Bury condemned Dale to their first defeat in 12 games as a closely contested derby ended in Ryan Lowe giving Bury a 1-0 victory.
There were two "second debuts" in the Dale team, with Frank Fielding and Will Atkinson both starting at Gigg Lane after returning for their second loan spells with the club. Fielding was in goal and would be protected by the familiar faces of Scott Wiseman, Nathan Stanton, Craig Dawson and Tom Kennedy. Jason Taylor and Jason Kennedy were partners in midfield, with Joe Thompson and Atkinson on the wings. Chris O'Grady and Chris Dagnall continued their partnership up top. Loan players Andy Haworth and Temitope Obadeyi were on the bench.
This game is always a hotly contested affair, but this match took on added importance with both sides fighting it out at the top of the table and with the game being shown live on SKY Sports. The first foul of the game came on two minutes and it was Tom Kennedy who was felled in his own left-back area. It wouldn't be the first time TK was put under a lot of pressure in his area of the pitch.
The opening ten minutes were short on quality considering the run of form both sides are on. Dale couldn't quite their passing game going and although solid at the back, it was Bury who were seeing more of the ball. Ryan Lowe won a free kick on the edge of the box which Brian Barry-Murphy hit into the wall before Lowe had a shot from the rebound, but he struck well wide.
The first real chance of the game fell to the home side and it was one that could have easily seen Bury take the lead. Ryan Lowe had the ball just outside the area and he played in Andy Morrell who was unmarked. He picked out Stephen Dawson to his left who shot first time, but his effort was straight at debutant Frank Fielding and the on-loan 'keeper managed to raise a pair of hands in time to stop the ball from bursting the back of the Dale net.
When Dale had the ball they found it difficult to create a flowing move due to a combination of little options and good Bury pressure. Keith Hill's side did seem to have more of the ball following Stephen Dawson's chance but on occasions it was the final ball which let the possession down as Bury made the game tight.
It was becoming a little frustrating for an animated Keith Hill on the touchline as Dale tried to find their feet in the game. Dale were hoping their first shot of the game in the 38th minute was a sign of things to come when Chris Dagnall flicked the ball into Chris O'Grady's feet, but the striker's shot on the turn went well high and wide.
O'Grady then had another effort from distance following another Dagnall flick, but this time his shot was deflected towards goal with Bury goalkeeper Wayne Brown picking the ball up easily.
The Shakers thought they had a shout for a penalty as the game entered the final five minutes. Craig Dawson pulled Andy Morrell back on the edge of the box before Ryan Lowe went down under a challenge from Scott Wiseman. However, referee Andy Penn waved away any protests and Dale cleared to the other end where Chris O'Grady had another shot which was deflected out for a corner, from which Joe Thompson headed wide.
There was one minute of added tie added but nothing came of it and the sides went into the dressing rooms at half-time goalless.
There were no changes for either side at half-time and Bury kicked off, shooting towards their fans, whilst Dale were facing the superb Dale following in the Manchester Road End.
Tom Kennedy picked up the first booking of the game after chasing down and fouling Bury's Michael Jones on The Shakers' right. It led to Brian Barry-Murphy whipping in the free-kick which Frank Fielding managed to get to and palm it out for a corner.
The first shot of the second half fell to Bury's Andy Morrell, who from a Nathan Stanton knock down struck left-footed on the half volley, but his effort went just wide of Frank Fielding's right post who had it covered.
In the 56th minute Dale were able to get their first glimpse of loan signing from Bolton Temitope Obadeyi who replaced Joe Thompson on the right of midfield.
The opening to the second half was much better than that of the first for Dale as Keith Hill's side were able to get the ball down and play it, looking for a goal scoring opportunity. However, the Bury threat was still there and they forced a corner which Efe Sodje ended up nodding back across goal, but Will Atkinson was there to head clear.
It was Sodje who picked up the second yellow card of the game when the bandana wearing centre-back cynically blocked Chris Dagnall as he ran at goal.
Dagnall and Chris O'Grady's link up play up play up front has been one of the key aspects of why Dale are top of the league by a large margin, but the two were struggling to link up inside the first 70 minutes. This was maybe in part down to the Gigg Lane pitch which was very bobbly, meaning the first touch of players wasn't up to its usual standard.
As the game wore on Dale became a lot more threatening and Craig Dawson came close with a header from a Tom Kennedy corner, but Wayne Brown was able to collect easily. Chris Dagnall then almost completed a mazy dribble with a superb goal, but after beating three of four men the striker was crowded out with Bury clearing.
Bury won't have wanted this to continue for much longer and good work from Michael Jones on the left wing led to Andy Morrell having a shot which Frank Fielding was able to collect easily.
Then came the moment that could have put Dale ahead. Temitope Obadeyi chased a lost cause down into the corner and won the ball from David Buchanan before picking the ball up and taking it into the area. Chris O'Grady was free in the middle and Obadeyi found him, but with a gaping goal Dale's new signing could not tap the ball home, sending it wide of Wayne Brown's right post.
Chris O'Grady will have been rueing that missed chance justfive minutes later when Bury took the lead. Ryan Lowe won the ball on the right hand side and took the ball forward as he became one-on-one with Frank Fielding. He kept a cool head to slot home past Fielding and put the home side ahead against the run of play.
The goal forced Keith Hill into two changes and in the 81st minute Kallum Higginbotham and Andy Haworth were brought on for Chris O'Grady and Will Atkinson as Dale looked for an equaliser.
Dale were pressing and pressing but couldn't create a clear opportunity that would give them an equaliser as the fourth official signalled there would be four minutes of added time.
In the first 30 seconds of that Bury could have made the game safe when Ryan Lowe had a shot which found its way across goal to Michael Jones, but his shot back at goal only found its way past the far post and out for a goal kick.
No matter how hard they tried Dale couldn't force even a chance to get back into the game and with whistles from the Bury fans echoing around the ground referee Penn blew his whistle for full-time, bringing an end to Dale's 11 match unbeaten run.
All Dale can do now is be spurred on by this defeat as we welcome Crewe to Spotland on Saturday looking to get back to winning ways.
Dale: Fielding, Wiseman, Dawson, Stanton, T Kennedy, Taylor, J Kennedy, Thompson, Atkinson, O'Grady, Dagnall.
Bury: Brown, Scott, Buchanan, Futcher, Dawson, Barry-Murphy, Jones, Lowe, Sodje, Morrell, Worrall.
Referee: Andy Penn (West Midlands). Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick (County Durham) & Dave McCallum (Tyne & Wear). Fourth Official: Karl Evans (Lancashire).
Attendance: 6528 (1996 Dale fans).
