Dale exited the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at the first hurdle as they went down 2-1 at Port Vale.
Dale had started the game very well, with Matt Done leading the charge early on. But their good work was undone when Marc Richards put the home side ahead in the 26th minute with a shot from the edge of the area.
Vale led 1-0 at the break, but they made that 2-0 with twenty minutes to go in the game after the half had started slowly, Justin Richards finishing past Josh Lillis.
However, Dale still had a say in the game and Matt Done reduced Dale's arrears with a tidy finish from 18 yards. But they couldn't find an equaliser that would take it to penalties, and their Johnstone's Paint Trophy was over at the first hurdle.
Keith Hill made six changes to the side that started in the win at Brentford on Saturday. In came Alan Goodall to make his second Dale debut at left back, with Josh Thompson making his first start for the club at centre half. Matt Done and Joe Thompson came into midfield, with Jack Redshaw and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro starting up top.
Josh Lillis, Scott Wiseman, Marcus Holness who captained the side, Brian Barry-Murphy and Anthony Elding were the survivors from the win at Griffin Park. There were two ex-Dale loanees in the Port Vale squad, with Marc Richards captaining the side and Louis Dodds on the bench.
Whilst the Johnstone's Paint Trophy is not a competition high on the list of Keith Hill's priorities, it still represent a good opportunity to try new players and new ideas, and gives a good chance of a cup run, so he would have made sure his side were going all out for the win.
And it was Dale who started the brighter. Matt Done and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro had early efforts that went well wide, before Jack Redshaw's deflected free-kick almost looped over Vale 'keeper Chris Martin but just wide and out for a corner.
From the corner came another Matt Done shot, but this time the former Hereford man's shot was well saved by Martin. Anthony Elding then almost converted a Done cross, with his header sailing just wide despite looking offside.
Done was having a storming opening twenty minutes for Dale, playing with Brian Barry-Murphy and Joe Thompson in a three man midfield. His jinking run down the left almost led to a chance for Anthony Elding, but it was cut out before he could turn and shoot.
Former Dale loanee Marc Richards went close for Vale with their first effort, his shot from outside the area hitting the side netting. Left-back Lee Collins then tested Josh Lillis for the first time as the Dale stopper turned his 20 yard shot round the post.
Then in the 26th minute, with Vale finding a little spell of pressure, Marc Richards put his side into the lead. Left-winger Abdulai Bell Baggie cut inside and found the striker with a pass, which he converted from the edge of the area into Lillis' bottom corner to put his side 1-0 up.
Although the half had started very brightly, following the opening goal chances were at a minimum for either side. Vale's goalscorer Richards tested Lillis with a header, whilst Alan Goodall hit a dipping volley at Chris Martin from 30 yards in the final minute of the half, but neither side could score another before the break.
Keith Hill will have hoped his side started the second half as they did the first, and with the introductions of Andrew Tutte and Helio André for Brian Barry-Murphy and Jack Redshaw, Dale will have hoped to regain some impetus.
Matt Done was looking lively again going forward. A neat flick and turn from him led to a right-foot shot which was on target but easy to stop for Chris Martin.
Just two minutes later Martin was called into action again, when Anthony Elding was put through on goal firing a left foot drive from 18 yards which the Vale stopper did superbly to tip over the bar for a corner.
In the 61st minute left-back Joe Widdowson came on for Marcus Holness, with Alan Goodall pushing into centre half and Joe Thompson taking up the captaincy.
Goodall's move into the centre almost started in the worst possible fashion, when Marc Richards was played in behind the Dale number 12, but his shot was hit high over Josh Lillis' goal.
But in the 70th minute Dale were punished at the back as Port Vale doubled their lead, with Richards on the score-sheet again, but this time it was Marc's namesake Justin. Lee Collins did well down the left beating the challenge of Akpa Akpro before pulling the ball back to Richards who slotted home past Lillis to make it 2-0.
That second goal filled Micky Adams' side with confidence, and they almost made it 3-0 two minutes later after a fine passing move led to Gary Roberts being played in, but his shot was well blocked by Alan Goodall.
However, Dale weren't out of the game yet despite Micky Adams taking off both his goalscorers, and that was proved when Matt Done finished neatly to make the score 2-1. A Dale corner was cleared only as far as Done on the edge of the box and he struck a left foot shot into the bottom corner to half the deficit.
Keith Hill's side began to pile on the pressure in search of an equaliser that would take the game to penalties, and in the 86th minute they nearly found one when Joe Thompson hit the bar. A cross from the right found Thompson on the volley, but his shot hit the top of the crossbar before going out for a goal-kick.
But with Dale going forward there would be gaps for Vale to exploit. Gary Roberts fired a venomous effort from 25 yards which Lillis could only palm out, before the Dale 'keeper got down well to block Sean Rigg's rebound out for a corner.
There were three minutes of added time for Dale to try and find an equaliser with Matt Done's deflected effort being the closest Dale came as it squirmed pas the post. But they couldn't find an equaliser as they exited the JPT at the first round stage.
