Matt Hamshaw on Rotherham United avoiding 'injustice' v Plymouth Argyle and Josh Benson & Duncan Watmore decisions
Rotherham United manager Matt Hamshaw felt anything but a win against Plymouth Argyle would have been an “injustice”.
Joe Rafferty notched early to secure a 1-0 win for the Millers, boosting their hopes of beating the drop in League One.
The hosts squandered an array of chances to make the afternoon more comfortable and endured a scare late on when Plymouth had a goal chalked off.
A crucial win was secured nonetheless and a relieved Hamshaw insisted his side deserved the three points.
Matt Hamshaw glad Rotherham United avoided ‘injustice’
He said: “We were desperate for a win. I think the last two performances had been really encouraging without [posing] much of a goal threat.
“I think today, if you’d been a neutral coming to the game to watch it, you’d be disappointed Rotherham didn’t win three, four or five-nil. I thought we had great chances, showed a good attacking threat.
“Obviously, where we are in the league table, you could feel that a little bit, the anxiety. I think it’s the only thing that’s gone in our favour, when the linesman put his flag up right at the end. I think it would have been a right injustice had we not got the three points, because I thought we performed really well.”
Josh Benson and Duncan Watmore decisions explained
Josh Benson and Duncan Watmore were among the impressive performers for Rotherham, although both were withdrawn early in the second half.
The former has had injury struggles and the latter is not fully match fit having spent the bulk of the campaign as a free agent.
Hamshaw said: “I had to pull Dunc out. He wanted to carry on staying on, but his legs had gone. Benno, his calves were tightening up.
“We're always on the edge of a sword with those two. They're big players for us and we don't want to lose from now until the end of the season.
“Luckily, this time, I was allowed to put [Shaun] McWilliams and [Dan] Gore on and brought [Zak] Jules on, I haven’t had those options [previously]. I've said all along, strength in depth is key.”
Rotherham will be hoping they can follow up the victory with another strong display when they host Mansfield Town on Tuesday (March 3).
Despite beating Tom Cleverley’s Pilgrims, they are still three points adrift of safety.