From first to last, Rochdale were the superior outfit and their success puts a real hole in Notts County's ambitions of finishing in the play-off zone.
Unfortunately for the Notts fans another poor home result was entirely in keeping with the season's form. Little wonder they have not achieved back-to-back home wins this term!
Rochdale played with an abundance of confidence, yet in ten minutes, after they had done all the attacking, they could have fallen behind.
Andy Parkinson delivered a sharp header to a good cross from Austin McCann and Matthew Gilks only just got fingertips to it to make a flying save.
Soon afterwards Kevin Pilkington was also stopping what seemed a certain goal at the other end. The dangerous Glenn Murray battled his way past Mike Edwards and looked a certain scorer until Pilkington went down to make the save and the recovering Edwards hacked the ball away.
After a thoroughly disjointed first 45 minutes Notts, needing to improve, looked better at the start of the second period and a set-piece brought them a 53rd minute goal.
Simon Ramsden fouled Lawrie Dudfield wide on the left and Jay Smith's pinpoint cross was glanced beyond Gilks by Jason Lee, his eighth goal in eight games.
Notts needed a second goal in order to be comfortable, but Rochdale continued to press and felled the Magpies with two goals in rapid succession near the finish.
On 80 minutes Murray headed on a right-wing corner to grab the equaliser and this was followed by a calamitous error by Pilkington three minutes later.
Trying to keep the ball from going for a corner, he lost possession to debutant Ben Muirhead, on-loan from Bradford City, who bundled it over the line at short range.
Notts were never capable after that of saving a point from the game.