Rochdale 2 - 1 Woking

Date published: 14 March 2024

In a game that included two red cards, Rochdale snatched victory over Woking with an 89th minute goal from Devante Rodney.

Woking started well and had the first scoring opportunity within minutes when Jermaine Anderson hit a shot from the edge of the penalty area, but Tiernan Brooks in the Rochdale goal was able to parry away.

Dale’s fist chance came when man-of-the-match Cian Hayes left the Woking defence trailing before shooting just wide.

Woking had another opportunity when a cross from Curtis Edwards was met by Josh Casey at the back post but his attempt from close range went well over the bar.

Charley Kendall opened the scoring for Woking after 15 minutes when a mistake by Ethan Ebanks-Landell saw him dispossessed by Kendal on the edge of the box and in a one-on-one with Rochdale goalkeeper Tiernan Brooks, Kendal scored.

The lead was no less than Woking deserved, and they came close to increasing their lead after 35 minutes when Rohan Ince saw his shot from the edge of the area go just wide.

Dale equalised soon after when Harvey Gilmour won the ball in midfield and passed to Hayes on the wing; Hayes ran down the wing and then cut inside before striking a superb curling shot into the far corner of the Woking net from the edge of the penalty area.

There was still time before the half time break for Dale to come close to going ahead when a Kairo Mitchell cross was just in front of Devante Rodney who was sliding in.

Both teams started slowly in the second half, though Woking were again having the better of the play and could have gone ahead but Kendall blasted his shot over the bar.  

Hayes was continuing to give the Woking defence problems and it was a bad tackle from Dion Kelly-Evans on Hayes that saw Woking reduced to ten men after referee Michael Barlow showed Kelly-Evans the red card.

Despite being down to ten, Woking came close to regaining the lead when a Kendall attempt hit the top of the net.

With the game looking like being a draw Rochdale gained the three points when in the 89th minute an Alfie Pavey foul on the edge of the area led to a Dale free kick. Rodney’s shot beat Woking goalkeeper Will Jaaskelainen low to his left to give Dale the lead. Having been following in, Dale’s Ian Henderson retrieved the ball from the net and there followed a scuffle that resulted in Henderson being red carded.

Woking thought they had equalised in the ten minutes of added time when they had the ball in the Dale net only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside.

Commenting after the game, Rochdale manager Jim McNulty said he was very pleased with the result describing the win as having come from two moments of “individual brilliance” for the Dale goals in what he added was as a “tough game”.