Rochdale striker Ian Henderson celebrated his 41st birthday and 501st appearance for the club with a standout performance in a 2-0 victory against Truro City at the Crown Oil Arena.
Henderson, Dale’s all-time leading goalscorer, played a central role in both goals. Just three minutes in, he threaded a clever pass through to Tyler Smith, who calmly finished from the edge of the area. Henderson later added his 164th goal for the club after a smart link-up with Smith, netting just minutes after missing a penalty.
The result sees Rochdale extend their winning run in the National League to three matches, with manager Jimmy McNulty making five changes to the side that beat Solihull Moors midweek. Henderson, Smith, Aidan Barlow, Liam Hogan and Casey Pettit were all named in the starting eleven.
Dale dominated proceedings and could have added more to the scoreline, hitting the woodwork three times. Barlow struck a post with a curling effort in the first half, while both Connor McBride and Henderson were denied by the frame of the goal in a chaotic second-half scramble.
Despite Henderson dragging his first-half penalty wide, the veteran striker made amends soon after. Gilmour’s through ball found Smith, whose effort was blocked by the keeper but fell kindly for Henderson to slot home.
Truro offered little in response. Tyler Harvey’s free-kick was comfortably saved by Oliver Whatmuff, while substitute Joe Pritchard and Kyron Gordon both went close to adding a third for Dale in the second half.
Rochdale saw out the closing stages with relative ease in front of a crowd of 3,239, including 54 travelling supporters.
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