Chester City are the next team to visit Don Valley this Saturday, here’s a look at the history of this fixture.
Zipadeedoodah, our stats man has been finding out all about our previous meetings with Chester City.
Simon Davies brings his Chester team to Don Valley following a disasterous start to the season as they have conceded 13 goals in their 3 games so far including a 6-0 reversal at Dagenham on opening day.
Chester only won one of their last 14 visits to Millmoor, and the Millers will be looking to extend that record from their first ever meeting at Don Valley.
Last time out was on Saturday September 1st 2007, and with Rotherham sat in 5th place and Chester in 2nd just 2 points ahead, Mark Robins was looking for a win to take his team above Bobby Williamson’s Chester and into the automatic promotion places.
After a poor first half, the game came to life on 56 minutes when Chris O’Grady beat the offside trap and hit a powerful shot past City keeper John Danby to open the scoring.
Chester’s team included summer signing from Rotherham, Richie Partridge and they equalised on 72 minutes when 17 year-old Kevin Roberts scored his first ever first team goal.
He headed past Andy Warrington, the ball then hit the woodwork and Roberts made no mistake with a follow-up header.
John Danby in City’s goal pulled out all the stops to make excellent saves from O’Grady, Harrison and Brogan, but the games main talking point came in the closing stages.
An header from Millers centre-half Ian Sharps was blocked clearly by the hand of Chester’s Kevin Ellison, but despite the protests of the Rotherham players, referee Graham Salisbury adjudged that no offence had taken place and waved play-on.
The game ended 1-1, Chester remained in 2nd place, but Rotherham slipped to 8th just outside the play-off places.
Millers boss, Mark Robins had this to say about the incident.
‘It was a definite penalty and we are very disappointed. For me from where I was there was no doubt and the lads all thought it was a penalty.
‘He has put his arms up towards the ball. The referee said the incident was ball to hand but how can that be when he was moving his hands across your face and above his head?
‘I’m really disappointed that we didn’t take the three points but I think we looked sluggish throughout the game.’
TEAMS
Rotherham
1 WARRINGTON
5 SHARPS
12 JOSEPH
6 COUGHLAN
4 HARRISON
2 TONGE
7 TODD
14 BEAN
8 HOLMES.P
15 O’GRADY
9 HOLMES.D
SUBS
30 CANN
3 HURST
11 BROGAN (JOSEPH 46)
17 NEWSHAM (TODD 78)
20 TAYLOR (HOLMES 75)
Chester
12 DANBY
19 LINWOOD
22 VAUGHAN.J
6 BUTLER
30 GRANT
7 PARTRIDGE
14 HUGHES
17 WILSON
11 ELLISON
9 MURPHY
8 YEO
SUBS
1 WARD
3 SANDWITH
25 ROBERTS (GRANT 57)
21 RUTHERFORD
20 HOLROYD (MURPHY 84)
Almost exactly 20 years previous on Bank Holiday Monday August 31st 1987, Rotherham recorded a 5-2 home victory over the Seals, but one man took all the glory.
Former Barnsley, Darlington, Charleroi (Belgium) and Chesterfield striker Carl Airey had been signed during the summer and had scored twice for the Millers in a 7-5 aggregate League Cup win over Huddersfield earlier that month.
He opened his Football League account for Rotherham with a 4 goal haul against a Chester side who also had a player ordered from the field.
With the game standing at 1-0 at half-time following Airey’s opener, he went on to score 3 more after the interval, this included 2 penalties.
Winston Campbell added another for Rotherham and despite 2 City goals from Stuart Rimmer (another penalty) and Milton Graham, these proved consolationary as the Millers won 5-2 in front of just 2,551 at Millmoor.
This was Rotherham’s first win of the season after picking up just 1 point from the previous 3 games, and it took the Millers from 20th up to 14th position.
Chester, managed at that time by Harry McNally occupied the 14th position pre-match, but slipped to 17th as a result of this defeat.
Millers boss Norman Hunter had this to say after the game,
‘It’s a long time since a Rotherham United player scored 4 in a game, and his name was Carl also (Gilbert v Swansea Sept 1971).
So it’s congratulations all round to Carl Airey and his 4 goals, but all round it was a pleasing team performance.
It was nice to see the lads punish Chester when they were down to ten men.
On many occasions, teams like ourselves, have found it difficult to play against ten men, but this time we hit five.
TEAMS
Rotherham
1. O’HANLON
2. DOUGLAS
3. SCOTT
4. GREALISH
5. DUNGWORTH
6. GREEN
7. PUGH
8. WILLIAMS
9. EVANS
10. AIREY
11. CAMPBELL
12. HAYCOCK (PUGH
Chester
1. STEWART
2. GREENHOUGH
3. WOODTHORPE
4. CROFT
5. ABEL
6. HETZKE
7. PARRY
8. BARROW
9. RIMMER
10 BENNETT
11 GRAHAM
TOTAL RECORD V CHESTER CITY
HOME…..P 31 W 18 D 6 L 7 GOALS 67-39
AWAY…..P 31 W 12 D L 14 GOALS 42-52
CUPS…..P 8 W 3 D 2 L 3 GOALS 7-8
TOTAL….P 70 W 33 D 13 L 24 GOALS 116-99
League Results
English League Two
26.01.2008 Chester City 0-1 Rotherham United
01.09.2007 Rotherham United 1-1 Chester City
English Division Three
15.01.2000 Chester City 0-2 Rotherham United
14.08.1999 Rotherham United 4-0 Chester City
08.05.1999 Chester City 1-1 Rotherham United
18.12.1998 Rotherham United 2-4 Chester City
21.02.1998 Chester City 4-0 Rotherham United
27.09.1997 Rotherham United 4-2 Chester City
English Division Two
04.02.1995 Chester City 4-4 Rotherham United
26.11.1994 Rotherham United 2-0 Chester City
19.03.1993 Chester City 1-2 Rotherham United
03.11.1992 Rotherham United 3-3 Chester City
English Division Three
30.03.1991 Chester City 1-2 Rotherham United
26.12.1990 Rotherham United 2-1 Chester City
28.04.1990 Chester City 2-0 Rotherham United
11.11.1989 Rotherham United 5-0 Chester City
30.01.1988 Chester City 1-0 Rotherham United
31.08.1987 Rotherham United 5-2 Chester City
11.04.1987 Chester City 1-0 Rotherham United
04.11.1986 Rotherham United 3-0 Chester City
21.03.1981 Chester City 0-1 Rotherham United
21.10.1980 Rotherham United 0-0 Chester City
01.04.1980 Rotherham United 2-0 Chester City
21.12.1979 Chester City 3-1 Rotherham United
21.04.1979 Rotherham United 0-1 Chester City
14.03.1979 Chester City 0-1 Rotherham United
11.03.1978 Chester City 2-1 Rotherham United
15.10.1977 Rotherham United 1-1 Chester City
05.03.1977 Chester City 1-3 Rotherham United
25.09.1976 Rotherham United 1-1 Chester City
07.02.1976 Chester City 3-1 Rotherham United
04.11.1975 Rotherham United 0-1 Chester City
English Division Four
11.01.1975 Chester City 0-1 Rotherham United
07.12.1974 Rotherham United 1-2 Chester City
30.03.1974 Rotherham United 3-2 Chester City
03.11.1973 Chester City 1-0 Rotherham United
English Division Three (North)
16.04.1951 Rotherham United 0-0 Chester City
14.04.1951 Chester City 1-2 Rotherham United
04.03.1950 Chester City 4-2 Rotherham United
19.09.1949 Rotherham United 3-2 Chester City
26.03.1949 Chester City 1-1 Rotherham United
30.10.1948 Rotherham United 2-1 Chester City
14.02.1948 Chester City 2-3 Rotherham United
27.09.1947 Rotherham United 2-1 Chester City
26.12.1946 Rotherham United 3-1 Chester City
25.12.1946 Chester City 2-2 Rotherham United
18.03.1939 Rotherham United 2-0 Chester City
12.11.1938 Chester City 1-4 Rotherham United
27.12.1937 Rotherham United 4-1 Chester City
25.12.1937 Chester City 2-3 Rotherham United
17.04.1937 Rotherham United 2-1 Chester City
12.12.1936 Chester City 2-1 Rotherham United
22.02.1936 Rotherham United 1-2 Chester City
19.10.1935 Chester City 0-0 Rotherham United
09.03.1935 Rotherham United 6-1 Chester City
27.10.1934 Chester City 4-1 Rotherham United
30.12.1933 Rotherham United 0-3 Chester City
26.08.1933 Chester City 5-1 Rotherham United
07.01.1933 Rotherham United 0-5 Chester City
03.09.1932 Chester City 1-0 Rotherham United
12.03.1932 Rotherham United 3-0 Chester City
31.10.1931 Chester City 2-1 Rotherham United
Cup Results
English FA Cup
24.11.1986 r1r2 Chester City 1-0 Rotherham United
18.11.1986 r1r Rotherham United 1-1 Chester City aet
15.11.1986 r1 Chester City 1-1 Rotherham United
23.11.1974 r1 Rotherham United 1-0 Chester City
26.11.1932 r1 Chester City 4-0 Rotherham United
English Auto Windscreens Shield
26.09.1995 n.r1g2 Chester City 0-1 Rotherham United
English Autoglass Trophy
07.12.1993 n.r2 Chester City 1-0 Rotherham United
21.01.1992 n.r1 Rotherham United 3-0 Chester City
I remember a cup match against Chester one evening (probably Auto Windscreen) that started OK but just after half time it had to be cancelled because of fog
That was on 14th January 1992 Caz, we were 2-0 up when the game was abandoned around the hour mark…we won 3-0 in the re-arranged game the following week.
Just checked up…it was 66 minutes and Goodwin and Page scored.
The gate was 1,489….the re-arranged game gate was 2,543…Wilson, Goater and Page scored
There was more for the re-arranged game because, if I am correct, they let everyone in free!