Southport 1 Rochdale 4

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Adam Le Fondre smashes a delightful Dale fourth.

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Rochdale ended their pre-season campaign with a convincing victory at Blue Square North side Southport.

Keith Hill fielded a side that is expected to take to the field for the season opener at Port Vale next Saturday and they came from behind to win thanks to an improved second half display.

Dale fell behind when Southport striker Steve Daly latched onto a loose ball to finish under Kenny Arthur, but goals from Will Buckley, Chris Dagnall, Gary Jones and substitute Adam Le Fondre ensured a satisfying win.

Buckley cancelled out Southport’s opener towards the end of the first half when he capitalised on a half chance on the edge of the box by lashing the ball into the top corner.

Dale were much improved in the second half, manipulating the space left open to them from a tiring Southport outfit. Dagnall put them ahead in unorthodox fashion when a Tom Kennedy cross came off the striker’s shoulder and flew into the top corner. Gary Jones extended the lead with a superb strike as Tom Kennedy rolled the ball into his path from a free-kick and the skipper crashed the ball in off a post. The rout was complete when Adam Rundle skipped past two defenders in the box and set up Le Fondre, whose precise left foot finish nestled in the top corner.

The visitors made a shaky start and Southport could have been ahead sooner. Daly fired a header straight at Arthur from point blank range and Chris Simm chipped a finish into the keeper’s hands after going through on goal.

The game provided a satisfactory workout for all of the players that are expected to be involved when the serious business starts next weekend and while the identity of the eleven appears to have been decided, the way in which the front men are rotated remains to be seen.

Le Fondre and Jon Shaw followed up their goals at Rossendale last week with fine cameos here and should be involved in some capacity at Port Vale. The only conundrum is who will play alongside Dagnall up front. Buckley partnered him and got a goal, Joe Thompson was used in the position last weekend against Blackpool, while Le Fondre and Shaw are both banging on the door.

There was further evidence that some of the Dale youth squad, perhaps more through necessity than anything else, will be fully involved in and around the first team this campaign. Chris Brown, Callum Byrne and Josh Brizzel were each given twenty minutes and they have played a part in almost all of Dale’s pre-season games.

All of the second half football belonged to the visitors and they should have added to their tally. Craig Dawson, who is set for his football league debut next week, glanced a header from a corner wide and then later found the net but the goal was chalked off for Le Fondre’s interference with the Southport goalkeeper. Le Fondre should have doubled his tally just before the end but glanced what should have been a regulation header wide of the mark following good work from Byrne and Rundle in the build up.

The win should give the players confidence ahead of the Port Vale game. Some of Dale’s football was pleasing on the eye and in the second half an end product came with it. It is still too soon to tell exactly which stage the side is at. Next Saturday will provide a much greater insight, and for the week ahead it will be all systems go, for club, players and fans alike, for the start of the season proper.

Rochdale: Arthur, Wiseman, T. Kennedy, Stanton (Holness), Dawson, J. Kennedy (Brown), Jones (Byrne), Thompson (Brizzel), Rundle, Dagnall (Le Fondre), Buckley (Shaw).