Rochdale v Crawley Town preview: Reds look for first-ever win over Dale

Another trip up north sees Crawley Town face Rochdale, as the Reds look to bounce back from defeat at Tranmere Rovers last weekend.
Action from Crawley Town's clash with Rochdale back in 2015. Picture by Matt McNultyAction from Crawley Town's clash with Rochdale back in 2015. Picture by Matt McNulty
Action from Crawley Town's clash with Rochdale back in 2015. Picture by Matt McNulty

It was a contest that Crawley were unfortunate to lose, but a couple of pieces of poor defending ultimately left them defeated.

This week they face a Rochdale side who, after a good start to the season, have started to deteriorate, losing their last three in all competitions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Defeats at the hands of Bradford City and local rivals Oldham Athletic in their last two games have seen Dale slip to 16th in League Two, just two points and two places behind Crawley.

Dale’s 3-4-3 system has given them good attacking options, with the likes of Jake Beesley and Coventry loanee Danny Cashman impressing this season.

They haven’t struggled in creating chances. They managed 15 shots at Bradford last weekend, but only managed to get one of these efforts on target.

Crawley have firepower of their own upfront, scoring in every one of their last five games, with a range of different goalscorers. Kwesi Appiah grabbed his third goal for the Reds last weekend off the bench and must be pushing for a place in the starting XI.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But,there were more casualties for Crawley. Ludwig Francillette picked up another injury and had to come off early on in the first half.

The Reds seem to be getting extremely unlucky with injuries, but the squad depth has been impressive, with a number of different players coming into different positions.

The Red Devils will be looking to beat Rochdale for the first time ever, with the sides only meeting twice before.

Rochdale thumped Crawley on both occasions in the 2014-15 League One season, winning 4-0 and 4-1.

Apart from the 6-3 defeat at Forest Green, all of Crawley’s league games have been separated by a maximum of one goal so a close game will be expected between these two sides on Saturday.