Dale managed to get to half time in their game with Grimsby Town, but an already heavy pitch took the brunt of a major downpour and submitted.
Credit was given to the players of both sides by referee Phil Prosser for the way they conducted themselves throughout the half and for trying to play football in impossible conditions.
Despite the weather and the poor condition the pitch was in you have to say it was one of the most entertaining encounters at Spotland, capped with a wonderful save from Dale; keeper Matt Gilks.
Rochdale manager Steve Parkin stuck with the same starting 11 and they set a blistering pace with good early chances for the home side inside two minutes.
A good cross from Ernie Cooksey brought a header for Tai Atieno, but his effort went wide.
A minute later Dale created an even better chance to open the scoring following a scramble inside the visitors box. Ernie Cooksey had the first shot blocked, but the ball fell for Holt on the six-yard box and looked to have notched his 19th of the season until Williams saved on the line.
The rain continued but the energy shown in the opening stages by Rochdale ebbed away and both sides struggled to get to grips with the conditions.
The game got scrappy, but the pressure came from Rochdale
Ernie Cooksey latched onto to a looping Wayne Evans cross after a patient build up by Dale, but his header flew wide of the post.
Two minutes later Cooksey had another chance after a surging run to the edge of the box with the ball that ended with a left foot shot that just missed the target.
Grimsby weren't without chances of their own though they were very few and far between. Just before the half hour mark a Grimsby corner resulted in a scramble in the mud eventually cleared.
The rain continued and conditions got worse with puddlesgetting deeper and the mud getting, well.er......... muddier.
The referee looked at one stage as though he was going to call a halt to the game 10 minutes before the break when the heavens unleashed water by the bucketload, backed with a howling, swirling wind.
But to his credit he let the downpour subside and took the game into the break before making the decision to abandon the game.
Just before he did though Matt Gilks pulled off what manager Steve Parkin called the finest save he'd seen at Spotland after Jones' shot looked odds on for nestling in the top corner. Gilks flew across his goal and tipped the ball over the bar following a sustained spell of pressure by the visitors.
The news filtered through that the referee had called the game off after speaking to the managers of both sides during the break, and to be fair it was the sensible thing.
