Rotherham United 1 Plymouth Argyle 0: Millers ease pressure on Matt Hamshaw with crucial League One victory
Rotherham United ended a miserable February with a 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle to ease the pressure on manager Matt Hamshaw.
The Millers played with a level of intensity they have struggled to reach for large portions of the season, pressing with vigour and posing a threat in the final third.
Joe Rafferty opened the scoring after just seven minutes and it proved to be decisive, giving the South Yorkshire strugglers a much-needed three points in their battle to avoid relegation from League One.
First half
Doom and gloom had descended upon the New York Stadium, which only heightened the importance of an early goal for the home side.
The much-needed boost came just six minutes into the affair, when Rafferty opened the scoring. Sam Nombe had been felled out on the right and the resulting free-kick was superbly whipped into the box by Josh Benson.
The delivery was only cleared as far as Dru Yearwood, who saw his shot taken beyond Luca Ashby-Hammond by a Rafferty flick.
It sparked scenes of celebration scarcely seen in this pocket of Yorkshire of late and lit a fire under the Millers.
Duncan Watmore had fans purring with a deft spin in the middle of the pitch that sent him away on the counter. He fed Harry Gray, who cut in from the left and saw an effort blocked.
The on-loan Leeds United prodigy managed to work Ashby-Hammond with his next attempt, stinging the palms of Plymouth’s stopper with a rasping shot.
Plymouth, however, soon started to turn the tide. The hosts were forced into some desperate defending but Benson and Yearwood were among those who intervened with crucial blocks to protect Ted Cann’s goal.
Pressure was being applied but Cann himself did not have to perform heroics, with the defence in front of him holding up.
Benson had already flex his dead-ball muscles earlier in the affair, yet Plymouth were prone to challenging clumsily when the Millers neared the final third. The former Barnsley midfielder stepped up again when Gray was hacked down and forced Ashby-Hammond to get down to his right-hand corner.
Nombe was the next to threaten, skipping past two defenders only to see Ashby-Hammond beat away his shot on goal.
Control was back with the hosts as half-time approached, but a two-goal cushion remained just beyond reach. Zak Jules rattled the crossbar with a header within a minute of entering the fray from the bench and although Nombe launched himself at the rebound, Ashby-Hammond scrambled across to save.
Jules was evidently keen on being a nuisance in the opposition box and soon popped up again, this time heading into the grateful clutches of Plymouth’s busy man between the sticks.
Second half
Plymouth started the second half by knocking gently on the Rotherham door, threatning to move through the gears. Cann spilled a stinging strike from Xavier Amaechi, but collected comfortably before any lurking Pilgrims could pounce.
Rotherham have been guilty of inviting pressure at points throughout the season but continued stepping on the gas when possible.
Ar’jany Martha jinked his way down the right to square for Shaun McWilliams, who scooped the ball over the woodwork.
Plymouth’s frustration started to bleed through, intensified by the raising of an offside flag when the the visitors were hoping for a penalty. Pilgrims boss Tom Cleverley was not shy in making his feelings known to the man in the middle and perhaps unsurprisingly, was eventually shown a yellow card.
With anger already simmering, Caleb Watts squandered a chance to put Plymouth back on level terms when he snatched at a half-volley and rifled harmlessly over.
Rotherham faced intense pressure for a spell, as Plymouth threw the ktichen sink at their lowly opponents.
However, the Millers continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack and proved effective at relieving pressure at key moments.
Their lead was very nearly doubled in the dying embers, when Dan Gore slid to meet a James cross but found the wrong side of the post.
Gray then went close twice, dancing his way into promising positions only to fire wide on each occasion.
Plymouth had a goal ruled out deep in stoppage time and it was as close as they came to finding a leveller.
There was even another opportunity for Rotherham to put the game to bed, althoug h Nombe could only find the side-netting after slipping in behind the Pilgrims backline.