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Tranmere Rovers suffered penalty heartbreak at Prenton Park as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup in the first round qualifying stage on Thursday night.
After an entertaining 2-2 draw, Rovers missed four consecutive spot kicks as Rochdale triumphed 2-1 in the shoot-out to book their place in the competition. Courtney Baker-Richardson blazed the final penalty over the bar to seal Tranmere's fate.
The hosts had made the brighter start, taking the lead inside five minutes when Charlie Whitaker latched onto Tom Conlon's through ball before calmly dinking it past onrushing Rochdale goalkeeper Nils Ramming.
Tranmere's lead proved short-lived, with Ryan East firing home from close range in the 11th minute after a goalmouth scramble to bring the visitors level.
Rochdale looked the more likely side after the break, but it was Tranmere who struck next when Jordan Davies half-volleyed the ball into the bottom left corner on the hour mark to restore the lead.
Dale refused to accept defeat and substitute Zain Silcott-Duberry provided the equaliser with five minutes remaining, firing past Harrison Male at the back post from East's corner.
Ramming then produced a superb diving save to his left in stoppage time to deny Davies what looked to be a certain winner. Jacob Slater also went close with a volley that flashed narrowly wide, sending the tie to a penalty shootout.
What followed was a nightmare for Darrell Clarke's side as Tranmere missed four penalties in succession, leaving Rochdale to celebrate their passage into the first-round draw.
