Another Away Win For Millers

Middlesbrough 0 Rotherham United 3

                                       Crooks (43)
                                       Smith (pen 79)
                                       Giles (90+2)

Rotherham United got their first win on Middlesbrough soil since 1965 this evening beating the hosts three-nil at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough had the first chance when Britt Assombalonga thought he was in with a chance but the flag went up for offside. Duncan Watmore got the better of Angus MacDonald but Michael Ihiekwe was there to block and the Millers got the ball clear. At the other end some good play from Matt Crooks saw him get the ball to Michael Smith and while the Millers striker looked like he’d beat the ‘Boro ‘keeper Marcus Betinelli from the edge of the area but saw the ball go inches wide. Watmore and Assombalonga worked well together in front of goal with the latter putting the ball past the post with a Paddy McNair free-kick having the same fate minutes later. The visitors had a shout for a penalty when Crooks went over in the area after a tussle with McNair but referee Michael Salisbury wasn’t interested. The Millers defence did well to clear a ball from Marc Bola before Assombalonga could get his head to it and at the other end Rotherham had a chance when Jonny Howson tried to play the ball back to Betinelli but only found Crooks and with just the ‘keeper to beat the Millers number twenty-five put it well wide. Patrick Roberts drove the ball through to Watmore but Millers’ ‘keeper Jamal Blackman did well to get there before the former Sunderland man and fell on the ball. With seven minutes of the game to go Rotherham got the first corner of the night which Jamie Lindsay took and Assombalonga cleared up field the ball eventually falling to Roberts who passes to Sam Morsy with the midfielder blazing well over. In the final minutes of the half Crooks got the ball to Smith who tried to get the ball into the box with it hitting a defender and coming back out to Crooks who let fly from twenty yards into the back of the net giving the visitors the lead. And as the half was coming it might have been two when Wes Harding sent a ball up to Smith who saw Betinelli at full stretch to push his looping header round the post.

The Millers started the second half well and after some nice football from Matt Crooks, Matthew Olosunde won a free-kick just outside the area which wasn’t the best and ended up down the other end with Patrick Roberts having a good chance but sailed the ball over the crossbar. Good work from Roberts to Duncan Watmore saw Wes Harding do well to clear the danger after the winger did well to get past two Millers players. Michael Smith won the visitors a free-kick in a good position which Jamie Lindsay hit low which Marcus Betinelli spilled with Jonny Howson in the right place to put behind for a corner which came to nothing. A home corner only found Michael Smith who sent it to Richard Wood who in turn found Lindsay whose weak shot hit Howson only for it to find Ben Wiles and the flag went up as he sent it back into the middle. At the other end Middlesbrough came close when Watmore skipped into the area giving the ball to Morsy who was denied by Millers’ skipper Richard Wood on the line. The Millers first change of the evening saw George Hirst on for Shaun MacDonald and the loanee was soon in the thick of the action when he tangled with Howson in the area with Mr Salisbury not interested again in a penalty appeal. Neil Warnock made three changes fetching on Chuba Akpom, Lewis Wing and Hayden Coulson for Britt Assombalonga, Patrick Roberts and Djed Spence. A number of corners for the hosts put the Millers under pressure but came to nothing. The Millers got a free-kick which was floated into the box where Michael Ihiekwe was brought down by Betinelli, up stepped Smith to put away the spot-kick to make it two-nil to Rotherham with ten minutes to go. Some good defending by Rotherham to stop a shot from George Saville before Ihiekwe puts his body in the way of a strike from Morsy. More changes for the hosts saw Ashley Fletcher on for Marc Bola and Marvin Johnson replace Duncan Watmore while Clark Robertson came on for the visitors for Matt Crooks. A chance for Middlesbrough saw Lewis Wing pick the ball up in the middle of the park and fly towards goal only for his shot to go wide. Ryan Giles came on for his debut for Rotherham with Jamie Lindsay making way. As the board went up for a further four minutes Wing tried his luck for the hosts from some twenty-five yards out but saw his shot go wide. But it was the Millers who had the last laugh when a lovely ball from Wiles sent the debut boy on his way with Giles hammering the ball through the legs of Betinelli for a late twenty-first birthday present to give the Millers all three points to bring back to South Yorkshire.