Mattock rallies the Millers after sickening blows from Charlton

A match billed as the proverbial six-pointer was a gritty contest, but Charlton were deserving winners to ensure the Millers remain in the relegation dogfight.

A double from Simon Makienok, plus goals from Igor Vetokele and Ademola Lookman – Chris Burke’s solitary reply for the Millers – were enough to squeeze the gap between the two strugglers.

With another crunch game on the horizon, Saturday’s trip to bottom club Bolton Wanderers, Millers left-back Mattock insists now is no time to panic.

“These things happen, we have got to pick ourselves and go again into the next game,” said Mattock. “We just need to get ourselves back together during the week and be positive for the next game. Next week is another big game, another six-pointer for us.

“In the first-half, I thought we came out firing, they countered and scored.

“Maybe our heads dropped a bit, we should have forgot about that, picked ourselves up and gone again.

“They are a good side, we maybe under-estimated them a bit. They have some good players up top, they held the ball up well.

“Maybe we should have been a little bit more aggressive with them up top. It was disappointing.

“A goal right on half-time was a killer for us. We came out in the second half and if we had got a goal back, maybe it would have been a different game altogether. They nicked one and that just killed us.”

The visitors took the lead on four minutes, a swift counter-attack from Zakarya Bergdich down the left, ended with a cutback to Makienok to side-foot home.

Rotherham’s response was positive, Danny Ward playing in Burke, and the on-loan midfielder netted on his home debut with a right-footed shot beyond goalkeeper Stephen Henderson.

With half-time approaching – and little to choose between the sides – Charlton grabbed the lead. Kirk Broadfoot was exposed for pace at the back by Johann Berg Gudmundsson and his pass was inch-perfect for Vetokele to tap home.

It was harsh on the Millers, who should have levelled after the break. Danny Ward’s long-range header was tipped away by Henderson, before Luciano Becchio – a half-time substitute – could not make enough contact to bundle home Jonson Clarke-Harris’s header.

The hosts were punished as Makienok headed home a 69th- minute corner, awarded after goalkeeper Lee Camp palmed over Johnnie Jackson’s free-kick.

The hosts knew it was not their day when Clarke-Harris hammered a penalty over the bar – after the striker was tugged back in the area by Jorge Teixeira – and Becchio’s header was blocked on the line.

The impressive Gudmundsson set substitute Lookman free to complete the scoring and leave Rotherham just a point better off than second-from-bottom Charlton.

“Johno is a bit down about the penalty,” said Mattock. “He just has to pick himself up, he can’t be too down about it.

“The main thing is don’t stay negative, that’s going to get us nowhere. We are still outside the drop zone, so as long as we stay positive, I am sure we will be all right. We were hoping to climb away, get the three points, and make a bit of a break between us (and the bottom three).

“I think there will be a lot of work done next week. That result is disappointing, especially being at home.

“Everyone in the dressing room is down. When you look at the scoreboard, I don’t think it was a 4-1. A few of the goals came from us. If we had minimised those mistakes, we would have come away with a draw or a 2-1 defeat. It’s a punch in the gut for us, but we have to pick ourselves up for the next game.”

Rotherham United: Camp, Facey, Rawson, Broadfoot, Mattock, Green (Becchio 45), Smallwood, Burke (Shinnie 59), G Ward, Newell (Clarke-Harris 59), D Ward. Unused substitutes: Wood, Cairns, Richardson, Derbyshire.

Charlton Athletic: Henderson, Solly, Teixeira, lennon, Fox, Gudmundsson, Cousins, Jackson, Bergdich, Vetokele (Lookman 90), Makienok (Ghoochannejhad 75). Unused substitutes: Harriott, Ba, Johnson, Pope, Poyet.

Referee: K Stroud (Hants).

Man of the match: Johann Berg Gudmundsson.