Rochdale 4 - 1 Wigan

Calvin Andrew scored Dale's fourth and final gaol

Rochdale’s final home friendly ended in a comfortable win against Championship side Wigan Athletic. Rueben Noble-Lazarus and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing made it 2-0 to Rochdale going into the interval before Yanic Wildshut halved the deficit with 12 minutes left of the 90. Two quick-fire goals from Niall Canavan and Calvin Andrew inside the last 10 minutes sealed the win in a game that the Dale fans got to see the two summer signings of Harrison McGahey and Oliver Rathbone for the first time.

Against a fairly strong Wigan side, Keith Hill named a strong team himself as his side looked to continue their unbeaten pre-season thus far. Central defender Harrison McGahey made his first start since his move from Sheffield United after picking up an injury at the Tenerife training camp.

The game was slow to get going in the warm temperatures although a few ‘tasty’ challenges were flying in from both sets of players. Jamie Allen caught one on his ankle which took him a few minutes to run off whilst former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock was forced off after being caught by Andy Cannon.

The opening goal came after a slick passing move. Camps, Menedez-Laing and Joe Bunney were all involved with Rueben Noble Lazarus beating Adam Bogdan with a neat finish into the bottom corner.

The lead was doubled when Mendez-Laing rifled a shot into the top corner after Joe Bunney dispossessed Jack Henry.

Josh Lillis had a quiet half but was called into action with four minutes left of the first half. Wildshut turned Mendez-Laing before racing clear of McGahey; Lillis was quickly out to block the striker’s effort.

Chances were few and far between in the second half.

Good defending from Jim McNulty stopped Nick Powell in his tracks.

Substitutes Calvin Andrew and Donal McDermott combined with the Irishman flashing a shot just wide of the far post.

Wigan, who hadn’t scored a single goal in any of their previous pre-season games, gave something for their fans to cheer about but it had more than a hint of offside. Wildshut seemed to be ahead of Rafferty when he controlled on his chest before drilling past Lillis.

McDermott’s wicked free-kick was glanced home by Niall Canavan for 3-1.

Dale sealed a comfortable win two minutes later through Calvin Andrew, with a low shot that crept past Bogdan.

It was another good workout against the side that won the League One title last season with the Dale boss seemingly happy at the stage his squad is at with two games left before the season opener against Peterborough.

Rochdale: Lillis, Rafferty, McGahey, Canavan, McNulty, Allen (c)(Tanser 60), Camps (Hooper 85), Cannon (Morley 58), Noble-Lazarus (Rathbone 57), Mendez-Laing (McDermott 55), Bunney (Andrew 60)