-force winds and a pitch roughly the size of a Subbuteo board made football nearly impossible. McNulty said he was “proud of the lads”, who managed to overcome both the weather and the sheer will to live during 90 minutes in Truro.
“I knew going into this game we could dominate and still lose because of the conditions,” he told Dale’s YouTube channel, presumably just before plugging his ring light in and asking viewers to ‘like and subscribe’.
Dale fans will remember last season’s meeting with Rovers, which ended 4–1 to Rochdale, a scoreline only slightly more humiliating than telling your mates you’ve just lost to Rochdale.
The fixture promises thrills, spills, and possibly even a misplaced corner kick that ends up in Norden. Fans are encouraged to attend, cheer on the league leaders, and resist the temptation to ask Blackburn’s Under-21s if they’ve finished their homework.
