I backed Dale last week and they were clinical as they brushed Boreham Wood aside with relative ease.

They conceded just one shot on target, dominated possession and ran out 2-0 winners thanks to two goals in three minutes from their new number nine, Mani Dieseruvwe. I liked that piece of business from the get-go, with the big centre-forward netting 52 goals across his last three seasons.

The Manchester-based club made it to the play-offs last season, only to be beaten out by Southend in an absolute thriller.

I think Rochdale are at a really good point in their cycle and their development. They’ve built a fantastic squad, and they’ve got great support; only York, Barnet and Forest Green took more points on home soil last season. Not bad company to be in, given that Barnet got 102 points and went unbeaten at The Hive, whilst York made the play-off final after getting 96 points.

Alty did start their campaign with a win, but they made it hard.

Aldershot travelled with around 10 first team players missing due to various injuries and illnesses, so the hosts look set for a walk in the park, especially when they led by two after 24 minutes.

Aldershot fought back though but a winner from Jimmy Knowles secured the points for Alty.

I do worry about Alty this season, purely down to the quality they lost in the summer. Regan Linney, Alex Newby and Justin Amaluzor were their key creators last season.

Newby had 15 goals, 11 assists. Linney made the team of the season with 23 goals and seven assists, whilst Amaluzor provided a direct and explosive outlet, also chipping in with six G/A last season and 14 the season prior.

Dale met my high expectations on MD1 whilst Alty scraped by a stricken Aldershot side, I’m expecting a comfortable home win here, and the generous odds allow for some added safety, in backing them to win either half.

FGR will be very frustrated to have come away from their season opener without three points. Solihull were reduced to ten men after just six minutes, but after a few tosses and turns it finished 2-2 at Damson Park.

Taking the emotion of the draw out of it, it was an overwhelmingly positive performance from Rovers. They absolutely dominated, they racked up 20 corners.

Another huge positive was the introduction of Nick Haughton. Highly sought after following some incredible seasons at Fylde, Haughton joined FGR last week and was brought into the fold at half time.

He scored a stunning goal to put his side into the lead, just the exact type of worldie we’ve come to expect from him. His goal catalogue really is something.

Forest Green have invested heavily over the summer, and with the introduction of Robbie Savage, they’re looking to take the next step and catapult themselves back to the football league, which they’re capable of doing with the quality in the squad.

Yeovil played their part in a very drab 0-0 with Hartlepool to open their campaign.

They were particularly poor in the first half, and there are some very clear shortcomings in the side. The main one is creativity. The lack of movement and ingenuity is concerning, and it was difficult to see how they were going to create a goal against a Pools side who aren’t bad, but aren't fancied to cause too much of a stir this season.

On home soil, I’m expecting the hosts to kickstart their campaign and get their first three points on the board.

Sutton pulled off one of the results of the weekend as they held title favourites York to a 2-2 draw at the LNER.

There’s no doubt they rode their luck at times but overall they were solid, they had a game plan and they managed to execute it thanks to Brandon Njoku’s late equaliser. The 20-year-old made 25 appearances in League One last season and may well have just propelled himself into the starting line-up for this one.

I fancy Sutton to go fairly well this season. They made some shrewd additions in the summer and also managed to shift a lot of dead wood. Locking down Ashley Nadesan on a permanent deal is one particularly good bit of business in my opinion. He’s a player I’ve always liked, especially at this level.

Solihull got a good point against the aforementioned Forest Green, managing to get a draw despite playing 85+ mins with ten men. They’ve got to be happy with that on the face of it.

Of course, a man disadvantage is huge, but there was a stark contrast in quality with their opponents, and it’s hard not to bear some weight to that despite the gamestate.

They saw a lot of departures in the summer, and I think the squad lacks a bit of depth, particularly in attack.

They’ll also be without young midfielder Darius Lipsiuc, on loan from Stoke, due to suspension.

Both sides took part in the National League Cup in midweek.

Sutton were dismantled 7-0, but I’m giving no weight to that. They played an almost entirely rotated 11 for the game.

Solihull, however, did use a number of first team players in their defeat to Everton U21s, so I think they’ve lost a bit of an edge in terms of physical condition there.

Mark Hughes’ side got off to the perfect start with a 2-0 win over Woking, which is far from an easy place to go.

The feedback from the home fans is fairly consistent. Carlisle were too good - too sharp, too fit and too powerful. All of which were aims set by Sparky during the summer rebuild, with fitness being a key issue in Carlisle’s relegation last season.

The Blues could’ve had more than just two, but returning loanees Luke Armstrong and Ethan Robson provided the quality.

Armstrong has had a tough time at Carlisle, after signing for them in League One, but he’s lethal at this level and looks like a striker reborn.

Their quality for this level is incredible. Armstrong has support from Regan Linney, Elliot Embleton and David Ajiboye, and yet they can still bring the likes of Georgie Kelly off the bench.

They’re also still nursing the likes of Stephen Wearne, Bevis Mugabi, Junior Luamba and Morgan Feeney back to full health; all of whom would be top level players for any side at this level.

Under Hughes, United lost just one home league game last season. Brunton Park has huge attendances, and upwards of 10,000 will be expected here; their home territory could become an absolute fortress.

Boreham Wood, as mentioned before, were swept aside by a good Rochdale side in their curtain-raiser.

I expressed my disappointment in their signings. The squad looks very similar to last season in terms of quality, when they were playing in the division below.

I saw little on MD1 to suggest that I was wrong in those assumptions. They managed just one shot on target and had only 43% of the ball.

Carlisle have also had additional rest, as they opted not to take part in the National League Cup, unlike the visitors.