Dale were on the wrong end of a seven goal thriller on Saturday, losing 4-3 at home to Oldham Athletic.
A goal either side of the break saw Latics 2-0 up, before goals from Kairo Mitchell and Jimmy Keohane drew Dale level.
The visitors scored twice to restore a two-goal cushion, before Keohane’s second pulled Dale within one, but they couldn’t find a second equaliser.
Jimmy McNulty made three changes from last weekend’s game at Hereford. Max Taylor replaced the suspended Ethan Ebanks-Landell, whilst George Nevett and Kairo Mitchell returned from international duty, replacing Kwaku Oduroh and Ian Henderson.
Dale started the game well, with Tyrese Sinclair having a shot deflected into the arms of the goalkeeper and Mitchell heading over a Ryan East corner.
Adam Clayton hit a free-kick into the Oldham wall, from which the visitors broke down the other end and opened the scoring, when Nathan Sheron fired home from 20-yards.
Ferguson turned an East corner whilst Sinclair almost created a golden opportunity from the byline, only to see a last-ditch tackle from an Oldham defender.
Louie Moulden made a superb save one-on-one to deny Devarn Green’s breakaway opportunity, shortly before Ferguson was subbed off due to injury.
Sinclair headed over a difficult opportunity from Cian Hayes’ cross, before James Norwood’s strike from close range hit his own man when destined for goal.
Four minutes after the break, the visitors doubled their lead, when Green headed home a cross at the back-post.
McNulty made a double substitution just after the goal, with Sinclair having to come off injured after being victim of a nasty tackle, along with Clayton, as Henderson and Jesurun Uchegbulam replaced them.
Almost instantly, Dale halved the deficit. Hayes was played the ball into space, and he pulled it back for Keohane, whose shot deflected off Mitchell and beyond Oldham stopper Mathew Hudson.
Uchegbulam saw an effort deflected wide before Keohane levelled just after the hour mark, slotting home after a corner had fallen to him in the area.
However, Oldham regained the lead just moments later, when Hallam Hope curled an effort into the far corner.
Keohane was denied by a fine save from Hudson, when his back-post header looked certain to level matters, only for the goalkeeper to fly across goal and turn behind for a corner.
Norwood added a fourth for Oldham in the 72nd minute, slotting beyond Moulden after latching on to a ball behind the defence.
Mitchell had a header deflected behind for a corner, shortly before Keohane grabbed his second and Dale’s third, slamming home when the ball fell to him from a corner.
Dale gave it everything in the 16 minutes of added time, with Mitchell heading over, as well as Keohane and Henderson being denied by Hudson, but McNulty’s men just couldn’t find the equaliser.
Dale XI | Moulden, Ferguson (36’ Oduroh), Taylor, Nevett, Keohane, Hayes, Clayton (52’ Uchegbulam), East, Gilmour, Sinclair (52’ Henderson), Mitchell.
Unused subs | McDermott, Afuye.