RECAP: Rotherham United 2 Doncaster Rovers 0: Derby defeat for depleted Rovers

A first half brace from Michael Smith took the game beyond toothless Doncaster Rovers and saw them slip to defeat in the South Yorkshire derby with Rotherham United.
New York StadiumNew York Stadium
New York Stadium

Recap the events of the game on the blog service below.

LIVE: Rotherham United 2 Doncaster Rovers 0

GOALS: Smith (27, 45+2)

RED CARD: Miller (53)

ROTHERHAM: Johansson; Ihiekwe, Wood (C), Harding; Miller, Wiles, Lindsay, Rathbone (Edmonds-Green 90), Sadlier (Barlaser 71); Ladapo (Mattock 57), Smith. Subs: Vickers, Tilt, Odoffin, Kayode.

ROVERS: Dahlberg; Knoyle, Williams, John, Horton (Cukur); Bostock (Barlow); Galbraith, Close; Smith; Seaman, Rowe. Subs: Jones, Blythe, Greaves, Ravenhill, Barlow, Gardner, Cukur.

REFEREE: Martin Coy (Durham)

Emphasised everything we all knew

All the technical quality you could wish for, all the neat and tidy footballers capable of picking a pass and controlling the flow of a football game.

But nothing ahead of it to win a football match.

I could have written that this morning and there was nothing on show at the New York this afternoon that suggested anything different.

Rotherham going down to ten men early in the second half presented Rovers with nothing but an opportunity to take the stranglehold on possession and not let it go.

The issue was, Rotherham were more than happy for them to do it, knowing full well Rovers are currently lacking in the creative department.

These next couple of days in the transfer market are going to be huge for Richie Wellens and the next fortnight is equally as important for the medical department as they look to get certain players back on the pitch.

And it’s a 2-0 defeat for Rovers at Rotherham

Kyle Knoyle, Doncaster Rovers

Six minutes

Matt Smith, Doncaster Rovers

On paper Rovers are lined up in a 3-4-3 but it’s far more attacking and fluid than that.

They’re camped in the opposition half with both Knoyle and John pushing up the pitch and Smith and Galbraith looking to dictate things from deep. Rotherham are more than happy to soak up the pressure.

Rovers build up well down the right with Kyle Knoyle feeding a low ball into the box which Tiago Cukur tried to flick on target. It bobbled up and hit Aidan Barlow on the chest but he couldn’t turn it on goal.

As you’d hope against ten men, Rovers are finally having some success in the opposition half.

Matt Smith has just drilled a 25 yarder high on goal with Viktor Johansson doing well to hold it.

But they’re beginning to find spaces, particularly in wide areas which is seeing them out the Millers on the back foot more and more.

Aidan Barlow replaces John Bostock

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.