Millers v Bristol Rovers
Millers v Bristol Rovers
A WIN, a clean sheet and a play-off place were all secured on a sunny Saturday at the AESSEAL New York Stadium. Michael Smith and Caolan Lavery netted in the 2-0 victory against Bristol Rovers, making sure of a top-six finish with a couple of games to spare.
A WIN, a clean sheet and a play-off place were all secured on a sunny Saturday at the AESSEAL New York Stadium. Michael Smith and Caolan Lavery netted in the 2-0 victory against Bristol Rovers, making sure of a top-six finish with a couple of games to spare.
FACTS AND STATS
Numbers game
ANALYSIS: It's bonus time for Warne's boys
TOP-SIX finish guaranteed? Tick. Pride and reputation restored? Tick. Turnaround complete? Not quite.
The play-offs are tense, dramatic, exciting and a bit of a lottery but for a team given no chance not so long ago, a one in four chance of going up has to be grapsed.
When referee Andy Haines blew the whistle on Saturday's 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers, the Millers entered bonus time.
They won't be packing their bags the first week in May and shuffling off for their holidays, as many expected them to.
They can tackle the play-offs knowing they've already gone further than many thought and before that there's even the luxury of a couple of weeks in which to ease off the throttle, rest players and try one or two things while Charlton, Scunthorpe, Plymouth and the rest still have to go at it hammer and tongs.
“We’ve asked the lads to step up the last three games and they’ve done that," said Paul Warne, reflecting on the a return of seven points from the last nine without conceding a goal.
He'll ask for three more big efforts once the final match of the regular season is out of the way and you can guarantee that the players will give it him.
They did it against mid-table Rovers despite not being at their best and the energy tank draining away.
Rotherham found a way to win thanks to an early goal and a late one and a lot of toil in between.
Michael Smith, the January "steal" from Bury, provided the game's standout moment, robbing a dithering defender and haring away to steer into the top corner.
Full of running but devoid of inspiration and quality in the final third, Rovers presented the odd scare but ran into a set of defenders more confident and far less error-prone than in the first match down at the Memorial Ground in December.
When they did finally pick the lock late on, Marek Rodak stood tall to deny Kyle Bennett one-on-one.
The home crowd enjoyed the spring sunshine and there was an optimistic mood in stands even before Caolan Lavery put the finishing touch to Joe Newell's cross to seal the deal in the 90th minute.
The celebrations at the final whistle were followed by more at Saturday night's end of season dinner but the season isn't over yet, not by a long chalk.
WHAT THEY SAID
“I’m really proud of what the lads have achieved, we've given ourselves a chance to get promoted. We’ll try and hit the play-offs football-fresh and football-fit and just try and get through to the final.”
Paul Warne
Millers boss
Key Moment
HIGHLIGHTS
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Watch the best moments from Saturday's victory.
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE DAY
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REACTION - Michael Ihiekwe
"We're buzzing. We went into the game trying not to think about the play-offs and just to get the win. We could have played a bit better, especially first half, but it was another clean sheet and the lads at the back are happy."
Michael Ihiekwe
after another strong defensive shift
PLAYER RATINGS
Marek Rodak 7, Josh Emmanuel 6, Ben Purrington 7, Michael Ihiekwe 7, Richard Wood 7, Will Vaulks 6, Jon Taylor 6, Richie Towell 6, Matt Palmer 6, Joe Newell 7, Michael Smith 7
Subs: Caolan Lavery for Towell (59) 7, Ryan Williams for Taylor (64) 6, Semi Ajayi for Palmer (78). Not used: Lewis Price, Anthony Forde, David Ball, Shaun Cummings