Rotherham United 1 Shrewsbury Town 3: Rotherham promotion bid takes jolt after heavy defeat

A NIGHTMARE night for Rotherham United saw them crash to a costly defeat as they missed their chance to haul themselves back into the play-off frame.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Mar 2011, 09:43 BST

Their remarkable 6-0 win at Lincoln last Friday seemed light years away as everything that could go wrong went spectacularly awry, killing off any flickering hopes of automatic promotion.

They were hampered by defensive frailties with both Nick Fenton and Ryan Cresswell out injured, dogged by bizarre refereeing decisions, and then finally embarrassed by a freak goal.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With Fenton and Cresswell sidelined, rookie Luke Ashworth was drafted in but the youngster was found wanting when James Collins forced his way past to score the opener on 19 minutes.

The home side fell victim to a refereeing blunder four minutes before half-time. West Sussex official David Phillips missed Mark Wright’s clear handball, Rotherham hesitated, Collins steamed into the area and was cut down by the luckless Ashworth, leaving Nicky Wroe to tuck away the resulting penalty.

Worse was to follow three minutes after the restart.

Andy Warrington’s clearance from the edge of the area ricocheted off Tom Bradshaw, freakishly looped back over the Millers goalkeeper to where Collins – left completely unmarked – was left with the simple task of placing the ball in the net.

There was no way back for the home side despite the introduction of leading scorer Adam Le Fondre and Omar Daley early in the second half.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The pair combined after 69 minutes with Daley slipping a smart pass for Le Fondre to drive in his 21st goal of the season. But it was scant consolation for new manager Andy Liddell and his side.

Rotherham United: Warrington; Tonge, Mullins, Ashworth(J Taylor, 45 mins), Newey; Marshall (Daley, 58 mins), Harrison, Bradley, Law; Thomas-Moore,(Le Fondre, 58 mins) R. Taylor. Unused substitutes: Brogan, Green, Henderson, Annerson.

Shrewsbury Town: Smith; Raven, Sharps, Canavan, Sadler; Taylor(Ainsworth, 80 mins), Davis, Wroe, Wright; Bradshaw, Collins. Unused substitutes: Neal, Cansdell-Sherriff, McIntyre, Goldson, Disley.

Referee: D.J. Phillips (West Sussex.)

Related topics:James CollinsLincolnMark Wright