Rotherham United and (nearer than ever thought possible!) Sheffield Wednesday go head-to-head tonight in the Millers first pre-season friendly at Don Valley.
The Millers and the Owls have met thirty-five times in league and cup competitions with the Sheffield side coming out on top by winning nineteen times to Rotherham`s ten.
The last times the sides met was on a Tuesday night at Hillsborough in the first round of the Carling Cup. Etienne Esajas put the Owls in front on fourteen minutes but less than a minute later the Millers were level when Pablo Mills got the ball from the re-start and passed it to Alex Rhodes who slipped it past Owls ‘keeper Lee Grant and into the back of the net. Although there were no more goals in normal time there was some good football played by both teams. Into extra time and at the start of the second period Leon Clark went on a run and Marc Joseph clumsily brought him down which ended in the Millers defender going for an early bath. Esajas took the resulting free kick and curled it into the corner of the net to make it two-one to the home side. But, once again the Millers came back and three minutes later, with the Owls defence all over the place, Mark Hudson smashed the ball against the crossbar and in the scramble that followed Reuben Reid pounced and hit the ball over the line for the equaliser and sent the tie into penalties.
Mills scored for the Millers and Clarke got the Owls equaliser
Danny Harrison made it 2-1 to the Millers Esajas, on his hat-trick, missed!
Hudson made it 3-1 and the Owls` James O`Conner made it 3-2
Andy Todd put the Millers 4-2 up and Sean McAllister kept the Owls in it – 4-3.
All up to Reuben Reid, who calmly placed the ball and hit it into the net to send the Millers fans into raptures!
It also made amends for the Carling Cup game the season before at Millmoor when Danny Harrison put the Millers in front on thirty-four minutes only for Glenn Whelan to get an equaliser on half-time. The Millers never started the second half of the game and goals from Deon Burton and Wade Small saw the Owls into the next round.
The last time the two met in the League was in the 2002/3 season when honours were equal, with both sides winning at each others ground. At the start of the season, the Millers went to Hillsborough and found themselves behind on eight minutes from a Craig Armstrong goal. (Sir) Alan Lee scored the equaliser from the penalty spot on twenty-nine minutes and Darren Garner got the Millers winner with practically the last kick of the game after he smashed home a shot from thirty yards out.
Teams that Day
Owls
Pressman
Geary
Beswetherick (McLaren)
Bromby
Quinn
Sibon
Kuqi
Knight
Armstrong
Burrows
Westwood
Millers
Pollitt
Scott
Swailes
McIntosh
Hurst
Sedgwick (Monkhouse)
Talbot (Garner)
Mullin
Warne
Lee (R Barker)
Byfield
The game ended with the Millers in seventh place in The Championship and the Owls in twenty-third place.
At the game at Millmoor on a cold New Years Day it was a different matter. Although the Millers had a lot of possession in the first half, the Owls twice nearly scored on the break. The Owls came out fighting in the second half but the Millers held on until the sixty-eight minute when Shefki Kuqi scored from an unchallenged header. On the ninety minute mark the Owls caught the Millers defence in disarray and Adam Proudlock hit a magnificent shot which Mike Pollitt did ever to well to stop but Proudlock was there for the rebound and put it in the back of the net for a deserved three points.
This was the Millers third defeat in a row at Millmoor and saw them in eleventh place in the table with the Owls still languishing in the bottom two.
In the past, both sides have scored five goals against the other. The Millers in Division Two in September 1951. The game ended 5-3 to the Millers at Hillsborough with Shaw (2), Grainger, Tomlinson and Wragg scoring the visitors’ goals. In November 1958, again at Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday beat the Millers 5-0 and it was the same scoreline when the Millers visited Sheffield again in February 1980.
Don`t forget, you can also catch Vital Rotherham on Facebook and Twitter!
Vital Rotherham on:
Vital Rotherham on:
Share this article
Related Articles
