Two Goals And A Clean Sheet For Millers Against Owls

Sheffield Wednesday 0 Rotherham United 2
                                                  Ladapo 59
                                                 Smith 84


Rotherham United might have huffed, puffed and rode their luck in this game but the team at the top of League One still managed to keep a clean sheet and come away from a freezing cold and wet Hillsborough with all three points this afternoon.

The Millers started well on a mud-bath of a pitch when a Wes Harding throw found Jamie Lindsay who sent it into the box winning a corner which was blocked with Lindsay getting the better of Barry Bannan as the Owls stalwart tried to break, both coming away with a smile on their faces. Dan Barlaser and Freddie Ladapo played a one-two before the ball fell to Michael Smith who in turn found Chieo Ogbene but he was flagged offside. Minutes later a cross from Ogbene was headed towards goal by Ben Wiles but it didn’t bother Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the Wednesday net. A corner for the hosts saw Bannan find the head of Sam Hutchinson who saw the ball land on the top of the net before a Callum Paterson header found Nathanial Mendez-Laing whose step-overs didn’t impresses Harding who blocked the ball and got it to safety. Mendez-Laing then found himself in space inside the box and sent the ball towards goal with Millers’ ‘keeper Josh Vickers getting hold of it at the second time of asking before some good defending from Michael Ihiekwe stopped the ball getting to Paterson in space in the box. Former Miller loanee Jack Hunt was causing some problems down the wing but his shot from distance was no problem for Vickers while Ogbene was doing the same for Rotherham with his crosses in finding Millers’ in the box but they couldn’t keep them down. The poor surface at Hillsborough helped the visitors when again Mendez-Laing found himself in space but his touch and the mud sent the ball out for a goal-kick. With twenty-five minutes gone both Ihiekwe and Hutchinson needed treatment after going up for the same ball both OK to carry on. Vickers had to be alert to save a cross-come shot from Mendez-Laing which was followed by a cross from Hunt finding George Byers and with red shirted arms up in the air he put the ball into the net but the linesman then put the flag up for offside. Hutchinson had to be vigilant after Ogbene went on a run and pushed the ball through an opponents legs before the Owls’ defender cleared and minutes later the Irish international did nearly the same thing again winning a corner which eventually found Lindsay who put it just wide. At the other end Bannan tried his luck from some thirty yards out and saw his effort go wide before Liam Palmer tried a shot winning a corner off Ihiekwe which Richard Wood cleared. Vickers did well at the end of the half to keep hold of a shot from Palmer before pushing to safety a cross from Mendez-Laing leaving in goalless at half-time.

Jamie Lindsay made way for Ollie Rathbone for Rotherham at the start of the second half with the substitute sending a lovely ball through for Chieo Ogbene who was flagged offside. Richard Wood had to be on his mettle to stop a mix-up at the back as Josh Vickers rushed off his line with two blue and white stripped shirts on him before a good saving tackle from Wes Harding stopped Callum Paterson sending the ball through to Nathanial Mendez-Laing who was on his own in front of goal while a header minutes later from Paterson went over the crossbar. On fifty-six minutes a Dan Barlaser free-kick saw Michael Smith send it to the other side for Shane Ferguson to cross winning a – even in my eyes – dubious corner, although perhaps the ball had gone out before it was caught by Bailey Peacock-Farrell. Barlaser sent the corner over with Ben Wiles heading it back into the box finding Freddie Ladapo who won’t have an easier shot as he popped it into the net to give the Millers three and a half thousand travelling fans something to shout about. At the other end Ogbene was deemed to have fouled Barry Bannan on the edge of the area and as the Scottish midfielder sent a powerful shot towards goal Vickers was there to push it away to safety. A poorly timed challenge on Wiles, who needed treatment, saw George Byers get the first yellow of the game. Ferguson and Ihiekwe were alert to danger with a number of home corners one seeing Paterson come close and another finding it’s way out to Jack Hunt who was leaning back and sent it flying into the Owls fans behind the goal. Sam Hutchinson saw yellow for a poor challenge on Rathbone before a Paterson header found Mendez-Laing just outside the box whose shot was held by Vickers. A good run from Ladapo saw him send the ball towards Wiles whose first touch wasn’t the best and it went out for a goal kick before another good stop from Vickers saw Paterson out of luck again. The Owls brought on Sylla Sow replaces Jack Hunt and Jordi Osei-Tutu made his Millers debut coming on for Shane Ferguson. With ten minutes to go Bannan sent a rocket of a shot towards goal with Harding getting his body in the way to block. The hosts second change saw Florian Kamberi on for Nathaniel Mendez-Laing who went off with an injury but perhaps hadn’t had the room in the second half he had in the first. On the eighty-third minute Ogbene won a free-kick for the visitors which Barlaser sent into the box and amongst a host of players the ball fell to Smith who curled it into the top corner of the net to make it two-nil and make it his fiftieth league goal for the Millers. As the Owls fans started to leave their seats in droves Leppings Lane was full of Millers fans shouting, singing and waving. The last Millers change saw Freddie Ladapo leave the field for former Owl Joe Mattock to take his place. In time added on Smith found Ogbene who sent a rasping shot towards goal from distance which went just over the bar.

An away win, a clean sheet and nine points clear at the top of the table. Not bad as Sunday’s go is it.

Attendance – 26,418 – there is no official away figure but the club sold 3,501 tickets)

Referee – Darren Drysdale