Northampton v Millers

IT needed something special to take the edge off a ridiculously cold day and Rotherham United produced it.
Confident, comfortable, defensively diligent and attacking with pace, purpose and no lack of flair, it was as close to flawless as they have been all season.
Yes, Northampton were poor, one-paced and devoid of ideas and deserve to be back in the bottom four. Then again, sometimes a team can only be as good as the opposition allow them to be.
The clean sheet wasn't just a bonus, it never looked in doubt and was threatened by only one serious punt at goal — and even that didn't come until the 55th minute.
Paul Warne's increasing confidence and boldness as a manager was shown by the five changes he made to the side which flopped at MK Dons. Dropping his skipper Richard Wood and handing the armband and his place at centre-half to utility man Will Vaulks was the bravest move of the lot.
Vaulks didn't let him down. In fact he excelled, pushing goal scorer Michael Smith all the way for the man of the match honours.
The fact Rotherham can still get the job done after changing nearly half the team is a major difference between now and the earlier in the season.
The likes of Jon Taylor, Ryan Williams, David Ball and January arrival Matt Palmer, who slotted seamlessly into the central midfield, all came in and showed the strength in reserve there is these days.
The fact that Northampton's man of match was their goalkeeper says alot about how Saturday panned out.
Richard O'Donnell, who only swapped the NYS for Sixfields a couple of months ago, showed his determination to prove a point to his former employers by making a clutch of good saves. The only snag for him was that the men in front of him were second best all over the park.
They offered him scant protection when they left Smith completely unmarked to slot the opening goal from Vaulks' free-kick 18 minutes in. Warne described his striker as "virtually unplayable."
Had it not been for two smart stops from Ball and Richard Towell, the Millers would have been home and hosed by half time in front of their travelling supporters, all 1,129 of them.
That 55th minute shot mentioned earlier by Hildeberto Pereira was met by ironic cheers from the frustrated and freezing home fans huddled in the stands.
None of them could begrudge Rotherham their second goal, drilled in by Ball from a neat tee-up by Williams.
It's a cert that the third goal will get an airing on the big screen at the end of season dinner.
A bone fide best of the season contender, the five-man move carved upon the Northampton defence down the right and Towell capped it with a delicious flighted finish beyond the dive of O'Donnell.
Warne wants his team to be on the front and in good form going into the play-offs should a top-six finish be achieved, as looks likely.
This was a great start.

Marek Rodak 6
Josh Emmanuel 7
Joe Mattock 7
Semi Ajayi 7
Will Vaulks 9
Jon Taylor 7
Richie Towell 8
Matt Palmer 8
Ryan Williams 7
David Ball 7
Michael Smith 9
Subs: Anthony Forde for Taylor (67) 7, Michael Ihiekwe for Mattock (67) 6, Joe Newell for Ball (84). Not used: Lewis Price, Richard Wood, Caolan Lavery, Jerry Yates