Barrow fell to defeat in Greater Manchester as a decisive goal from Scott Quigley was enough to give Rochdale all 3 points, despite a late flourish from Barrow, where Niall Canavan converted a late corner to give The Bluebirds hope.
It was a positive start for Pete Wild’s men at the Crown Oil Arena. Inside the opening 5 minutes Billy Waters was played through on right hand side of the box; his sliding shot almost finding the far bottom corner.
Dale had a fruitful spell seeing Scott Quigley’s effort fall narrowly wide into the side netting with 14 minutes on the clock, then a few minutes later they hit the front; a well-placed curling finish from Liam Kelly into the top right-hand corner was well past the reach of Paul Farman.
Barrow responded and came close to levelling the score through Josh Gordon’s headed effort on the 26th, with the Bluebirds striker's effort just inches away from being an equaliser.
With 10 minutes to go until the interval, Paul Farman pulled off a fantastic stop to prevent Liam Kelly from adding a first half brace to his name.
Straight from Sunny Gill blowing his whistle to signal the start of the second period, The Bluebirds strived forward. Patrick Brough's well weighted cross led to a great opportunity for Waters to level the game just 30 seconds in.
After an array of corners from Barrow just after the hour mark, they soon saw themselves counter attacked; Devante Rodney found himself in a one-on-one situation against Paul Farman, but Rodney’s attempted chip was smartly saved, as Farman stood his ground to deny Dale taking a two-goal lead.
It was former Bluebirds striker Scott Quigley that doubled Rochdale’s lead at the Crown Oil Arena with 15 minutes left to play. His headed effort inside the box found the back of the net to give Dale a cushion.
With 89 minutes on the clock, Barrow pulled a goal back through Niall Canavan. The Bluebirds' captain met the incoming corner with his head to to half the deficit.
Despite a big push in stoppage time, Pete Wild's men couldn't quite convert a chance to take a point back home.
Full Time: Rochdale 2-1 Barrow
Attendance: 3061 (571 Away)