Rochdale’s unbeaten run came to an end with defeat at Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.
Crewe scored two goals in five minutes before the half-time break to take control of a game which Dale had started brighter.
Crewe added a third goal ten minutes into the second half, but Dale rallied with a Crewe own goal and an Aden Flint header pulling the deficit back to one.
It made for a frantic ending, but Dale couldn’t quite get an equaliser.
Sam Waller replaced goalkeeper Nils Ramming in the only change from last weekend’s draw at Tranmere Rovers, after Ramming picked up an injury during that game.
Dale began the game well, controlling the majority of possession and looking more threatening. Cian Hayes had a couple of shots blocked, one at the end of a lung-busting run from one end of the pitch to the other, before Aden Flint’s ambitious shot flew wide.
Crewe created the better of the early chances. Matus Holicek had a weak shot saved by the feet of Waller, before Josh March couldn’t make clean contact on a ball across the area, turning it well wide.
Kane Taylor came inches away from opening the scoring for Dale midway through the half when he cut inside from the right, but his curled shot went the wrong side of the far post.
Hayes had another shot blocked before two quickfire goals from Crewe gave Dale a mountain to climb. Holicek scored the first, after receiving the ball from a short corner his dipping shot found the top corner via a deflection.
Crewe doubled their lead just a minute before the half-time break, when Jordan Gibson had the simple task of turning the ball into an empty net after a low cross had beaten the Dale defence and goalkeeper.
Dale could feel hard done by to be two behind at the break, but that extended to three just ten minutes into the second-half, despite another promising spell for Dale. A break down the Crewe right led to a cross reaching Kyle Ure at the back post, and his scuffed shot fell fortuitously for Gibson, who scored from close range.
Dale weren’t for going down without a fight, and pulled a goal back midway through the second half. The ball was worked out to Glenn Middleton on the left side, and his cross, aimed for substitute Mani Dieseruvwe, was deflected into the net via a Crewe defender.
Dale continued to have plenty of possession and controlled large spells of the remaining action, but without creating enough clear chances. There were a number of dangerous crosses that came to nothing.
Dieseruvwe had a header comfortably saved.
Flint reduced the deficit to one goal in the 90th minute, powering a stooping header in from Middleton’s cross, to set up a frantic four minutes of added time.
However, despite the backing of 949 Dale fans, Dale couldn’t find the equaliser that, arguably, their play deserved, resulting in a first defeat in six games.
Dale head coach Ian Watson said: “At half-time, I didn’t feel like we deserved to be 2-0 down.
“The most pleasing thing is that we kept on going. We just ran out of time in the end.
“The boys were doing everything they could to try and get something from the game.
“You’re going to lose games in football, but it’s about how you lose games, and we went out fighting.”
Crewe Alexandra: Booth, Billington ©, Ure (75’ Hutchinson), Offord, March, White (60’ Agius), Tabiner (75’ Thibaut), Stephenson, Gibson (75’ Dancey), Holicek (46’ Thomas), Lunt.
Unused subs: Lawlor, McNeill.
Scorers: 39’ Holicek, 44’ 55’ Gibson.
Rochdale: Waller, Tasker (63’ Beckwith), Wilson, Hayes (63’ Francis), Gilmour ©, Adebayo-Rowling, Adeeko (79’ Silcott-Duberry), Taylor, Brown (63’ Dieseruvwe), Flint, Middleton.
Unused subs: Spaven, Hannant, Sherring.
Scorers: 65’ Tabiner (og), 90’ Flint.
Attendance: 6,080 (949 away).
