Friendly Millers v Saddlers Report

The Millers kicked off the pre-season programme with a defeat at Don Valley to League One team Walsall.

It was the visitors who had the first shot of the game when new signing, Sam Parkin, headed what looked like the first goal only to see it smack against the crossbar and go to safety. A few minutes later Reuben Reid and Ryan Taylor played a neat passing game but Taylor couldn't quite get the ball into the net. The Saddlers' Peter Till had a shot that went just wide before the only summer signing to start the game, Paul Warne, saw his left-footed shot go just over. Ryan Taylor should have scored just before the half-hour mark, when a lovely ball from Reid found the strikers blonde locks, but he fired it straight at Rene Gilmartin in Walsall's goal. Just before half-time Gilmartin brought off a great save from Ryan Taylor, tipping the ball over for a corner.

Tom Pope, on as a second half sub, had the first shot of the second half on fifty-five minutes but the ball went wide of the goal. Jamie Annerson, on for Andy Warrington, had to get down low to save a Richard Taundry shot from twenty yards out but it was the sixty-second minute before the deadlock was broken. Alex Nicholls took the ball off Mark Lynch and slid it past a diving Annerson. Pope had a shot that went just wide of the post and, at the other end, Annerson blocked well to stop Nicholls getting his second. On the eighty-fifth minute, the visitors went two up when Taundry laid on a lovely ball for Richard Davies who put it past Annerson into the bottom corner of the net. The Millers got a consolation goal in the dying minutes when a long ball from Annerson caused a bit of mayhem and Clayton Ince, on as a sub for Gilmartin, came out and missed the ball, which bobbled around before Pope launched it into the back of the net.

A good work out for the team, with players going off and coming on to give the management an idea of who plays well with who.

ROTHERHAM UNITED
Warrington (Annerson)
Tonge (Lynch)
Joseph (Haggerty)
Nicholas (Sharps)
Green (Ellison)
Mills (Harrison)
Warne (Law)
J Taylor
Brogan (Green)
Reid (R Taylor)
R Taylor (Pope)

WALSALL
Gilmartin (Ince)
Westlake (Weston)
Smith
Hughes (Roberts)
Sansara (Vincent)
Bradley (Taundry)
Adkins (Mattis)
O'Keefe (Davies)
Till
Parkin (Nicholls)
Grigg (Deeney)

REFEREE Howard Webb

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