Millers Late Show

The Millers had to come from behind twice this afternoon at the Pirelli Stadium to get their first away win since the beginning of the year.

Making the worst of starts, the Millers found themselves behind to a Greg Pearson headed goal in the first minute and could have been two down shortly afterwards when Aaron Webster was allowed all the time in the world to run at the Rotherham defence only to have his shot blocked. But the Millers weren`t down and out and in the fifth minute a Tom Newey free kick was headed on by Jason Taylor to Johnny Mullins who nodded the ball past Adam Legzdins in the Brewers goal. The visitors should have taken the lead three minutes later when Marcus Marshall nodded the ball down to Ryan Taylor but the striker shot well over from eight yards out. The Brewers had two chances to take the lead, firstly when Jacques Maghoma got the ball to Aaron Webster but the defender mis-kicked the ball in front of goal and then two minutes later Maghoma, who gave loanee Danny Coid a headache all game, fired across goal just missing the incoming Pearson. On twenty-five minutes, Maghoma again was in the action and his shot from twenty yards out was spilled by Andy Warrington but, luckily for Ronnie Moore`s men, no Albion player was able to follow the shot up. Five minutes later, only a good block by Nick Fenton on the line stopped Pearson getting a second and, at the other end, Ryan Taylor, seeing Legzdins off his line, tried a long range shot but it went wide. On thirty-four minutes the home side took the lead again, when Russell Penn squared a ball to Webster who steered his shot past a helpless Warrington. It could have been worse for the Millers before half-time when Webster and Pearson found themselves with space in the box but neither could get the ball into the back of the net.

In the first two minutes of the second half the Millers should have equalised when Marshall drilled in a low cross from the right for Adam Le Fondre but the Millers top scorer couldn`t quite stretch to get a toe on it. A minute later the Brewers missed a good opportunity to go further in front when referee, Graham Horwood, awarded, what looked to us Millers, a dubious penalty, after he alleged that Marshall had pulled down Maghoma in the area. Up stepped Webster and promptly rattled the crossbar much to the travelling supporters delight. The penalty miss seemed to spur the Millers on and both Ryan Taylor and Le Fondre had runs at goal and, on sixty-six minutes, Nathan Stanton brought Ryan Taylor to the floor and the Millers got a free-kick. With Coid and Nicky Law stood over it, it was Law who took the kick and struck it so high over the ball it came back with snow on it. At the other end Mullins did ever so well when a fierce drive from Penn looked to be heading towards the back of the net and Mullins headed it over. With sixteen minutes to go Liam Henderson, on for an ineffective Omar Daley, found Marshall on his own in the box and the tall winger headed the ball into an empty net, to make it two-two. Five minutes later Henderson nearly put the Millers in the lead from a Le Fondre lay off but shot just wide of the post. In the eighty-ninth minute, the home defenders were looking a bit jaded when they could only clear the ball as far as Marshall who found Le Fondre in the area, and as we all know, Alfie doesn`t miss from there and he shot it into the top of the net. The away fans went wild. The board went up for four extra minutes and it was in the last minute of these four that Law broke away and laid the ball into the path of Jason Taylor who slid the ball into the back of the net to seal the victory.

Well, who`d have thought at half-time we`d have got all three points today? Because, if we are being honest, some of the passing was poor again this afternoon - but, as they say, a win`s a win and we are back into the automatic promotion places tonight.

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