Dale eventually succumbed to a 3-2 defeat at Premiership side Birmingham City after a brave and positive performance which saw them go ahead.
Gary Jones gave his side the lead in the 25th minute after Scott Wiseman had done superbly on the right side, with the captain stabbing home from close range.
However, Birmingham drew level three minutes later from a controversial penalty which saw James McFadden convert to draw level in a first half which Dale dominated.
In the second half it was Birmingham who took the game to Dale, going 3-1 up inside ten minutes through David Murphy and Matt Derbyshire.
However, there was still time for a Dale flourish and when Gary Jones got his second to make it 3-2, anything looked possible.
But Keith Hill's side couldn't force the equaliser and were knocked out of the Carling Cup despite their best efforts.
Keith Hill decided to show faith in the majority of the side that lost to Colchester on Saturday as he made just one change. Manchester City loanee Andrew Tutte made his first Dale start, coming in for Joe Thompson up top. Josh Lillis was in goal, with Scott Wiseman, Marcus Holness, Craig Dawson and Joe Widdowson at the back. Captain Gary Jones was alongside Jason Kennedy and Brian Barry-Murphy in midfield, with Tutte up front with Chris O'Grady and Anthony Elding. Alex McLeish made eight changes to his Birmingham side that beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at St Andrews at the weekend.
The favourites were without doubt the home side, but inside two minutes it was Dale who had the first half chance of the game. Home goalkeeper Maik Taylor made a hash of a clearance and it fell to the feet Andrew Tutte. However, his shot hit the head of a defender and looped up in the air into the hands of a relieved Taylor.
The first effort on target was also from Dale five minutes later. Good passing in the build up led to a cross from Tutte which found the head of Chris O'Grady, but he couldn't get enough power on the header and Taylor collected easily.
But despite Dale doing most of the running in the very early stages, it takes just one chance to be punished at Premier League level, and home captain on the night Lee Bowyer almost put his side ahead, but his chipped effort over Josh Lillis found the outside of the post.
The Dale fans that had made the trip were certainly making themselves heard from the far corner of the ground, and they almost had something to cheer in the 14th minute when Anthony Elding steered a header just wide. A cross by Joe Widdowson from the left found Elding unmarked, but he could only direct his header just wide of the post.
With twenty minutes gone it was difficult to tell who were the Premiership side and who were the League One side. It could have been even more difficult to tell if Chris O'Grady had put Dale ahead from a chance he carved out himself. Quick feet on the edge of the box saw him jink past two defenders, but his shot was dragged just wide of Maik Taylor's left post.
But in the 25th minute his miss was forgotten as Dale did take the lead. Scott Wiseman intercepted a stray pass and drove forward before playing in Andrew Tutte on the right. He crossed and found Wiseman who had continued his run and the right-back smashed a volley goalwards. Taylor saved but the ball dropped kindly to Gary Jones who had the simple task of tapping home to put his side ahead and send the travelling support wild.
It was a goal Dale's start had deserved as they led Premiership side Birmingham City by a goal to nil. However, their joy was short-lived when just three minutes later when the home side equalised in controversial circumstances.
Matt Derbyshire and Marcus Holness chased down a ball with Holness appearing to see it out for a goal-kick as the two went tumbling. However, the assistant eventually gave a penalty after much confusion, saying there was a push involved. There were protests from everyone involved with Dale, but the decision stood and James McFadden tucked the spot kick away to draw his side level.
It was a very poor decision from Mr Murphy and a real kick in the teeth for Dale. However it was one they would have to get over and settle back into the game which they had had the better of before that decision.
The opening half hour to the match had been full of action, but the final fifteen minutes failed to live up to that and there was no real goal action to speak of until injury time when Keith Fahey put a great ball across the floor for Derbyshire to slide onto, but he didn't get enough on it and the ball rolled wide of the post.
That was it for the half and it was one which Dale could be very proud of as they more than matched their Premiership opponents, and would have been ahead had it not been for the poor penalty decision.
Birmingham made one change at half-time in an attempt to swing the tie in their favour, with the impressive James McFadden being replaced by Sebastian Larsson.
Just a minute into the half Dale forced their first corner and from the clearance and the resulting ball back in central defender Craig Dawson tried the spectacular with an overhead kick. However the ball sailed well wide.
But a minute later and it was Birmingham who were on the attack, and they made Dale pay by taking the lead. A corner was headed goalwards by Roger Johnson, and David Murphy smashed home from close range to make it 2-1.
The important thing for Dale now was to keep it to just one and carry on in the same vein as the first half, but in the 52nd minute Birmingham doubled their lead through Matt Derbyshire. Sebastian Larsson was played in on the right and he put a great cross into the middle which Derbyshire first hit at Lillis, but the Dale stopper spilled it and the striker put the ball across the line at the second attempt, despite the best efforts of Anthony Elding on the line.
With two quick goals for the home side Dale would need to make sure things didn't get out of hand by staying solid. However, just one goal for the away side would put the nerves back on the home players and Anthony Elding should have got that goal to make it 3-2 when Chris O'Grady turned superbly before putting the ball on a plate for the striker. However, Elding mishit the shot completely and it went well wide for a goal kick.
With almost twenty minutes gone in the second half Dale made three changes. Matt Done, Jean Louis Akpa Akpro and Josh Thompson who was making his Dale debut all came on for Andrew Tutte, Marcus Holness and Anthony Elding.
Alex McLeish then made a change of his own with Nikola Zigic coming on for Matt Derbyshire.
There was still plenty of time left for both sides to go on and grab another goal or two, and in the 76th minute it was Dale who got the next one to try and put the pressure on the home side. Chris O'Grady, who had been superb all game, showed great strength to turn Keith Fahey and pull the ball back to Gary Jones, who stroked home his second of the game to pull Dale within one goal.
That gave Dale and their fans a new belief that they could cause an upset. As the League One side went in search of that equaliser they would leave gaps for the home side to exploit, with substitutes Nathan Redmond and Nikola Zigic going close.
However, with time running out Dale couldn't carve out an opening that would see them draw level with the Premiership side, and three minutes of added time weren't enough for the away side who performed admirably and could be delighted with their performance.
