Reaching Wembley will be mental for Darlington, says boss Dave Penney

The Quakers travel to Spotland as favourites to reach the final at Wembley on May 26 following a dramatic 2-1 victory in the first leg last Saturday.

Ian Miller headed home a 92nd-minute winner after Jason Kennedy's sublime first-half opener had been cancelled out by Dale striker Chris Dagnall to put Darlington in pole position against Keith Hill's men.

Penney, however, is keen to stress the tie is still wide open.

"If we are mentally strong enough then we'll win," Penney said.

"There's added pressure now and it's up to the players how they react to it. A lot depends on how the players handle the pressure. You've got to try and keep calm.

"It's important that we start the game well and try and keep Rochdale quiet and keep the crowd quiet.

"I'm sure they will come at us early on like we did to them last week. What's important is how we respond to that and how we defend it.

"We need to give ourselves a foothold in the game early on like we did last Saturday."

The week-long break between the first and second leg has given some of Penney's injured players - including Ben Parker (hamstring), Tommy Wright (knee) and Alan White (dead leg) - a chance to prove their fitness ahead of the trip to Rochdale.

"The gap has given the injured players half a chance to recover," Penney added.

"Usually the second leg is played within three or four days, but we've had chance to get players back to fitness, and the same goes for Rochdale."

Hill, meanwhile, has set his sights on ending 39 years of hurt at Spotland.

It was 1969 when the Lancashire outfit last won promotion and they have been in the basement division since 1974.

They have resided there ever since - longer than any other club in the bottom tier - and Hill's talented young side are now aiming to rewrite history.

"I was really enthused by the performance last weekend and especially by our supporters because the belief is still very much there," Hill said.

"After the match, although we had been beaten on the night the players looked myself and (assistant manager) Dave Flitcroft in the eye to show that they are capable of doing this.

"The fans really showed it. As we were driving back on the motorway, fans were driving past us and virtually celebrating the great opportunity that we now have.

"My family were in the ground with the away supporters and they love going to games, they are massive fans of this club.

"The players know that our fans are with us every step of the way, regardless of what happens and those supporters are enthused by the fact that there is so much honesty in this squad and they want to be part of that."