Rochdale 1-2 Bristol Rovers: Graham Coughlan's men on verge of play-offs

Saturday 2 November 2019 18:53, UK

Bristol Rovers survived Rochdale's second-half onslaught to hang on for a 2-1 victory at the Crown Oil Arena.

Graham Coughlan's men caught the home side cold with two early goals, taking the lead in the eighth minute when Liam Sercombe's corner was nodded back into the mix by Tony Craig and Victor Adeboyejo hooked the ball past Jay Lynch.

Rovers doubled their lead in the 11th minute courtesy of an own goal, Eoghan O'Connell diverting a vicious cross from Michael Kelly past Lynch.

Callum Camps pulled one back for Rochdale in the 43rd minute, poking home Ollie Rathbone's nod down after a fine cross from Luke Matheson.

And though Dale bossed the second half, Rovers goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola frustrated the home supporters with saves to deny Rekeil Pyke, Ian Henderson and Rathbone.

The Rovers backline came under intense pressure for long spells but the visitors saw the game out for their first win in four games and lie just a point outside the play-off places.