The hosts bossed long periods of the game but lacked a cutting edge up front and were on the back foot early on when Jimmy Smith capitalised on some poor defending. David Mooney’s strike wrapped up the result midway through the second half.
The home side had dominated the first half but left the field a goal down at the interval having conceded on Orient’s only attack of the opening 45 minutes.
George Porter’s delivery was deflected towards goal, forcing goalkeeper Jake Kean to push the ball behind for a corner. From Dean Cox’s set-piece Smith charged in unopposed to head home from six yards.
Ashley Grimes’ dipping effort on 33 minutes, tipped over the bar by Lee Butcher, kickstarted a series of close calls for the hosts as they probed for an equaliser. Neal Trotman ran out of space attempting to squeeze Grimes’ header into the net while Nathan Eccleston worked Butcher with a curling effort from 25 yards.
Andrew Tutte had the ball in the net for Rochdale early in the second half only for his effort to be chalked off by referee James Adcock for a foul in the build up by Jason Kennedy.
The visitors doubled their advantage in the 65th minute when Jamie Cureton’s pull back from the byline found David Mooney in space and he side-footed past Kean.
Jean Louis Akpa Akpro saw a header saved by Butcher in the closing minutes, but there was to be no consolation for Dale.
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Really hope I'm wrong and things can be turned around but it looks like relegation is a reality!
1 very lucky point from 3 games against teams below us says it all - it is now surely time that the Chairman admits his mistake in appointing someone with no experience.
The team show no team spirit and there is absolutely no rapport between the fans and manager.
OK, so life is a struggle at the moment. During the Orient game, Dale created at least 6 good chances to score, the ball crossing the Orient goalmouth without someone connecting. It could so easily have been a different story, and we might have bagged 5 or 6.
I would be worried if we weren't creating any opportunities, but that's not the case at all. Anyone who thought it would be plain sailing this season needs a reality check.
You can't lose the management duo, the back-room staff, half the team and the best players in the squad, and just expect things to carry on in the same vein.
Steve Eyre has had 15 games in charge so far. Chris Dunphy saw his potential. Wouldn't it be better to give him the chance to achieve that potential, rather than a few isolated voices demanding a change ? Get real.
Sure, the Dale squad needs tweaking. Some players aren't performing to their potential and others haven't gelled as well as we might have expected.
Perhaps those disgruntled individuals would prefer us to be where the might Bradford City are this morning. Be careful what you wish for.
blame the chairman & the board for getting a manager on the cheap.... back to div 2 for the dale (hope im wrong) come may.......
Same old story, cant get up for the teams below us, but perform well against the better teams, maybe the team should employ a motivational therapist. As usual the defence lets the team down once again, one third of the season has gone and nothing done to correct the goals against ( second worst in div.1 ) Dont leave it too late to turn the season around or I'll have to be looking for the brown bag again to hide my head.
one more game and lose and its bye bye my eyre cant he see just how shocking our defence is.......................bring back flitcroft on his own
I write this not to be mischievous but would like clarification from either a Dale or a City fan. Could someone tell me precisely what Steve Eyre's job was at City and specifically was he in charge of the youth team that won five league titles and the youth FA cup?
I seem to remember, but I could be completely wrong, that a bloke called Jim Cassell and also an Alex or Alec Gibson were the main guys in the youth set-up at this time.
The reason I say this is because every Dale fan I speak to seems to be under the impression that Eyre was the manager of City's youth team. I don't think that is correct.. I could be wrong and would very much like clarification.
Calling for Steve Eyre's job is completely premature. As Harry'smate pointed out the shape of the team and back room is completely different. He needs at least a full season to make it his own.
What the fans should be doing is getting down to Spotland and giving them some support. Its like sitting in a library these days.
Come back Keith all is forgiven!
Whatever happened to the money from the sale of Chris O'Grady? I understood it was going to be used to BUY some new players.