Facts
Huddersfield Town lost their second pre-season friendly in succession by going down 4-3 at Rochdale in an entertaining clash at Spotland.
Poor defending from Chris Powell's side early on allowed Calvin Andrew to open the scoring by nodding home former Town trialist Tom Kennedy's cross, before Lewis Alessandra benefited from a flowing team move to roll home a second.
Town responded, with Nahki Wells clipping a delightful free-kick into the top corner, but the excellent Callum Camps' stunning 30-yard strike re-established the two-goal deficit and left Town with an uphill battle.
They went straight down the other end to notch again through Sean Scannell but more lax defensive play saw Camps cash in and make it 4-2 at the break.
Wells grabbed his second at the start of the second half to make it 4-3 but missed the best chance for a leveller and what would have been his hat-trick strike by slamming against the post late on.
Town team (4-2-3-1): Smithies; Cranie, Hudson, Lynch (Wallace, 70), Smith; Whitehead (Hogg, 80), Butterfield; Scannell, Lolley (Dempsey, 73), Bunn (Hiwula, 67); Wells (Hammill, 82).
In pictures: Rochdale AFC 4-3 Huddersfield Town
Analysis
Town's defensive downfalls prove costly - Three of the four first-half goals were eminently avoidable and there was a lack of authority shown by the senior members of the backline in dealing with the home side's powerful forward play.
It ultimately gave Town too much to do in the second-half period despite their improved performance levels and underlined the problems that remain in this side.
Main man
Jacob Butterfield - Last season's player of the year was the only individual who continued to force the issue in the first half, grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck and looking for the passes that could dissect the home defence.
His touches, passing range and the tenacity he showed to win the ball back were a delight to see at this stage of pre-season and he looks as sharp as ever.
Bigger picture
Indications of an opening-day starting XI - The fact only seven substitutes were named for today's trip down the M62 was an early indicator that Powell is beginning to trim the squad down to an 18 he feels is capable of hitting the ground running on opening day.
And there were some interesting selection decisions, with Joe Lolley once more having an opportunity to shine in the No.10 role, Martin Cranie being deployed at right-back and Tommy Smith shifting across to the left to accommodate his presence in the team.
