Rotherham United 2 Bolton Wanderers 2: Ecstasy to agony as Millers let lead slip in League One battle

A brace from Sam Nombe sent the Trotters into the half-time break reeling, but the visitors managed to stage a second-half comeback.

Chris Forino halved the deficit soon after the restart and the Trotters were persistent in their hunt for a leveller.

Rotherham had to endure some anxiety-inducing moments and eventually cracked under the weight of pressure, allowing Sam Dalby to head home a late equaliser.

First half

The way in which the early stages panned out was not particularly surprising, given the conservative way in which Rotherham set up.

Bolton enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, while the Millers awaited opportunities to catch their opponents cold on the counter. For a period it was niggly and stop-start, arguably working in favour of the hosts as Bolton struggled to build momentum.

Corey Blackett-Taylor worked Ted Cann twice early on, first forcing him to palm a cross behind for a corner and then drawing a save with a drilled effort from the edge of the box.

Rotherham’s first opportunity stemmed from a Bolton mistake, as a sloppy concession from Josh Sheehan put the Millers on the front foot. Brandon Cover fed Nombe, who had Jack Bonham scrambling across to his right-hand post to push wide.

Blackett-Taylor soon had the Millers back-pedalling again, latching on to a beautiful defence-splitter from Max Conway. Cann, to his credit, was out early to make himself imposing and deny Bolton’s left-sided winger.

Blackett-Taylor had been a thorn in the Rotherham side early on but his dart in behind came at a cost, as he picked up a knock and was forced out of action.

Balls threaded between Rotherham’s centre-backs and wing-backs continued to cause uncertinty, even without Blackett-Taylor on the pitch.

Cann had to race out to slide at the feet of Thierry Gale, who managed to retain possession via a fortunate bounce. The attacker sent a shot towards a vacated goal, but Lenny Agbaire was on-hand to make a block on the line.

Bolton were looking frustrated and their discipline started to slip. A member of their coaching team was shown a red card when he kicked the ball away as Joe Rafferty went to take a throw-in.

It had been relatively tame and low on quality, but the game burst into life with half-time approaching. Rotherham worked the ball into Bolton’s box and with the Trotters defenders in disarray, Nombe prodded home from close range.

The lead was doubled merely three minutes later, when Nombe struck again. Ar’jany Martha was the provider, whipping the ball into Nombe’s path from the left before watching the forward rifle a thunderous strike in at the near post.

Second half

Bolton came flying out of the traps in the second half, leaping on to the front foot in a manner Rotherham will have expected.

Kyle Dempsey slid the ball across goal for Mason Burstow, who poked wide at full stretch.

The Trotters took just five minutes to claw a goal back, levelling proceedings via Chris Forino. A delivery into the box wreaked havoc and Rotherham could not clear their lines, allowing the defender to divert beyond Cann.

Rotherham came close to immediately restoring their two-goal advantage when Martha broke away down the left. He pulled back for Harry Gray, who could only bundle wide under close attention from his marker.

The flow of trafic was increasingly one way for a period as Bolton looked to up the ante. However, Rotherham resisted temptation to retreat into their shells and Joe Powell stung the palms of Bonham with a half-volley during a spell of regained control.

Bolton did eventually get their grip back on the tie and looked threatening when they ventured into the final third. The hosts committed too many bodies forward in a particular move and Johnny Kenny went close to equalising on the counter, only to see his shot beaten away by Cann.

The Trotters were guilty of doing the same on a number of occasions and Rotherham had opportunities to extend their lead.

Gray jinked his way in from the left and unleashed a rasping shot that Bonham had to be alert to push away.

Duncan Watmore then had hearts in mouths, marching in behind the Bolton defence and seeing a close-range shot blocked.

Frustration at one end was then followed by agony at the other, as Dalby connected with a Kenny cross and buried a header beyond Cann’s reach.

It could have gone from bad to worse for the Millers, but Bolton failed to grab the winner they sought. The pressure was relentless and when the final whistle blew, it was merciful for the Millers.