Crawley suffered their heaviest home defeat for more than six years as they were thumped 4-0 by Rochdale.

Reds fans showed their displeasure as Dale scored three times in the second half to condemn John Gregory’s men to a fourth successive defeat in League One.

Matt Done gave the visitors the lead in the tenth minute when he curled home from the edge of the area but the carnage did not really start until after the interval.

Peter Vincenti scored twice to make the game safe and Calvin Andrew added a fourth to equal the 4-0 home defeat to Halifax Town back in April 2008.

It could have been worse for Reds with Brian Jensen making a number of good saves to prevent even further embarrassment.

The result saw Crawley drop to 19th in the table and heightens the pressure on Gregory to strengthen his squad when the loan window opens on Monday.

Crawley were looking to build on their victory in the JP Trophy in midweek but it was the visitors who started much better on their first ever visit to the Checkatrade.com Stadium.

Ian Henderson volleyed wide when unmarked at the far post and then Done had a good shout for a penalty waved away as Rochdale bossed the opening stages.

The visitors got the reward they deserved in the tenth minute when Done was allowed too much space on the edge of the area to curl a brilliant shot into the far corner.

Crawley continued to struggle to keep possession but did start to create a few chances with Matt Harrold posing a real threat in the air.

The former Bristol Rovers striker saw a header from Ryan Dickson’s cross tipped over the bar and then nodded a corner down which Conor Henderson couldn’t keep down.

Boss John Gregory brought on Mitch Rose for Emmet O’Connor just before the break but Reds found themselves further behind early in the second half.

Rochdale had already gone close when Brian Jensen blocked a shot from Henderson at the near post but it was only a temporary reprieve.

Done was at the heart of the move once again as he burst through down the left flank before cutting the ball back to present Vincenti with a simple finish.

It could have been worse for Crawley with Jensen saving well low down from Done and the loose ball just evading Henderson following in.

Dale did put the game to bed in the 67th minute when Vincenti headed home from Done’s cross and a fourth followed when substitute Andrew nodded past Jensen.

Jensen; Oyebanjo, Leacock, Bradley, Dickson; O’Connor (Rose, 40), Henderson, Smith, Young (Banya, 63); Harrold (Tomlin, 58), McLeod. Subs not used: Bawling, Richefond, Isaacs, Ashdown Rochdale ( 4-2-1-3): Logan; Rafferty, O’Connell, Eastham, Tanser; Hery (Andrew, 57), Allen; Dawson; Done (Fenelon, 84), Henderson, Vincenti (Bennett, 75). Subs not used: Lancashire, Musungu, Kennedy, Bunney.