Rotherham 2 Bristol City 2: Mixed emotions for Alan Stubbs and the Millers

One, Izzy Brown, 19, scored his first senior goal in English football for Rotherham and the other, Tammy Abraham, 18, netted against them, underlining what the Millers are missing, having been unable to secure his signature, too, from Stamford Bridge for the season.

Rather more quietly, another youngster from the Premier League, Dael Fry, also impressed on debut, having made seven appearances in helping Middlesbrough to promotion last season, even though one came in a 1-0 away defeat to new club Rotherham.

It proved a baptism of fire as Bristol piled on incessant pressure after going 2-0 down before the hour mark.

Millers chief Alan Stubbs, no mean defender in his days with Celtic and Everton, was impressed by the way the 19-year-old stood up to the test, saying: “I thought he did well. He’s a young player who has got a lot of potential.

“He was up against another player who’s got a lot of potential (Abraham), another one we were trying to get hold of. It’s unfortunate that that wasn’t the case. Fry’s performance gave a lot of cause for optimism. I think he can be happy with his performance.”

Fry, however, said there was more to come from his game, at the same time pinpointing where the Millers went wrong in failing to capture all three points.

“It was unbelievable to come out and hear such a good reception,” said Fry.

“After being 2-0 up, to concede two second-half goals when we should have been clear with a win was hard. But they got a few crosses in the box and scored two late goals which was a nightmare for the team.

“I thought I did okay defensively but I did not get on the ball much and maybe step out but you know it was one of those games where we were tucked in during the second half and were just defending.

“At Middlesbrough, we keep the ball a lot and play out from the back and so I have got that in my game. I felt like we defended a bit too much and perhaps needed to get up the pitch a little more to stop them getting at us.”

Having been mauled 4-0 at Barnsley in their previous game, Rotherham’s ploy of sitting deep was perhaps understandable, though attacking threats were stymied when wide man Jon Taylor departed with a knock at the break and Brown cramped up later on.

However, they should still have made it game over when Danny Ward robbed Booby Reid and raced through on 67 minutes but fired over.

Before that, the top-class goalkeeping of Lee Camp had kept Bristol at bay and an own goal from Aden Flint, sliding in to divert the ball in off the post after Richard O’Donnell had a mis-hit shot from Greg Halford covered, had put the Millers 2-0 ahead.

Lee Johnson, in his first game back in south Yorkshire since his mid-season desertion from Barnsley, made a triple substitution and the pressure finally told.

Abraham forced home at the far post and Reid tapped in a driven low cross from Joe Bryan to make it 2-2 in the 84th minute.

Desperate defensive heroics ensued from the Millers before Jamie Paterson’s shot of the match, a curling left-footer from outside the area, smacked against the post.

Fry, however, would have been the debut hero had he managed to get a stoppage-time header on target from an all too rare Rotherham break and ensuing corner.

Some fans booed and others applauded, such were the mixed emotions at the final whistle and Fry conceded: “We would probably have taken a point before the game but there is still a lot of frustration.

“I’m just delighted the manager, who was a big factor in me coming here, has put his faith in me because it takes a lot to put in a young lad at centre-half.”

The statistics showed that the visitors had 34 shots to Rotherham’s 10 and enjoyed 76 per cent of the possession but there was little to choose between the sides in the opening half.

Brown, on loan at Vitese in Holland last season, had struuck the bar on his opening day debut against Brentford but got off the mark this time, showing a goal poacher’s instinct, though operating as the No 10 behind Ward.

Halford knocked the ball down the right channel, Flint dallied when he should have headed it back to O’Donnell, who had come out to the edge of the area, and Brown nipped in to knock it past them before racing on to tap in.

It was the lift Rotherham needed and with Halford and Dominic Ball, wearing a protective face mask after fracturing a cheekbone at Oakwell following an elbow to the face, protecting the back four, Bristol’s threat was limited.

However, they began to produce a taste of what was to come and Reid fluffed a great chance to equalise from Luke Freeman’s low cross as the experienced Lee Tomlin began to find space to produce some punishing passes.

Rotherham United: Camp, Fisher, Fry, Wilson, Kelly; Halford, Ball; Taylor (Forde 46), Brown (Allan 81), Newell (Vaulks 67); Ward. Unused substitutes: Bilboe, Mattock, Forster-Caskey, Yates.

Bristol City: O’Donnell, Little (Paterson 61), Flint, Magnusson, Golbourne (Ekstrand 61); Bryan, O’Neil; Freeman (O’Dowda 61), Tomlin, Reid; Abraham. Unused substitutes: Fielding, Moore, Wilbraham, Pack.

Referee: A Madley (W Yorks).