Millers lose unbeaten run

With both managers naming unchanged sides, Rotherham United lost their seven match unbeaten run this evening at Don Valley to Aldershot Town

The Millers could have taken the lead as early as the third minute when Mark Hudson found Mark Burchill on his own on the edge of the six yard box but Burchill hesitated that second too long and the ball went by him. Danny Harrison was the next to try his luck but Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, in the visitors goal, was equal to it while neat defending from Anthony Charles denied Ryan Taylor the opening goal. On the tenth minute Taylor got a perfect pass through for Reuben Reid who, with what seemed like acres of space, turned but hit the ball high and wide. Aldershot’s first shot at goal was from Jake Robinson who tried to lob Andy Warrington from some twenty yards out and with the ‘keeper back tracking the ball went onto the top of the net. Then came the Shots’ first goal when a long throw from Chambers was turned into the net by John Grant. And it could so easily have been two just a minute later when a shot from Robinson was saved on the line by a diving Warrington. Ten minutes from the end of the half, Mark Hudson should have got the equaliser but his shot would have looked more at home in a rugby match as he blasted it well over the bar. FIve minute later Aldershot and Grant got the second when Davies found Grant in a crowded six yard area and he headed the ball into an empty net. Straight up the other end and the Millers’ fans thought Reid had scored but his shot went into the side netting and five minutes later, Jaimez-Ruiz got down well to parry the ball away to safety from a Hudson shot.

At the start of the second half Aldershot showed their intention when an inswinging corner from Andy Sandell caused problems in the Millers box and the only thing Warrington could do was punch it onto the crossbar and luckily out to safety. But the home side started to get more into the game and Jaimez-Ruiz denied Reid, Taylor saw a header go just wide and after a great solo run from Jamie Green his twenty-five yard shot sailed just over the bar. Minutes later, Danny Harrison also had a shot that went just over the bar. The Millers did get a goal from Jamie Clarke, on for the disappointing Burchill, when he rose in the penalty area to head the ball into the corner of the net to set up a grandstand finish. But the Millers couldn’t find a way past the visitors although in the last minutes of the game it took Sandell to clear a header off the line by Ian Sharps so that the Shots went home with all three points.

After scoring seven goals and getting six points in the last two away games this performance must be a big disappointment to Mark Robins tonight.