Dale suffered a second successive defeat as they lost 2-1 to Hereford United at Egdar Street.
A fortunate Craig King goal and a Ryan Valentine rebound after a penalty save from Frank Fielding was enough to secure the three points for Hereford, despite a Gary Jones consolation header.
The first half was dominated by Dale but they couldn't find a way of opening up the Hereford defence to score the first goal.
They were made to pay when Craig Dawson inadvertently hit Craig King as he tried to clear off the goal-line, with the ball hitting King and rolling over the line.
Then the home side were given a chance to double their lead after a controversial penalty decision, in which the referee seemed to be the only person in the stadium to spot something. Ryan Valentine's penalty was well saved by Frank Fielding, but he manage to tap home the rebound for 2-0.
However, almost instantly Gary Jones headed home a Joe Thompson cross as Dale looked to get back into the game.
But they couldn't find another goal and time ran out with Dale pressing, seeing Hereford take all three points.
Keith Hill made three changes to his starting line-up and a change in formation. In came Rory McArdle, Temitope Obadeyi and Andy Haworth came in for Nathan Stanton, Jason Taylor and Joe Thompson. Frank Fielding was in goal, with Scott Wiseman, Craig Dawson, McArdle and Tom Kennedy. Jason Kennedy and Gary Jones were in midfield, with Obadeyi and Haworth on the wings. Chris O'Grady and Chris Dagnall were up top.
The opening stages of the game had an end of season feel inside a quiet Egdar Street, but there was a still a slight chance of Dale getting back into the title race, so Keith Hill will have had his side fired up heading into the match.
It was Dale who dominated the opening fifteen minutes of the game, going close twice. Andy Haworth found himself in space on the edge of the area before firing over, before Jason Kennedy found himself in a similar position, with his shot just skidding past Adam Bartlett's right post.
Keith Hill's side were continuing to dominate the first half, and Chris Dagnall came close to opening the scoring with a fine effort. He caught the ball sweetly on his left foot with a half volley that forced a fine diving save to his left by Adam Bartlett as he tipped it out for a corner kick.
Hereford were looking to get their foot on the ball and create something, but when they did it was the Dale defence who came out on top, restricting their play. The next opportunity fell to the away side and it was Andy Haworth who almost turned home. Good interplay between Chris O'Grady and Chris Dagnall led to Dagnall playing a low ball into the near post to Haworth who tried a neat little flick, but couldn't force the ball past Bartlett.
With little over half an hour gone Dale had a great shout for a penalty. Temitope Obadeyi managed to turn his man before being hauled down what looked like inside the penalty area, but the referee gave the foul just outside the area. Tom Kennedy took the free-kick and almost fired it into the top corner, but the ball didn't bend enough and it just flew past the Hereford right post.
But for a lot of Dale possession, that was the last meaningful action of the half and the half-time whistle went with Dale having dominated, but with the scoreline at 0-0.
If Dale were to be in control for as much as the second half as they were the first then it would need just a little more penetration and attacking intent if they were to take advantage and get the go ahead goal.
The first chance of the half fell to Chris Dagnall from a Chris O'Grady lay off, but his left foot shot from outside the area was straight into the arms of Adam Bartlett.
Keith Hill's side were again showing their attacking prowess and Andy Haworth tested Bartlett again from distance when he hit a sweetly struck shot at goal and into the arms of the Hereford goalkeeper.
However, in the 53rd minute Hereford took the lead against the run of play in fortunate circumstances. A ball round the Dale defence saw Gavin McCallum beat Frank Fielding to it as he poked it towards goal. Craig Dawson looked to clear it off the line but only hit Craig King who came charging in and the ball came off him and rolled over the line for a home goal.
Just a few minutes after the opening goal Keith Hill made two changes. Joe Thompson and Kallum Higginbotham came on for Temitope Obadeyi and Andy Haworth as Dale put some fresh legs on the wings.
However, just two minutes after those changes the home side were given a penalty for something that only the referee could see. Ryan Valentine took the penalty and although Frank Fielding made a fine save, Valentine popped in the rebound to double Dale's lead.
Whilst most Dale supporters were still trying to figure out what the penalty was awarded for, captain Gary Jones carried on with proceedings and managed to halve Dale's deficit. Chris O'Grady showed great battling skills before the ball came out to Joe Thompson on the right who crossed superbly straight onto the head of Jones as he powered a header home to make the scoreline 2-1.
Dale now needed another quick response if they were to make it level, with Ciaran Toner coming on for Jason Kennedy in middle of the park.
But with Dale coming forward there were always going to be gaps in the defence, and Marc Pugh almost exploited that space when he was played in behind the defence, but his shot flew past Frank Fielding's right post.
With the Dale pressure continuing as they searched for an equaliser they won a free kick which Kallum Higginbotham took and forced a save from Adam Bartlett as he punched it clear.
As the clock wound down there was not much to note from either side as Dale couldn't quite produce anything. They had all the pressure but even four minutes of added time produced nothing for Keith Hill's side as Dale succumbed to their second defeat in two games since securing promotion.
Dale: Fielding, Wiseman, T Kennedy, McArdle, Dawson, J Kennedy, Jones, Obadeyi, Haworth, O'Grady, Dagnall.
Hereford: Bartlett, Green, Valentine, Rose, Lunt, Pugh, McQuilkin, Jones, Manset, King, McCallum.
Referee: D Webb. Assistant Referees: N Hobbis & S Martin. Fourth Official: W Barratt.
Attendance: 1975 (341 Dale fans).
