Dale celebrate Easter double

IAN Henderson’s double sealed a successful Easter programme which kept alive Rochdale’s slim hopes of a play-off finish.

Following on from their 1-0 win against Bury four days earlier, Dale beat already-relegated Coventry City 2-0 at the Crown Oil Arena with Henderson scoring either side of the break.

The victory, combined with Millwall and Southend both losing on Easter Monday, saw Dale climb to within three points of the play-offs with two games of the season remaining.

It keeps things interesting for Keith Hill’s men heading into the weekend’s short trip to neighbours Oldham with the final home fixture of the season against Bradford City coming eight days later.

Hill named an unchanged line-up, sticking with the side which had ground out a 1-0 win at Bury four days earlier. One significant change on the bench saw Matty Lund restored to the matchday squad – though there was no place yet again for Donal McDermott or Reuben Noble-Lazarus.

Lnd appeared as a late sub for Calvin Andrew.

Dale made the early running, Andrew a whisker away from connecting with Henderson’s near post flick-on while a superb slide-in tackle from Jordan Willis halted Henderson’s progress following a backheeled flick from Andrew.

Nathaniel MendezLaing’s cross from the right was nodded across the face of goal but wide by Andrew, and while Coventry showed a willingness to get men forward in numbers, they look vulnerable to the counter attack.

And the deadlock was broken 18 minutes in with a terrific breakaway goal. Jamie Allen and Joe Rafferty combined on the edge of the Dale area to free Mendez-Laing up the right flank.

He outpaced Chris Stokes before dinking an inviting cross to the back post for Henderson to head past Lee Burge in the visitors’ goal.

A similar break down the right channel saw Henderson return the favour, his delivery sitting up just as Mendez-Laing was poised to fire at goal and the chance slipped by.

The second goal arrived in the 52nd minute, Mendez-Laing slipping a neat pass down the middle for Henderson and he wrongfooted Burge with a clever first time finish.

Mendez-Laing was close to sublime individual goal when he collected the ball just inside the Coventry half and weaved his way past four defenders, his shot towards the bottom corner of Burge’s net agonisingly wide of the upright.

Coventry’s misery was compounded when Ben Stevenson was stretchered off wearing a neck brace late on following an innocuous clash.

Logan, Rafferty, McGahey, McNulty, Bunney (Cannon, 76), Keane, Allen, Camps, Mendez-Laing (Lund, 86), Andrew (Vincenti, 99), Henderson. Subs not used: Wilson, Rathbone, Morley, Kitching

Burge, Willis (Kelly-Evans, 75), Stokes, Turnbull, Bigirimana, Reid (Lameiras, 54), Reilly, K Thomas (Tudgay, 54), Rawson, G Thomas, Stevenson. Subs not used: Gadzhev, Floivi, Foley, Charles-Cook

N Miller

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