Rotherham United welcome Middlesbrough to the New York Stadium on Wednesday when Darren Bond from Lancashire is the man in the middle which is the third time he has officiated in a Millers game this season.
The first time being at the bet365 Stadium where a twenty-seven minute James McClean goal gave Stoke City the win. Angus MacDonald and Michael Smith were booked for Rotherham that day. We last met with Darren at the beginning of March at Hillsborough when the Millers went in front through a Michael Smith goal on nineteen minutes. On the sixty-sixth minute Darren showed Michael Smith a red card which Rotherham appealed straight away and it was over turned the following day with the FA ruling it had been the wrong decision. It was Darren Moore’s first game in charge at Hillsborough and he saw his side get an equaliser with eight minutes to go through an unfortunate ricochet off Matt Olosunde but in the last minute of time added on Freddie Ladapo became a Millers ‘cult’ hero by flying down the pitch skipping this way and that then smashing the ball in the net from some twenty yards out to give Rotherham all three points.
Before this season we last met Darren again at Hillsborough in December 2018 which saw the hosts go ahead on the stroke of half-time thanks to a Lucas Joao goal. Within a minute of the start of the second half Michael Smith locked onto a Will Vaulks ball to make it one-all and Richie Towell put the visitors ahead when he fired into the net from outside the box on the fifty-fifth minute. But nine minutes later Joao got his and the hosts second goal to give each team a point.
Two months earlier Darren was in the middle of a Millers match when we were the visitors at The Riverside Stadium for our game with Middlesbrough. There were no goals that night and the only booking was to the Millers’ Will Vaulks.
The time before that when Darren was involved in a Rotherham game was at the New York Stadium in October 2017. Scunthorpe were the visitors that Saturday afternoon which saw goals from Will Vaulks and Kieffer Moore give the hosts all three points.
The season before had Darren twice in the middle for Millers games. The first time was at Portman Road at the end of October when Freddie Sears opened the scoring for Ipswich on just three minutes but five minutes later the Millers were level with a goal from Danny Ward. Three minutes into the second half the Millers went in front again a goal from Ward but in the final minute of the game David McGoldrick earned a point for the Tractor Boys.
In January at the New York Stadium Ryan Taylor put visitors Oxford in front four minutes before half-time. Danny Ward equalised on fifty-one minutes but goals in the last ten minutes from Phil Edwards and Kane Hemmings sent Oxford home with all three points despite a last minute goal from Tom Adeyemi.
Darren was last in charge of a Millers game in August 2015 when the Millers were the visitors at the City Ground. Rotherham took a thirteen minute lead with a goal from Danny Collins but a goal on the stroke of half-time from Matthew Mills and another from Michail Antonio just after the hour mark gave Forest a two-one win. Richie Smallwood, Chris Maguire and Matt Derbyshire saw yellow for the Millers that afternoon.
Other times Darren was in the middle for Rotherham games was October 2012 when Plymouth Argyle were the visitors to the New York Stadium. The only goal of the game was from Kieran Agard on the seventy-third minute with Darren booking Gareth Evans of the Millers and James Lowry and Alex McDonald from Plymouth.
Boxing Day 2013 saw him in charge of the Millers who were the visitors at Valley Parade when, again, the only goal of the game was for the Millers when Haris Vuckic scored his first goal in a Millers shirt sending two and a half thousand Rotherham fans home happy.
Darren was also in the middle for our home game against Birmingham in November 2014 when a Clayton Donaldson goal just after the hour mark gave the visitors all three points. Kari Arnason and Johnson Clarke-Harris were booked for the Millers that day alongside City’s David Cotterill. A few days before that game Darren was the referee in charge of the England v Italy U19’s game at the New York Stadium.
Running the line on Wednesday night we have Nigel Lugg and Robert Hyde and Andy Woolmer will be the Fourth Official.
This season Darren has been in the middle for twenty-nine games showing ninety-four yellows and five reds (though how many of those have been overturned I do not know!)
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