Rotherham take the spoils in Derby County clash

It was a bitterly cold Wednesday evening in South Yorkshire, but thankfully, after two failed attempts, we actually had a game on our hands between Rotherham United and Derby County.

Rotherham stole all three points towards the end of the match with a flurry of late goals from Michael Ihiekwe, Michael Smith and Ryan Giles in the closing 15 minutes.

It was an expectedly cagey opening quarter of an hour, to say the least, with neither side having a solidified attempt at goal.

It was simply aerial battle upon aerial battle in what shared more likeliness with that of a head tennis match than a football match. Wayne Rooney’s side were doing most of the defending, but characteristically doing it well with Matt Clarke the leading example.

It was the Rams who had the first real opportunity to break the deadlock. Colin Kazim-Richards was able to meet Graeme Shinnie’s corner delivery. He flicked the header towards Martyn Waghorn whose acrobatic effort flashed over the crossbar.

Smith then singlehandedly fashioned a chance for the hosts with less than ten minutes of normal time remaining in the first half. The target man took aim from distance, his shot skimmed off the surface before it was tipped wide of the bottom right hand corner by David Marshall in the visitors’ net.

The Millers then went close twice just moments before half time. Firstly through Richard Wood who saw his headed effort glanced over the crossbar from a corner. Secondly through Jamie Lindsay who took advantage of Lee Buchanan’s miscue, only to fire his shot into the side netting.

The second half then commenced and it was Derby who looked to have the upper hand. Yet to score a senior goal, Max Bird looked to place his effort into the bottom left hand corner but Viktor Johansson was more than equal to it, making a routine save.

20 minutes followed and mirrored exactly what we had seen in the first half, scrappy end to end football. Both sides defending, both sides throwing everyone behind the ball and both sides doing so effectively.

Patrick Roberts and Lee Gregory both making their Derby debuts, replaced Kamil Jozwiak and Waghorn just after the 70th minute. The pair very nearly made an instant impact too. Roberts combined with Nathan Byrne on the right flank before the full-back found Gregory lurking in the box. On this occasion the Stoke loanee failed to make any real connection as he headed wide.

An implosion then occurred in the final 15 minutes as out of nowhere Rotherham stormed into a quick fire 2-0 lead.

Ihiekwe was first on the scoresheet for the hosts, applying the finishing touches to a lofted free kick inside the Derby area. Smith then tapped home from close range to effectively seal all three points for the Millers.

Then as if it was in any doubt, youngster Ryan Giles, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, then made sure of the victory. In the dying embers of the game, the substitute finished across the face of goal and into the bottom right hand corner from a tight angle to make it 3-0.

The scoreline was perhaps a little harsh on the Rams who had defended well as a unit for the majority of the game, however, take no credit away from Rotherham as in reality it was a deserved three points for Paul Warne’s men. 

The result means that the Millers are now just two points away from escaping the bottom three, still with two games in hand.

For Derby, it is a hugely disappointing way to end their winning streak as the Rams dropped two places to  20th, above Birmingham City merely through goal difference.

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