Luke Fowden previews Keighley clash

Rochdale Hornets forward Luke Fowden says his side are expecting a tough game this weekend against Keighley Cougars in the Betfred League 1 competition.

Hornets were due to host Workington Town last Sunday in a highly anticipated clash in League 1 following their close score-line in the reverse fixture but was postponed due to positive Covid-19 cases in the Hornets camp.

Now, the club has confirmed that the team will be back in action against Keighley Cougars this Sunday, August 1, at the Crown Oil Arena. 

“I think every game has been a tough test so far,” said Fowden.

“There’s no game you can take lightly. Keighley will come also wanting a big result, so we’ve got to be ready for a really tough game.

“Hopefully it won’t be as close as the last game,” Fowden added, “In the mid-second half it started to get a bit nervy when we should’ve probably seen the game out more comfortably, so we’ve got to be better defensively than we were there.”

Matt Calland’s side currently sit fifth in the table following three wins on the bounce against North Wales Crusaders, London Skolars and West Wales Raiders respectively, while the opposition in Keighley sit just one place above them in fourth on points difference. 

“It’s definitely good to be looking up the table again,” said Fowden 

“We’ve got a few key players coming back from injury now, so no doubt that will give us the extra push in the second half and hopefully finish as high in the table as possible.”

The club has also recently launched its community counts initiative, inviting local clubs to join the scheme and redeem free tickets for their league home games in 2021.

The initiative, launched earlier in June, has seen crowds of more than 1,000 at both their home games against North Wales Crusaders and London Skolars so far this season.  

“It’s really good seeing a lot of local faces in the crowd,” Fowden added. 

“The club is also getting a lot of the local youth teams involved, so it is massive for the town.”

Rochdale recently added Reece Dean to their squad on loan from Championship side Newcastle Thunder, while Hull Kingston Rovers duo Will Tate and Tom Whur also return on short-loan spells from the Super League outfit.

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