Rochdale v Darlington preview

Watch Dale take on the Quakers live on Sky Sports 1 this Saturday

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 16th May 2008

keith hill rochdale

Hill: Dale are strong at home

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Darlington hold a slender advantage heading into the second leg of their play-off semi-final with Rochdale.

The Quakers' Ian Miller snatched an injury-time winner in the first-leg last Saturday to hand Dave Penney's side a 2-1 lead.

The defeat at The Darlington Arena was Dales' first in 11 matches and they will be confident of turning the tie around as the action switches to Spotland.

Keith Hill's side are unbeaten in their last eight games on their own turf, and have won seven of those fixtures.

Darlington finished their League Two in disappointing fashion, picking up only one win in their last nine matches.

However, they have now won their last two and will be keen to book their place in a Wembley showdown with either Wycombe or Stockport.

Stanton boost

Rochdale are boosted by the return of Nathan Stanton for the game as the defender has served a two-game ban and is hoping to return to the starting line-up.

Hill is missing three players through injury, with goalkeepers Sam Russell (broken finger) and James Spencer (hernia) still sidelined.

Striker Lee Thorpe is also out due to a dead leg and a broken arm sustained on the coach to Darlington last weekend.

Thorpe broke his arm in three places when arm wrestling a team-mate, prompting Hill to ban such contests in future.

The Spotland outfit have not won promotion since 1969 and have been in the bottom tier of English football since 1974.

Problems for Penney

Alan White has recovered from the dead leg which forced him off last week and he could feature for Darlington.

Meanwhile, David Stockdale's foot injury has healed quicker than expected and he remains in contention, although he will need a pain-killing injection if selected.

Ryan Valentine may require similar treatment as he struggles to shake off a knee problem, and the defender is only rated at 50/50

Ben Parker, who limped out of the first-leg with a thigh strain, is also a doubt ahead of the trip to Spotland.

Dave Penney will be further hindered by the fact that both his first-choice strikers are unavailable, as Tommy Wright has a knee problem and Pawel Abbott remains sidelined.