Frankie Connolly’s second-half penalty had Dale level after Chesterfield had opened the scoring. However, the visitors netted with 11 minutes to play to deny Dale a first point in the league standings.
Christiano Poutziouri scored early on, with Oli Marsden-Heathcote bagging the winner.
Dale will need to regroup quickly with a re-arranged Youth Alliance cup fixture against Carlisle United coming up on Tuesday.
Dale XI | Gee, Bradley, Brown, Martyn, Pither, Leonard, Nowacki, F.Connolly, Salloway, H.Connolly, Potter.
Substitutes | Braithwaite, Cunliffe, Beesley, Caldwell, Hardwidge.
