Rochdale fell to a disappointing defeat against a resurgent Gillingham side, as the Kent club ran out 2-0 winners at the Crown Oil Arena.

Coming into the game, it was bottom facing top of the form table, with Gillingham winning four of their previous six, compared to Rochdale’s one point from their last six games.

Neither side took control in the opening stages of the match, with Aiden O’Brien’s 20-yard strike that floated harmlessly over the cross bar in the first minute, being the only chance of note in the opening ten minutes.   

Dom Jefferies was the next to go close for Gillingham, after the ball pinballed around the 18-yard box, Jefferies fired low from close range to force a save from Richard O’Donnell, kept out by the goalkeeper’s legs.

Dale looked to respond, with Owen Dodgson sliding a ball through a crowded 18-yard box in to Ian Henderson, who was thwarted from close range by Glenn Morris in the Gills net.

The game began to open up from that point, as the away side promptly attacked, with midfielder Shaun Williams firing narrowly wide with a rasping right-footed drive from 30-yards.

Another Rochdale chance soon followed as Ian Henderson picked up a loose ball in the Gillingham half and played a neat through ball to Scott Quigley, who dragged his shot across the face of goal, and just wide of the bottom left-hand corner.

Minutes later, the game had its first goal. Robbie McKenzie’s long throw in was headed back out into a wide area by Scott Quigley, which the throw in taker McKenzie then brought it down and delivered a left footed cross into the Dale area. Ollie Hawkins somehow got free of the Rochdale defence to slot the ball beyond Richard O’Donnell with a simple close-range tap-in.

Toby Mullarkey had the next sight of goal, after bringing the ball forward he took aim from 25-yards, unleashing a powerful right footed strike, which was parried away well by the experienced Morris.

Before the half-time break, Rochdale were forced to make a substitution, with goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell going down with an injury. After receiving treatment, he looked to carry on, making a good save to deny George Lapslie from the edge of the 18-yard box, but soon after signalled to the bench that he couldn’t continue, and was subsequently replaced by Jake Eastwood as the last action of the first-half.

The second half started much like the first half, with neither side taking control. Odoh and Mullarkey combined on a couple of occasions down the right-hand flank to flash crosses through the Gillingham six-yard box, but on both occasions Dale were lacking the crucial man with a finishing touch.

Ten minutes later, some good work in the midfield from Toumani Diagouraga won possession back for Rochdale to come forward. He played in Odoh on the right-hand side of the Gillingham box, who’s first time pass picked out Quigley who turned the nearest defender well but could only shoot straight at the goalkeeper.

Just before the hour mark, Jim Bentley rung the changes, with Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Jimmy Keohane and Danny Lloyd being replaced by Femi Seriki, Liam Kelly and Devante Rodney.

As the home side started to ramp up the pressure on the Gillingham backline, Toby Mullarkey’s deep cross from the left-wing troubled Glenn Morris, with the Gills keeper tipping the ball onto the top of the crossbar, only to see the ball spin high into the air, and land on the crossbar for a second time in less than a few seconds.

After a spell in which Owen Dodgson had tried an effort from distance, and Odoh was sent through seemingly one on one, only for the visitors to get bodies back with pace, it was Gillingham that struck a telling blow.

With 15 minutes to go, Gillingham seized an opportunity to get forward down their right hand side. The ball into the box wasn’t sufficiently dealt with by the Rochdale defence, and when the ball broke to George Lapslie, he subsequently curled the ball into the bottom corner of substitute goalkeeper Jake Eastwood’s goal, leaving Jim Bentleys side with a mountain to climb.

D’Mani Mellor was introduced to the field soon after, replacing Scott Quigley.

With just under five minutes left of the game, Ian Henderson spurned an opportunity as he went through on goal but a Gillingham defender managed to get a tackle in just as Henderson was about to pull the trigger.

Dale couldn’t create anything else as the clock ticked down, resulting in a defeat at home.

Dale XI | O’Donnell, Mullarkey, Bennett, Ebanks-Landell, Odoh, Diagouraga, Keohane, Dodgson, Lloyd, Henderson, Quigley.

Subs | Eastwood, Seriki, Taylor, Kelly, Mellor, Rodney, Campbell.