Alfie comes to Millers aid

Rotherham United played their 'get out of jail free' card at a windswept Don Valley this evening when Adam Le Fondre got them an equalising goal in the final five minutes of the game.

With the wind swirling the heavy rain about it was always going to be a difficult night for football and it was the Millers who came out looking as though they were up for it. After four minutes a defensive slip let in Ryan Taylor who got a good ball through to Le Fondre but his shot, from some twenty-five yards out, went wide. Minutes later Taylor himself could have scored when a Nicky Law cross was just too high for the striker to get a head to it. On fifteen minutes Kevin Ellison did well to get himself in space but his shot was well saved by Jose Veiga in the Silkmens' goal and ten minutes later Ellison again had a shot but it was easily saved by Veiga. It then went a bit stale with neither side doing well against the poor conditions and Vinny Mukendi and Aristote Nsiala both had headers that cleared the crossbar.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Andy Warrington had to get down well to deflect a shot from Hamza Bencherif. Although the weather wasn't helping, the Millers didn't really help themselves when they were pumping balls up into the air which were doing nothing but annoying the two thousand five hundred fans who had turned up. They had a couple of corners that either went straight to the 'keeper or were easily intercepted by Macclesfield and they never seemed to be able to find anyone in space. On fifty-seven minutes Tyrone Barnett had a shot that he saw go just over Warrington's head and luckily the bar followed by a Nat Brown header a minute later that flashed just wide. At the other end, Paul Warne, on for Kevin Ellison, had a shot that went well wide while Ryan Taylor seemed to stumble over his own feet and his shot was easily saved by Veiga. On seventy-five minutes Nsiala found himself free and got in a good cross for Mukendi who, with only Warrington to beat, put his header just wide and at the other end Marcus Marshall, on for Nicky Law, put in a great ball for Ryan Taylor who headed it against the post which was followed by a La Fondre shot that was well tipped over by Veiga. With six minutes remaining and it looking like it was going to be a stalemate a one-two between Barnett and Colin Daniel on for Mukendi, saw Barnett fire beyond Warrington into the back of the net. As the Millers fans started to head for the exits Tom Elliott, on for Ryan Taylor, nodded the ball down in the area, Danny Harrison seemed to fumble the ball into the path of Le Fondre who slipped the ball home from close range to give the Millers a point. As the final whistle blew you could hear boos from the remaining Millers fans.

It was a poor game played in poor conditions and, after all Ronnie Moore's promises of it not being like Saturday's game at Southend, was, in my eyes, like Saturdays game at Southend. Nothing much had changed. The only two changes to the starting eleven were forced changes due to an injury and a players' loan being up. Sorry, Ronnie, but it just isn't good enough.

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