Rochdale vs Barnet - Match Preview

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Keith Hill says that the Dale fans can play a big part in helping his team through to Round Two.

Rochdale fans are being encouraged to cheer their team into the second round of the FA Cup, and an away tie at Forest Green Rovers, in tomorrow night's first round replay against Barnet at Spotland (Tuesday 18 November, 7.45pm kick off).

Supporters are being urged through the turnstiles for the game thanks to a reduced price incentive. Adults can gain entry to a seated part of the ground for £12 or stand on the Sandy Lane end for just £10. Concessions are £8 and £7 respectively, while under 16s can gain entry anywhere in the ground for just £5 if they buy a ticket before going to the turnstiles.

Saturday's draw with Macclesfield was met with boos from a small section of the Dale support as some fans voiced their disappointment that the side could not hold out for a win. However, the draw moved Keith Hill's men into a season's high of fourth in League Two and stretched Dale's unbeaten league run to seven games.

Hill has said that some of the players voiced their concerns after the reaction from some supporters at the final whistle, especially after his side had played four away games on the spin and yielded two league wins, an unfortunate 90th minute loss at Scunthorpe in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, and the right to have another crack at Barnet.

The Dale boss believes his side has earned the right to have the fans get behind them thanks to the huge strides the club as made under his two year tenure, which saw Dale make their first ever visit to Wembley at the end of last season and again sees them challenging at the top end of the league this year.

Hill has urged the fans to be realistic ahead of tonight's game and to generate an atmosphere that will be conducive to getting the side into the next round of the cup, which will in turn give Dale an opportunity to make it to the third round and a plum tie against one of the Premier League big boys.

The manager has no injury worries ahead of the game but he could change his side to give some of the players that have not featured as regularly in recent weeks a deserved crack of the whip. Adam Le Fondre and Will Buckley are both pushing hard for a start after coming off the bench on Saturday, while Clark Keltie, Marcus Holness, Mark Jones, Jon Shaw and Simon Ramsden are all hungry for first team football. Hill knows that all seven of them are ready to make an impact against Barnet if he calls upon them.

The replay comes courtesy of a 1-1 draw at Underhill two Saturday's ago when Barnet defender Ishmael Yakubu cancelled out Chris Dagnall's second half opener. A repeat of the result when the two sides met at Spotland in the league earlier this season would see Dale through to the next round. Adam Birchall opened the scoring for Barnet in just the second minute but strikes from Adam Rundle, Dagnall and Shaw saw Dale run out convincing victors.