Keith Hill celebrated his 500th game in charge of Rochdale with a 2-0 win against Peterborough at the Crown Oil Arena.
The home side were good value for their two-goal lead at the break having largely dominated the first 45 minute, belying their lowly standing in the division.
They edged ahead in the 33rd minute when Joe Rafferty picked out Calvin Andrew and, with his back to goal, the striker turned sharply to beat Andrew Hughes and fire into the corner of Connor O'Malley's net.
And the second goal followed just three minutes later. Joe Bunney earned a free-kick on the edge of the area and Callum Camps blasted the set-piece wide of the Posh wall and into the roof of the net.
Grant McCann made three changes at the break and Peterborough offered more of a threat in the second half as substitute Idris Kanu and Jack Marriott both tested Dale keeper Josh Lillis.
But the home side dealt comfortably with the Posh attacks and earned a well-deserved three points which lifted them out of the relegation zone.
Source: PA
