Tyrese Sinclair’s 86th minute equaliser saw Dale take a point home from Maidenhead United on Saturday.
Kairo Mitchell’s sixth of the season had Dale ahead at the break, but goals from Reece Smith and Chanka Zimba turned the game on its head.
However, Sinclair, assisted by Devante Rodney, who was making his return after illness, scored his eighth of the season to earn a point.
Jimmy McNulty made two changes to Tuesday’s team, as George Nevett and Tyrese Sinclair returned in place of Max Taylor and Ian Henderson. New signing Cian Hayes, on loan from Fleetwood Town, was on the bench, as was Rodney, who had been missing since the opening day through illness.
After an evening opening ten minutes, Dale began to build a head of steam, with Sinclair causing the Maidenhead defence problems and seeing a couple of efforts blocked.
Casey Pettit hit a 20-yard shot well over before Louie Moulden made a good save to hold Jayden Mitchell-Lawson’s close-range header, whilst Ethan Ebanks-Landell had a shot blocked from close range after a corner was delivered into the area.
Dale took the lead on the half hour mark when Mitchell controlled a ball up to him superbly to get away from his marker, before finishing clinically with his left foot from just inside the area.
McNulty’s men were close to adding a second just two minutes later, when Harvey Gilmour latched on to Adam Clayton’s clip over the top, but his pull back didn’t find a yellow shirt.
Moulden held on to Sam Beckwith’s powerful long-range effort before Kwaku Oduroh headed over a Dale corner late on in the half.
Dale continued in the ascendeny for the period after the break, with Gilmour having a shot well blocked and Ryan East firing over.
However, the hosts equalised just before the hour mark, when Smith jinked his way through a couple of Dale men before slotting home one-on-one.
Gilmour and Clayton both had efforts blocked as Dale looked to restore the advantage, but it was Maidenhead who scored the next goal.
Zimba latched on to a ball over the top, with a suspicion of offside, before breaking into the area and slotting home.
Dale were behind for less than two minutes though. Ebanks-Landell clipped a ball over the top for Rodney to latch on to. He picked out Sinclair by squaring to the back post, who slotted home from ten yards.
McNulty’s men pressed late on in search of a winner, but they couldn’t carve out a clear-cut opening, having to settle for a point.
Dale XI | Moulden, Oduroh, Ebanks-Landell, Nevett (90’ Taylor), Keohane, Clayton, East, Uchegbulam (73’ Hayes), Sinclair, Gilmour (73’ Rodney), Mitchell.
Unused subs | Ferguson, Henderson.