ROCHDALE’S CARABAO CUP campaign came to an end away to Middlesbrough last night at the Riverside Stadium.
Although it was Ryan Delaney who scored for the League One club in their 2-1 defeat to the Championship outfit, the night was particularly significant for another ex-Cork City player in the Rochdale side.
Three months since he signed for the club, Stephen Dooley made his debut as a 62nd-minute substitute. Rochdale were 2-0 down at the time, but Dooley was heavily involved as Keith Hill’s side almost forced a penalty shootout.
The talented winger engineered several promising deliveries as the visitors sought to pull a goal back, which they finally succeeded in doing in the 84th minute.
After Dooley was fouled, his free-kick caused havoc in the Middlesbrough penalty area. The ball was eventually stabbed home by Delaney, Dooley’s former Cork City team-mate.
With Rochdale pushing for an equaliser, Dooley remained pivotal. He had a shot on goal blocked, Delaney then saw an effort cleared off the line, before a strike from ex-Ireland underage international Joe Rafferty was saved in stoppage time after he was teed up by Dooley.
Middlesbrough survived to advance to the third round, but it was an encouraging first outing in English football for Dooley. The 26-year-old had to be patient while waiting for a chance to impress due to being sidelined by an injury until recently.
“He hasn’t done any pre-season and he’s only done a little bit of training here, there and everywhere, but he’s almost done a 20-minute solo appearance tonight which may get him into the side,” Rochdale manager Keith Hill told the club’s official website.
“He missed the whole of pre-season and that’s a big hurdle or mountain to climb on your own when the rest of the players have done it, but for the last week we’ve seen him actually show energy on the training pitch.
“We saw things in training where we thought he could be ready, so I wanted to include him and I wanted to put him on the pitch and give him 20 minutes or so. He got it and did well.”
An underage international with Northern Ireland, Dooley played for Coleraine before spending three years at university in the US. Upon his return in 2014, he signed for Derry City and was snapped up by Cork City ahead of the 2016 season.
During a two-year spell on Leeside, Dooley won a Premier Division title, two FAI Cups and two President’s Cups. After City’s double-winning 2017 campaign, he returned to Coleraine and helped them to win the Irish Cup, before signing a two-year deal with Rochdale in May.
“Dools is a great lad and I’m looking forward to him getting kick-started and getting going,” Ryan Delaney said of Dooley after last night’s game. “Hopefully he can give the crowd and everyone at the club something to get excited about.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
