Rotherham United Manager Paul Warne was obviously pleased with the derby win over Doncaster Rovers on Saturday saying it was like a Walt Disney movie.
But Rovers Boss Darren Ferguson was disappointed saying that losing a game of football to the last kick of the game was terrible.
One down as the board went up for twelve extra minutes the Millers threw caution to the wind and scored twice, the winner coming from a Joe Newell penalty.
Speaking to Radio Sheffield after the Millers two-one win, Ferguson said, ‘It was a bitter way to lose the derby in the way we did and that’s twice they’ve done that to us. They scored in the ninety-sixth minute at our place and they’ve done it again today.
‘The first half was as I expected it to be and one little bit of magic got us in the lead from John (Marquis) and in the second half Tommy Rowe had a great chance to make it two-nil and if it had gone to two-nil we’ve won the game.
‘I knew when Anderson went off injured it would give us a problem because of how much injury time there was at the end which I knew would give everyone a lift and it did.
‘It was a bit of naivety from us giving the penalty away. But the referee has missed a clear foul for their first goal. He’s got to see that. My centre-half had been clearly fouled. (Ed Note – later in the interview he changed ‘fouled’ to ‘blocked’).
‘But I couldn’t ask any more of my players and we pressed Rotherham really well today causing them problems at the back.
‘I’ve got to pick the players up quickly to go into the next game.’
Well, I’ve looked a few times at our first goal (I shut my eyes when I saw the defending for Rovers goal!) and I can’t see any obvious fouling, holding, blocking of their centre-half and, which I think is a clue, is that none of the Rovers players complained.
I wasn’t so sure about our pen at the time although I couldn’t really see it from where I was but from the fans behind the goal appealing and our players it looked a good claim. I’ve seen it since from various angles and it was a pen.
As well as referee Geoff Eltringham not seeing that so called incident he never saw the yards – not inches or feet – that Rovers players were pinching when taking throw ins. Strangely he didn’t see the Rovers centre-half pulling Smith’s shirt, jumping up with elbows raised or blocking him until injury time. And it took him quite a while to book the Rovers’ ‘keeper for time wasting too, although, to be fair, he did add time on – which was to our advantage.
I hope both Rovers players who were stretchered off are soon fit and back playing.
Vital Rotherham on:
Vital Rotherham on:
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