Hendo surpasses Reg’s goal record
IAN Henderson finally became Rochdale’s record-breaking goalscorer on an emotional night at the Crown Oil Arena this week.
The Dale hero surpassed the legendary Reg Jenkins’ long-standing record of 129 goals with an 80th-minute header against former club Salford City on Tuesday.
The valuable threepoint return for Jim Bentley’s side was almost lost in the enormity of the occasion, which provided a most fitting landmark for a man who has been a credit to his club and profession for the best part of a decade.
Just four goals short of the record, Henderson’s achievement looked to have been denied him when a contract offer was retracted by club officials a couple of years ago when Covid hit.
It was a most unfortunate parting of the ways that looked to have denied both player and adoring fanbase the cherished record.
But, having returned to the club in the summer after a couple of seasons with Salford, all of that was put right on Tuesday when Henderson headed home Ethan Brierley’s delivery.
“I’m feeling proud, honoured, overwhelmed – very emotional,” he said. “I had a couple of moments with the players in the changing room and it’s that overwhelming feeling of reaching an achievement that’s taken quite a long time to get to.
“I’m incredibly proud of an achievement that has stood for such a long time, the goalscoring record previously held by Reg Jenkins.
“I want to thank Reg and his family for creating such an historic milestone that’s been with the football club for such a long time. To have broken it this evening makes me proud and immensely happy inside.
“I probably touched the ball about four times all game! But I knew when Ethan came on that he has every pass in his arsenal. I was joking with Theo Vassell who I know well from Salford and I told him, ‘this boy has every single pass,’ and he must have been wondering what I was going on about.
“But as soon as I saw he had time on the ball and as long as my movement was right, he’d be able to pick out the space in behind them and the execution of his pass was incredible.
“The goalkeeper was a little bit over and it was a relatively simple header in the end.
“The emotion wrapped around that was just, wow! Eight and a half years of just working tirelessly, day in, day out just to break a record that has been with the football club for such a long time is an amazing feeling.”
Henderson signed for the club in 2013 and enjoyed great success under Keith Hill.
“When I first signed for the club I was not playing up front,” he recalled. “I was playing left wing, right wing, midfield and it wasn’t until we had a lot of injuries that the manager who brought me to the club – Keith Hill, who I owe a lot to – played me up front and then consistently played me up front and I scored goals.
“The first time around I got so close and for whatever reason I didn’t retain my contract with the football club and we parted in not particularly great ways.
“I jumped at the opportunity to come back because I had a high level of affinity with the football club and with the fanbase because I’ve always been welcomed with open arms, they have made me feel incredible and to break the record at home was even more special.”
Henderson celebrated on the field after the game in front of supporters with team-mates forming a guard of honour.
“The celebrations at the end were so special,” he said. “I speak about magic moments quite a lot in my professional and personal life because moments like that don’t come around very often in our careers.
“The football industry is all about highs and lows and it’s just about staying as consistent as possible along that journey.
“But to have that momentous occasion and that milestone and to be able to celebrate it with the players, the staff and especially the fans is a magic moment that I’m going to take with me forever and I owe a lot of gratitude to every single person who was a part of it.”
The 1-0 win over Salford lifted Dale up to 19th place in the League Two table, three points above the drop zone.
This afternoon they are at home again, with ninthplaced Mansfield Town providing the opposition.