Rotherham 2 Wolves 2: Will Vaulks makes an immediate impact before Millers let things slip

The 22-year-old summer signing from Falkirk ingratiated himself with Millers fans with a 25-yard strike.

His 20th-minute effort doubled Rotherham’s lead, following Danny Ward’s early header, and Alan Stubbs’s new-look team looked in total control.

But a defensive mix-up allowed George Saville to pinch a goal before half-time.

In spite of Dominic Iorfa’s second-half red card, 10-man Wolves rallied to pinch a point for new manager Walter Zenga, the former Italy goalkeeper, as Icelandic Euro 2016 striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson netted.

It was harsh on Rotherham, who showed plenty of promise, but midfielder Vaulks had reason to smile afterwards.

“As soon as the ball came to me, I thought ‘I am hitting it’. I like to hit the ball from that range,” he said.

“A few of the boys get on at me for shooting from everywhere. It was bouncing, so I thought I would give it a go, hit it sweet and it flew in. It was a great feeling.

“I really enjoyed it. It was slightly disappointing we didn’t get the three points after being 2-0 up.

“I think we may look back on it as not a bad point, but we did dominate the game in the first half.

“We maybe stopped forcing things in the second half, but we will learn from that. When we are in those situations again, we will perform better,” said Vaulks, one of four summer signings to make their bow.

Anthony Forde, who joined from Walsall, whipped in a ninth-minute corner for Ward to head home the opening goal.

Vaulks stepped up to blast home the second, and fellow newcomer Jon Taylor, a record signing from Peterborough United last week, was hauled back by last defender Iorfa after the break, forcing referee Scott Duncan to show a red card.

Former Brighton midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey worked well alongside Lee Frecklington in midfield, to leave Stubbs, who hopes to bring in more new signings this week, delighted with his new quartet.

Vaulks, who started out at Tranmere Rovers before heading to Scotland to ply his trade, has quickly adapted to life in South Yorkshire. “I have settled in really good,” he said. “I knew the manager from before, playing against him.

“Everyone’s made me feel welcome and the boys have been brilliant. I am just fed up of being in a hotel, so, hopefully, that will be sorted soon. The Championship is a step up. Obviously, I have played in a few big games before, the likes of Rangers and Hibs.

“But here everything is a lot more physical, faster, and decision-making has to be quicker.

“From Scotland to here, it’s just another step up. Hopefully, I will adapt quick and get used to it.”

Wolves, with Zenga in charge for less than a week after replacing Kenny Jackett, allowed Rotherham to dominate midfield in the first half, meaning Vaulks dropped deeper with the ball.

He caught the eye with some long diagonal passes, but believes he can also hurt teams by breaking forward.

“(Saturday) was probably an exception, because Wolves dropped off and gave me a lot of time on the ball to play the diagonal passes,” he said.

“That suited me, I like to have time on the ball, so I hope a few more teams drop off like that.

“I thought we played some good stuff, it was promising. It was very hot out there, and we probably blew up in the last 10 or 15 minutes.”

Stubbs moaned about dropping two points.

“There were a lot of positives to take, (but) right now it feels like it is two points dropped rather than a point gained,” he said. “The two goals were sloppy and ones we should have prevented.

“I thought we looked a real threat when we went 2-0 up. I thought we started to make one or two wrong decisions, which didn’t reflect those of the first 25, which got us a lot of joy.

“It was mixed. I was pleased with certain elements and a part of me was frustrated as we didn’t get a reward for the position we put ourselves in. We should have taken three points.”

Rotherham United: Camp, Kelly, Broadfoot, Wood, Mattock (Thorpe 71), Frecklington (Smallwood 67), Vaulks, Forster-Caskey (Allan 76), Forde, Ward, Taylor. Unused substitutes: Price, Halford, Wilson, Yates.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ikeme, Iorfa, Batth, Hause, Doherty, Edwards, Evans, Saville, Wallace (Mason 45), Bodvarsson (Costa 88), Henry (Teixeira 63). Unused substitutes: Coady, Price, Lonergan, Deslandes.

Referee: S Duncan (Northumberland).

Man of the match: Will Vaulks.