Coca-Cola League Two play-off semi-final, second leg

Saturday May 17th 2008, 12 noon

Gritty Rochdale have earned a play-off spot, although Keith Hill's men can be inconsistent. They've certainly been the form team, however, in recent weeks and will be looking for what at the end of their centenary season would be an historic first promotion out of the bottom league for nearly 40 years. They'll certainly carry the emotional neutral armchair support. As well as goals from Adam Le Fondre, a good season from ex-Darlo midfielder Adam Rundle and winger Ben Muirhead (ex-Man Utd and Bradford City). Ex-Darlo 'keeper Sam Russell has been injured..

Man to watch
Adam Le Fondre Young striker has a good scoring record since his arrival from Stockport and has been this season's top scorer, although he was on the bench for the first leg.

Full match previews on the D@rlo Uncovered website.

Away fans sit alongside the pitch in the Westrose Leisure stand, in Wilbutts Lane. They also seem to have sorted their problem pitch. Play-off tickets on sale from Darlington FC: £18 (£10 concession) - we've been given 2,000, so shouldn't be a problem. On general sale from Wednesday (season ticket holders before that).

Rochdale FC: Spotland, Willbutts Lane, Rochdale, Lancs OL11 5DS Tel: 01706 644648 Official website History: Formed in 1907, elected to League 3N in 1921/22 - and apart from one promotion more than 35 years ago, they've been in the bottom division ever since. Dale hold a league record for fielding 10 debutants in a match in the 1920s. Record Attendance: 24,231 v Notts Co, FA Cup, 10 December 1949 (England star Tommy Lawton was playing) Capacity: 10,174 Last season: 9th Honours: None Record victory: 8-1 v Chesterfield, Division 3N, 18 December 1926 Defeat: 1-9 v Tranmere Rovers, Division Three North, 25th December 1931 Nickname: Dale. Colours: Blue. Manager: Keith Hill Chairman: Chris Dunphy Players in: Marcus Holness (Oldham), Tom Kennedy (Bury), Ben Muirhead (Bradford), Karl Higginbottom (Oldham), Nathan D'Laryea (Man City) Players out: Lloyd Rigby (Vauxhall Motors, loan) Famous fans/players/connections: Tommy Cannon (fan/ex-director), Bob Stokoe (manager). Adam Rundle (ex-Darlington) Click for Streetmap of ground

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Spotland is around two miles off Junction 20 of the M62. Follow signs for Rochdale A627(M), take a left at the first roundabout on the A627(M), passing B&Q on the right. . At the next roundabout, head up through the lights and with the cemetery on your left. The ground, well sign-posted, is on the right. There is parking, costing about £2.50, at the ground, with some street parking.

It's quite a long two mile walk from the railway station, with a section up hill near the end, which takes 20-30 minutes. It's certainly do-able, if not straightforward. Here goes: You take the second left at the roundabout by the station into Lower Tweedale St, then right at Millstone Rd, then across the main road into Church Stile. As you reach the church, turn left and follow the road into Sparrow Hill, past the Broadfield Hotel to the end of this road. You turn left into a park, turning right down a path to the main road. You cross the main road, with Asda in front of you, turning left into Dane Street. You then follow the road, which turns up hill past factories (I think a crisp or potato factory..) and then you turn left at the mini roundabout into Spotland Rd. Keeping up? The ground is off here on the left.

Tiger Taxis Tel: 01706 641114 Cozy Cars Tel: 01706 644222 Millennium Cars Tel: 01706 657777 Unicars Tel: 01706 711117 Darlington FC Supporters Club Coach 8.30am, £14 (Non-members £19 adults and £15.50 children). Contact: 01325 243911. See Darlington Supporters' Club for more details.

There is a No 436 bus which runs from the railway station via the town and close to the ground. There's a No 17 service between Manchester and Rochdale. For local transport information and timetables, the local GMPTE transport website is very useful, as is their town centre bus map. TRAIN TIMES (UPDATED May '08, includes later return trains for those watching the FA Cup final:) Darlington: 08.12-Leeds (09.08) 09.37 arr 10.49. Return: 15.09 via Leeds (16.28), 17.05 arr 1800. 18.39-Leeds (19.58) 20.09-arr 21.07. Saver return £42.90. NB: Fans are recommended to book separate day returns from Darlington to Leeds (£23.40) and Leeds to Rochdale (£7.90) to save money... You have to catch the early bird from London Kings Cross to get you there in time for a midday kick-off - an an expensive option at that. Best is the 07.10-Leeds (09.35) 10.08 arr 11.22. Rtn 17.09-Leeds (18.28) 18.40-arr 21.15. Faee: Saver return - £82.60. Birmingham New Street: 08.03-Wigan N Western (09.22), 10 min walk to Wigan Wallgate then 09.49-arr 10.55. Return: 15.03-via Wigan Wallgate (16.19) and Wigan N Western, 16.41 arr 18.11. Also: 18.39-Leeds (19.58) 20.10-arr 22.13. Fares: Saver return £35.30. Sheffield: 08.21-Leeds (09.04) 09.37arr 10.49. Return: 15.39-via Leeds (16.58) 17.10 arr 17.41; or 18.23-Manchester Victoria (18.41) Metro to Manchester Piccadilly 19.18-arr 20.08. Fare: £14.40, cheapday return.

Rochdale has brought the world the Co-Op, Gracie Fields, Lisa Stansfield, Anna Friel and the late Don Estelle. It's 12 miles north of Manchester and the football ground is set in a fairly decent suburb, leafy almost. Rochdale ain't bad at all as a place and it's one of the better and more friendly grounds to visit.

Rochdale Tourist Information Centre, the Clock Tower Rochdale Town Hall, The Esplanade Rochdale OL16 1AB, Tel: 01706 356592

There's also an accommodation list on the Rochdale borough website

Not a bad choice of pubs for a small town. Try the local CAMRA site for latest news. Might be best to head into town to watch the FA Cup final after the match. The Cemetery Hotel, Bury Rd/Sandy Lane At the lights near the ground, popular with home fans, friendly to away fans - some real ales and cooked food. An alternative recommended pub. DAFTS recommended. The Church Inn Willbutt's Lane Popular pre-match haunt, next to the ground and, of course, a church. Football-friendly three-roomed pub with garden terrace (and sunshine hopefully) and adjoining bowling green, Sky and pool table. Good value (that's cheap to you and me) local JW Lees beer and John Smith's. Serves crisps and chocolate, but no hot food or rolls on our last visit. Open from 10.30am for this early kick off. DAFTS recommended. Click for map Right at the stadium is The Ratcliffe/The Dale Bar, Sandy Lane Not tried it, as it's relatively new but popular with home fans. Usually open from 12 noon but opening for breakfasts from 10am today. The Ratcliffe is the former Ratcliffe Arms, now bar and function suite run as joint venture with Lees brewers, while the adjoining Dale Bar used to be the players' lounge but has been converted into a bar, with sports screens. Cask & Feather Drake St/1 Oldham Rd The home of the McGuiness Brewery, brews its own ales and also does good food, including all-day breakfasts. Britannia Inn, Lomax Street, Tel: 01706 646391 Pub with bed and breakfast accommodation. Click for map There's a fish and chip shop in Willbutts Lane, opposite the away entrance. The food inside the ground has always been good - with a decent choice of meat pies (£1.50), although a bit luke warm on the last visit. The club had hot news in the summer with news that Lancashire-based Clayton Pies had been hired for the new season - none of your Peters or Pukka here. They take their pastry very seriously and have promised pie sizes will be bigger and prices the same. There are a few curry houses near the station.

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Rochdale has brought the world the Co-Op, Gracie Fields, Lisa Stansfield, Anna Friel and the late Don Estelle. It's 12 miles north of Manchester and the football ground is set in a fairly decent suburb, leafy almost. Rochdale ain't bad at all as a place and it's one of the better and more friendly grounds to visit. Rochdale Tourist Information Centre, the Clock Tower Rochdale Town Hall, The Esplanade Rochdale OL16 1AB, Tel: 01706 356592 There's also an accommodation list on the Rochdale borough website Rail timetables Virgin Trains GNER National Express Online map Football Hotels/ Hotels/B&Bs Dale Observer Council web 'Dale Towntalk Rochdale CAMRA Surfing there... The Rochdale Rivals site is the best on offer and has a decent food guide, although some of the main features haven't been updated for a while. Also check out a new site, Up The Dale, which is a tidly designed and informative independent site. The Official Rochdale is OK for just the basic stuff. And a special mention for BURKS - Bath University Rochdale Keen Supporters - now in their 25th year and who inspired the late Bob Barnes, founder of DAFTS, to think of this particular name. Next away matches: Morecambe (Tuesday January 15th) and Mansfield (Saturday January 19th) No responsibility is taken for accuracy, if in doubt check before travelling. © DAFTS 2008