After more than two months away from League action Newport County face Rochdale this Saturday (15 August) at Rodney Parade.
Hayden Mullins will be looking to get Newport’s first win in the league following our final win of last season against Barrow.
The Opposition
Rochdale secured promotion to League Two after narrowly missing out on winning the National League after York City’s late equaliser in the final game of the season.
The Dale managed promotion after beating Boreham Wood 3-1 on penalties after initially drawing the game 2-2.
The newly promoted side are coming off a 2-0 loss to League One side Bradford after beating Tranmere Rovers on penalties in their previous fixture.
The History
Rochdale were formed on the 14th May 1907 with their first match being against Oldham Athletic in which they lost the game 4-1.
A year after forming, the Dale joined the Lancashire Combination in which they won in 1911.
In 1920, Rochdale joined the newly created Division Three North but finished bottom of the league in their first season but would reapply for a membership for the league which was improved.
When the league restructured, the Dale would join Division Three but would soon be relegated to Division Four where they would stay for a decade.
However, the 1960’s is where the club saw great success as they reached the League Cup Final as well as gaining promotion for the first time in club history.
The 1990s saw Rochdale reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history in which they reached again in the 2002/03 season.
And despite losing back-to-back playoff finals in League Two they would eventually be promoted to League One for the first time in 41 years.
However, in recent years, Rochdale dropped from League One down to the National League, where they remained for three seasons before being promoted back to League Two.
The Manager
The current Head Coach of Rochdale is Ian Watson.
Watson joined the club in June after leading South Shields to the National League North playoff final.
The Rochdale Head Coach formerly held the assistant manager role at Gateshead, where the club won the National League North and reached the FA Trophy final.
Watson was also assistant manager at Carlisle United and MK Dons before becoming manager at South Shields.
Ones To Watch
Emmanuel Dieseruvwe is a striker who is always keen for goals. The striker scored 28 goals in 43 matches in all competitions last season, as well as registering seven assists, as he was a key asset in Rochdale’s promotion. Dieseruvwe also scored one of two Rochdale goals at Wembley in the National League playoff final.
Young goalkeeper Nils Ramming is one to look out for between the sticks. The Swedish Under 19 international has played two games for Rochdale so far since being loaned from Brighton, where he has saved two penalties in the shootout against Tranmere Rovers. The goalkeeper also won the Premier League Two with Brighton last season.