Rochdale fell to a defeat on the South coast on Good Friday, losing to 2-1 to Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
First half goals from Ryan Williams and Ronan Curtis gave Pompey a 2-0 lead, but Jake Beesley netted injury time to half the deficit.
There was one change to the side that lined-up against Peterborough United 13 days ago in Dale’s last fixture before the international break, as Kwadwo Baah came in for the injured Stephen Humphrys.
Williams opened the scoring after just five minutes, when he slotted home from close range from a Marcus Harness ball in from the right.
It should have been 2-0 with 20 minutes on the clock but after being slid in by Curtis, Michael Jacobs, with only Bazunu to beat, struck narrowly wide of the upright.
But Pompey did double their advantage with seven minutes of the half remaining, with Curtis striking low into the bottom corner.
Rochdale finished the half strongly and soon after Ollie Rathbone had a shot from 25-yards blocked, Jake Beesley had a chance cleared off the line.
The Dale forward latched onto a long ball over the top and lifted it up and over Craig MacGillivray, but there was a last-ditch clearance by a Portsmouth defender.
HT | PORTSMOUTH 2-0 ROCHDALE
Early in the second half Bazunu got down well to intercept Lee Brown’s low cross/shot at his near post, before a double Rochdale substitution followed in the 53rd minute, as Aaron Morley and Haydon Roberts replaced Conor Grant and Paul McShane.
Conor Shaughnessy turned a Matty Done cross wide of the upright in his last action of the half, as he made way for Stephen Dooley soon after.
The hosts’ Callum Johnson then fired an effort well over, while back up the other end, Beesley had a low shot defended behind.
A fourth Dale change followed in the 82nd minute, when Alex Newby came on for Jimmy Keohane.
Newby was involved almost immediately after his introduction, delivering a dangerous ball in from the right that MacGillivray had to come to collect under his cross bar.
With a minute of the 90 remaining, Morley struck over from 20-yards, but it was in stoppage time that Dale halved the deficit, as Beesley turned home Newby’s low ball from the right from close range.
Rochdale have shown on many occasion this season that are capable of staging late-come backs, but time was against them at Fratton Park and they were unable to find an equaliser in the dying moments.
FT | PORTSMOUTH 2-1 ROCHDALE