Rovers saw their abysmal form continue into the new month of March, as a poor start to the game at the AESSEAL New York Stadium saw Tony Mowbray’s men never recover from going a goal down inside the first 120 seconds of the game, as Paul Warne’s Rotherham United put on a strong display to earn their first win over the East Lancashire side since September 2014.
Before the tie in South Yorkshire begun, Tony Mowbray only made a single change to the side that started the Birmingham City game, the week prior. Adam Armstrong was thrown into the starting line-up at the expense of Harrison Reed, who dropped to the bench.
As 1,400 Rovers fans made themselves comfortable in the away end, Rotherham prepared themselves to take the kick-off with the objective of coming out on top in this Roses derby and grab the points that would move them away from the dreaded drop zone.
The optimistic Rovers fans who came into this tie with the hope of turning their winless form around, soon found their side again behind after only 2 minutes, when Semi Ajayi and Will Vaulks combined to put the Millers ahead. A seemingly harmless long-throw by Rotherham captain Vaulks, saw Ajayi get ahead of his man and leap highest inside the Rovers box, before guiding his cushioned header past the despairing David Raya to give the home side the early 1-0 lead.
On the 6th minute, Vaulks again was a threat to Rovers’ goal. A long-throw by the former Falkirk midfielder saw the ball ricochet back to him on the rebound. After making his way into the box to receive the ball, the 25-year old’s attempt flew wide of the mark as Rovers were awarded a goal-kick.
A couple of minutes after Vaulks’ attempt, he was the victim of a clattering tackle by Richie Smallwood who earnt himself a yellow card for his troubles.
Rovers were given a corner on the 10th minute, after Amari’i Bell’s cross was turned behind by Billy Jones. The subsequent set-piece, which was taken by Smallwood, saw skipper Charlie Mulgrew meet the cross, but unfortunately for Rovers, the captain’s header fell wide of the mark.
After 18 minutes were played, Rovers came agonisingly close to levelling the scoreline through an audacious attempt by Jack Rodwell. The former Manchester City midfielder connected with Mulgrew’s free-kick via an overhead kick, which was well aimed and on target, however although the chance was a good and the connection was a clean one, Millers’ ‘keeper Marek Rodák was equal to the flamboyant strike.
Moments later, Vaulks was again amongst the action, as he headered over the bar from Anthony Forde’s wide free-kick.
Rotherham’s set-pieces were increasingly an issue for Rovers throughout the tie, and that again showed on the 22nd minute, when goalscorer Ajayi again broke free inside the Rovers penalty area, but he was unable to double his tally by guiding Richie Towell’s free-kick into the back of the net.
After 9 minutes of frustrating moments of play by Rovers which saw a number of crosses either ballooned over the bar or claimed by Millers’ ‘keeper Rodák, Clark Robertson found himself in the book after hauling down Bradley Dack, after pulling the Rovers man’s shirt.
On the 43rd minute, Richie Towell had a number of efforts from the edge of the area deflected, before seeing his third hooked wide for a goal-kick.
The half-time whistle was soon blown after 2 minutes of added time were allocated onto the end of the period.
During the half-time break, there would have been a plethora of emotions bandied about the home and away dressing rooms.
The home dressing room would have seen Paul Warne praise his side for their efforts in both, attack and defence, specifically following their positive first-half, which continued their respectable run of form of 5 consecutive draws in a row. Furthermore, the Millers’ management team would have been emphasising the potential Rovers backlash in the second-half and would have been tentatively warning against complacency.
The away dressing room, in contrast, would have seen carnage within the Rovers ranks as Tony Mowbray would have been disgusted with what he had seen during the first-half. Despite previously warning his side, numerous times, both in training and in interviews, about Rotherham’s ability to score via a long-throw, they still managed to let their guard down and let Ajayi simply nod the ball home. The away manager would have no doubt been tearing into his side for their lack of attacking threat, as well as their poor defensive efforts and would have been hoping for an improvement in the second-half.
Before Rovers started the second-half, Tony Mowbray made his first alteration of the afternoon, as he withdrew the booked former Rotherham man, Richie Smallwood and replaced him with Joe Rothwell. Simultaneously, Rotherham also brought on their first substitute as Anthony Forde departed and was replaced by Ryan Williams.
4 minutes after the restart – on the 49th minute – Mulgrew came mightily close to notching his fourth corner goal of the season, as his in-swinging effort caused havoc within the Rotherham penalty area. Luckily for the home side, however, there wasn’t enough spin on the ball to guide it toward the inside of the post and past Rodák, as the Millers were awarded a goal-kick.
On the 50th minute, Joe Mattock was booked for a heavy challenge on Ryan Nyambe.
From the free-kick after the foul on Nyambe, Rovers managed to get themselves back on level terms, after Amari’i Bell capitalised on Rotherham’s failure to clear their lines, in order to grab his second goal in Rovers colours. Mulgrew’s cross into the box was nodded into the air by Michael Ihiekwe, but saw the ball drop to Bell who hooked the ball into the back of the net to draw the game level at 1-1.
Minutes after the goal, Rotherham shuffled their pack by introducing Ben Wiles in-place of Richie Towell who had appeared to have picked up an injury.
Seconds after the alteration, Danny Graham and Adam Armstrong combined with the latter having an attempt at goal, but despite the build-up, Armstrong’s attempt was comfortably saved by Rodák.
It took only 3 minutes for Rotherham to break up the other end and put themselves back ahead through substitute Ryan Williams, who found the net from close-range. After claiming a cross, David Raya’s poor distribution, which saw the ball loop vertically into the air, landed to Wiles, who drove forwards and laid the ball off to Vaulks, whose deep cross towards Michael Smith at the back-post, deflected off Mulgrew’s head and fell into Williams’ path, which allowed the Australian to strike the ball past Raya and blast the ball into the roof of the net to put his side back ahead at 2-1.
On the 65th minute, Rovers rallied themselves to go again, in search for another equaliser, which nearly came courtesy of Danny Graham. Some good attacking play by Rovers saw Elliott Bennett collect the ball on the right-wing, before crossing it into the centre-forward who saw his header bounce off his head and fly behind for a goal-kick.
Minutes later, Bennett again was on the scene, this time to create a goalscoring opportunity for Bradley Dack, who had been very quiet during the tie. Dack and Bennett exchanged passes before the former picked up the ball on the edge of the box, swivelled past Wiles and released a low shot at goal, aimed for the far corner. Although the move was sublime as was the turn, the finish was not, as the ball trickled past the far-post and went behind for a goal-kick.
After 69 minutes were gone, Armstrong picked up the ball from halfway and drove towards the box. He eventually found the space to play Dack through, whose subsequent shot didn’t trouble Rodák, as the effort ended up in the side netting.
With 74 minutes gone, Mulgrew had a chance to level the scoring from a free-kick, but saw his effort held by the on-loan Rotherham goalkeeper.
On the 79th minute, both sides made changes to their sides. Rotherham’s final substitution saw Jon Taylor depart and be replaced by Matt Crooks. Rovers, on the other hand, withdrew Adam Armstrong and threw on Joe Nuttall in their second change of the afternoon.
A few minutes later, Joe Rothwell tried his luck from range, but saw his effort drag wide.
As the 84th minute approached, Rovers’ hopes of grabbing an equaliser was dashed as Semi Ajayi further extended his side’s lead with his second goal of the afternoon. A long throw by Vaulks was only cleared as far as Wiles, who recycled the play back to Vaulks. The influential captain wasted no time in hitting a cross which Ajayi met with the full force of his forehead, as he wheeled away in celebration of the goal that made it 3-1.
On the 86th minute, Dack and Bennett combined which allowed the latter to turn and shoot at goal. Despite the desperation and good skill, Bennett’s shot flew wide of the goal.
As the 90th minute approached, referee John Brooks called for 5 additional minutes on the end of the half, which led to some mayhem in the closing stages.
On the 92nd minute, Bradley Dack saw his swivel and shot come back off the post and fall to Danny Graham with the goal gaping. Although Graham made a move towards the ball, he was hauled down by Ihiekwe, which led to the awarding of a penalty. From the spot, Charlie Mulgrew stepped up and coolly dispatched the spot-kick into the top left-hand corner of the net for his 10th goal of the season.
The final act of the game saw Elliott Bennett leave the field, with Harrison Reed coming on to end the game as his replacement.
Despite the late revival by Rovers, the damage from Rotherham’s perspective had been done, as not long after, Mr. Brooks brought the game to a close, which put everyone from a Rovers perspective out of their misery, following a frustrating performance and result.
When reviewing the game, as per usual at the end of this report, there is, sadly, not much to summarise this game with, other than ‘frustrating’. With Rovers on the back-foot virtually since kick-off, the overall performance of this – and the last 5 games which only saw a return of 1 point from a possible 15 – have not been what the loyal support deserve. Despite Rotherham coming into the game on some respectable form, having not lost in their last 5 – (all draws) – there was simply no excuse for the poor defensive display that Rovers portrayed during the 90 minutes.
Despite some ridiculous calls for Mowbray’s head, there has been some confusion regarding his transfer policy during the previous January window. Letting the only ‘natural’ senior centre-back in Paul Downing leave on loan and relying on the ‘converted’ Charlie Mulgrew, Darragh Lenihan, Jack Rodwell and Derrick Williams was always a confusing strategy, as well as one of vulnerability, which has now proven to have backfired. Despite not wanting cause controversy during this tough spell, there is a case to claim that Charlie Mulgrew is out of his depth as a centre-back in this division and that keeping him in the team, solely based on his technical ability with the ball and from set-pieces, is a poor one. The Scottish international has shown his susceptibility defensively on more than one occasion, with the Birmingham game last week, where he failed to engage with Che Adams and the Middlesbrough game 2 weeks ago, where he was run ragged by Britt Assombalonga and Ashley Fletcher, including mistiming a header which led to the only goal of the tie against ‘Boro. Additionally, David Raya has not been the same goalkeeper he was prior to his injury at West Bromwich Albion, back in October and despite the odd save, his overall performances lack consistency, which, in addition to his sub-par distribution and poor communication, has contributed to Rovers’ defensive woes. Furthermore, Bradley Dack seems to have lost the spark which saw him light up Rovers during the early weeks of the campaign, which is troubling for Rovers’ attacking ambitions.
As the state of play stands, Rovers have returned to the Championship – albeit with 35 games played – with 55 goals conceded. Despite playing against high calibre opposition and shipping numerous goals (over 3) in isolated away games – such as Bristol City, Preston North End and Brentford – the tally isn’t far off last season’s 40 goals conceded over 46 games, with the same defence, in a ‘lower calibre’ league, which leaves some cause for concern.
With the frustration of that Rotherham affair behind us, the league table is looking a lot less attractive by the week, following this dip in form. The Blues are currently occupying 17th place, after the 35 games played, which has seen them amassed 44 points and a -8-goal difference. In terms of worrying about the drop zone, Rotherham United who occupy the final relegation spot are on 33 points.
With March now in full-swing, Rovers now turn their attention to back-to-back home derbies, followed by another trip to South Yorkshire. The first game comes next Saturday, on 9th at home to Preston North End which sees Alex Neil’s inform side travel to Ewood Park, for the midday (12pm) kick-off in high spirits. After that affair, Rovers and Wigan Athletic once again lock horns for the fourth time in the last couple of seasons, on Tuesday, 12th at Ewood Park, with kick-off anticipated for 7:45pm. As hinted at, Rovers fourth game in March sees them return to South Yorkshire to face Steve Bruce’s Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, on Saturday 16th at 3pm.
