RUFC - Reserves lose opener

Rotherham Reserves 1 Bradford City Reserves 2

Rotherham United Reserves started the campaign this afternoon with a loss at their 'new' home at Parkgate.

The visitors, Bradford City, arrived late so the game was delayed for twenty minutes but when it got going it was the Millers who started the more lively. Trialist, James Gray, went on a run but his shot went wide while fellow trialist, Kyle Vassell's low shot was tipped round the post by McLaughlin in the Bantams goal. The first time Andy Warrington was called upon was on eighteen minutes when Nahki Wells had a shot from distance that stung the Millers' 'keepers hands before going out. At the other end, Marcus Marshall and Alec Denton worked well and the ball fell to Chris Holroyd but he scuffed his shot before Ollie Banks put the ball over the bar. On thirty-three minutes the Millers took the lead when Holroyd drilled in a low shot which went beyond McLaughlin and into the net. Five minutes later Warrington did well to get his body in the way as Wells looked to put it over him while the Millers 'keeper did well to stop Jamie Nanje getting an equaliser not long after. Before the end of the half, Banks had another shot which went just wide of the post.

In the opening minutes of the second half Denton put a good ball through for Holroyd but the strikers shot was a bit weak and McLaughlin easily gathered and five minutes later Denton himself had a shot but it went well over the bar. As Bradford started to get into the game, Warrington did well to claw the ball away before it went over the line when Kieran Djilali was looking for an equaliser. Ben Pringle had a shot blocked by a Bradford substitute while Warrington was on hand to parry away from the lively Wells. But the Bantams did equalise on seventy-eight minutes when another Millers trialist, Nathan Fox, brought Djilali down in the area and Wells scored the resulting spot kick. On eighty-seven minutes Terry Dixon, on trial with City, latched onto a loose ball and curled the ball into the far corner, giving Warrington little chance, to make it two-one. In the final minutes of the game, Warrington did well to deny Thomas Marshall and Wells and keep the score down.

Teams
Millers

Warrington
Marshall
Foster
Hall
Fox (Royles)
Pringle
Banks,
Gray,
Vassell (Rose)
Denton
Holroyd
Subs not used - Foltym-Brown, Woods, Thompson

Bantams

McLaughlin
Burns
Marshall
Robinson
O'Brien
Tafazolli
Nanjie (Dean)
Harrison (Dixon)
Djilali
Stephenson (Metcalfe)
Wells
Subs not used - McGivern, Tongue






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