Rotherham 2 Brentford 1: Escape is on for Millers after Neil Warnock calls on veterans

IT might not have possessed quite the drama of April 28, 2001 for Rotherham United fans but Saturday was not too far behind.
Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).
Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).

That aforesaid date almost 15 years ago went down in Millers’ folklore. A never-to-be-forgotten Spring day when Ronnie Moore’s band of brothers returned to the second tier after a near 18-year absence following a 2-1 home victory over Brentford at Millmoor.

Saturday’s identikit win across the dual carriageway did not arrive complete with a tumultuous late winner in the manner of Alan Lee’s strike – the prelude to a delirious pitch invasion and some iconic radio commentary from ex-BBC Radio Sheffield commentators Brian Chapple and Gerry Somerton.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But the scenes at the final whistle were still thoroughly uplifting and intoxicating, with a great escape mission beginning in earnest and the defiance from home supporters being considerable.

Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).
Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).

It was probably pulsating afternoons like Saturday that Tony Stewart envisaged when he offered the Millers’ post to Neil Warnock.

The old managerial stager was the first to admit that days like Saturday are exactly why he is still patrolling the touchline like an impresario at the age of 67. It beats fishing in Cornwall.

The home win – which took the sting away from a diabolical penalty award from referee Mark Brown that went against the hosts just before the break – displayed Rotherham United at their in-your-face best.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was a rewind to some big days and nights at the NYS under Steve Evans with the impassioned Scot and Warnock cut from similar managerial cloth –something that one of Saturday’s heroes in Lee Frecklington was minded to appreciate.

Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).
Rotherham United substitute Danny Ward is congratulated after scoring what proved the winning goal against Brentford (Picture: Simon Hulme).

Substitute Danny Ward may have been handed the kudos for earning a precious first win in eight matches for the hosts with a clinical 71st-minute strike, but it was a day when every man jack in red and white did their bit.

The home line-up had a decided ‘Dad’s Army’ feel with seven players being aged 30 or over and just two in the starting XI under 29, yet the limbs were supple and the heads and hearts willing.

From central defenders Richard Wood and Kirk Broadfoot, both bedecked in red bandages, to Frazer Richardson, who produced a truly amazing block to preserve the Millers’ 2-1 lead.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There were others, including Frecklington, who was here, there and everywhere, despite Warnock’s gamble in playing him when confirming that the medical team said that he would not be ready for 10 days.

For his part, Frecklington was just happy to be savouring a win after being the unfortunate party when Brown pointed to the spot on 43 minutes after Sergio Canos tumbled over his leg after the midfielder had cleared the ball with an important block.

A cascade of boos and incredulous rebuke greeted that decision – the sort that leaves everyone open-mouthed – with salt rubbed into wounds when Alan Judge netted the rebound after Lee Camp blocked his spot-kick.

Brown was barracked mercilessly for the rest of the game, but Ward’s winner saved his skin.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Frecklington said: “We felt like we had everyone against us, but we stuck together and did what Rotherham always do, keep going.

“To win, at the end, is one of the best feelings of the season. We’ve got a great chance (of survival) if we play like that.

“It might not be the prettiest football at times, but it’s effective, full of commitment and heart.

“They (Warnock and Evans) are very similar. A few of the lads have mentioned the similarities.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s very ‘old school’ and about passion, commitment and heart. All that stuff rather than more of the technical side of stuff.

“Sometimes that’s what you need to win games. Sometimes hard work beats ability.”

On the visitors’ penalty, he added: “I felt maybe a little bit let down and disappointed. One or two of the lads were angry. I kicked the ball out of the box.

“There was no way it was a penalty.”

He added: “If the ref openly admitted he’d made a mistake, then that’s fair play to him.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Brown had earlier blotted his copybook by awarding a controversial 20th-minute free-kick against the hosts, with Camp denying further punishment with a flying save to deny Judge.

That aside, the Millers had been pugnacious and incessant in their workrate and their reward just before the half-hour was merited when Matt Derbyshire coolly steered home the hosts’ first goal in five hours and 17 minutes – and first of the Warnock reign – after tidy work by home debutant Best and Frecklington.

Best and Greg Halford also went close, but it was Brown’s faux pas that provided the interval talking point among aghast home supporters.

Yet the Millers took the blow on the chin with their second half pressure meriting their rewards. Halford’s flicked header went close before key blocks from Harlee Dean denied Frecklington and then Halford before Jerome Thomas’s low shot was saved.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

You sensed something was coming and while Button’s fine tip-over to deny Danny Ward looked a big moment, the substitute soon breached his defences with a rasping low shot after a corner was not cleared.

Richardson’s block then saved the day to deny Hoffmann after John Swift’s initial effort was diverted, with that bloody-mindedness summed up late on when Camp denied Lasse Vibe.

The great escape is on.