Taylor Richards’ double condemned Rochdale to relegation as Doncaster won 2-1 at the Crown Oil Arena.

The home side started brightly and went close to opening the scoring, with Ollie Rathbone testing Louis James in the Rovers goal and Matt Lund heading against the crossbar.

Dale were dealt a sucker punch on the half-hour when Rovers snatched the lead. Jason Lokilo’s cross from the right found Richards and though Eoghan O’Connell blocked his initial effort, the ball dropped kindly for Richards who, with the Dale defender off balance, had time to slot past Jay Lynch.

Just before the break, Conor Grant teed up Jimmy Keohane 12 yards out but a well-struck effort was saved by James.

However, when Dale lost possession cheaply in the 56th minute, Richards pounced again, the on-loan Brighton man advancing into the area on the left and clipping a neat finish wide of Lynch and into the far corner of the net.

Matty Done’s 83rd-minute goal offered a glimmer of hope for Dale but Rovers saw the game out effectively.