Warne ‘Either Team Could Have Won’

Rotherham United Manager Paul Warne admitted that there were times in the game today when he thought a point would have been a good result.

Speaking after the Millers one-nil win over Cambridge United the Millers Boss told Radio Sheffield that he had been impressed with the hosts when they were the visitors at the New York Stadium last month saying, ‘They asked a lot of questions and they are one of the hardest competitors we’ve played.

‘I didn’t feel like we got into the first half the way we could and I thought at times we weren’t as physical as possible and we didn’t win many first balls.’

Have to agree with that. We looked wary in the first forty-five minutes, lost the ball quite a bit, though I couldn’t really fault our passing and we let them play the game they wanted without playing how we know we can play.

‘The second half must have been a great game to watch from a neutral point of view with both teams trying to get the win. Either team could have won it but, luckily, one of our shots went in. Today felt like a big win because Cambridge didn’t let us play at our best and caused us all sorts of problems.’

Dan Barlaser scored the only goal of the game on sixty-six minutes and it was a cracking goal without it being a cracking goal! He got the ball from Chieo Ogbene and just seemed to know where it was going when he hit it leaving the opposition ‘keeper just standing watching.

‘People will go away and talk about Dan’s goal,’ Warney said, ‘but it felt like Woody’s header in the ninety-sixth minute won us the point.’

Asked about an incident at the end of the first half where Viktor Johansson, the Rotherham shot-stopper, was knocked to the ground, the Rotherham Manager said, ‘I don’t want to criticise too much but my goalkeeper has got stud marks all the way down from his upper chest to his stomach. I don’t think the player maliciously tried to hurt my goalkeeper but it that tackle was in the middle of the park it’s a sending off. But the referee obviously sees the game different to me. Some of the decisions were very bizarre for both teams today. For instance there was a rule today I didn’t even know existed – apparently if the ball was in the box and someone goes down with a head injury then the ball just goes back to the goalkeeper.’ Ed Note – that was definitely bizarre. Paul Warne said that it wasn’t Trevor Kettle’s rule, he doesn’t make them up. Personally, I think he might have made that one up.

Rarmani Edmonds-Green went off with what looked like an injury but apparently is just an Achilles problem and he should be fit to play on Boxing Day and there are no other injuries as we go into the Christmas holiday.