Tranmere are still searching for their first away win of the season after Danny Cashman scored his first league goal for Rochdale to earn the hosts a late 1-0 victory at the Crown Oil Arena.

Dale dominated the game for long spells, although Rovers were left to rue their luck after twice hitting the woodwork.

In the opening 10 minutes Abraham Odoh teed up Jake Beesley for a smart turn and shot which Rovers goalkeeper Joe Murphy pushed away, while the visitors went close soon after when Josh Hawkes struck the foot of a post with a 20-yard drive.

A scrappy start to the second half was not helped by a lengthy stoppage in play as Murphy received treatment after a collision with team-mate Peter Clarke, the keeper eventually carried off on a stretcher.

Replacement Ross Doohan was the busier of the two keepers but was never seriously tested until the 84th minute when Dale substitute Cashman, on a season-long loan from Coventry, flashed a brilliant finish into the corner of the net.

Tranmere missed a glorious chance to level during the eighth minute of time added on when another substitute, Sam Foley, struck a post with an effort from eight yards with just Joel Coleman to beat.

Despite the backing of over 1,200 travelling supporters, the result puts Rovers 15th in League Two, with only one win in their last five league games.

Speaking after the match, Tranmere manager Micky Mellon said: “It was a game that was going to be decided by one of those types of moments and I believe both teams had them. Unfortunately, it was us that made the mistake which proved to be the difference between the two teams.

“At the end, we had a great opportunity to equalise and we hit the post for the second time in the game. It is a sore one to take, the game was always going to be decided on one moment and unfortunately it has gone against us.

“Scoring the first goal when coming to places like Rochdale will always give you a better chance but we were unable to do that.

“The first goal has won the match. If you are not going to get that goal, you need to make sure you are stubborn and don’t give anything away. We blinked first and gave away the first mistake and Rochdale took their opportunity.

“We gained an opportunity after this and we didn’t take ours to get ourselves something from the game. That is the story of the match.”

Mellon also confirmed that goalkeeper Murphy had gone straight to hospital for a check-up on his condition.