Rotherham United 3 Derby County 0 - Millers leave it late to close gap on rivals

Derby had picked up three wins in a row since losing the reverse fixture at Pride Park which had put a gap of five points between the two struggling outfits.

That cushion looked like being maintained before three goals in the last 14 minutes swung it emphatically the Millers’ way, leaving them just two points from safety.

This was the third attempt to play this game after the previous two had been called off following an outbreak of Covid-19 in the Rotherham camp in December and then due to Tuesday night’s heavy downpour which caused waterlogging.

The pitch had recovered overnight and the ball seemed to be zipping around as Derby created chances as Jason Knight’s shot was saved by Viktor Johansson, before Martyn Waghorn acrobatically flicked Colin Kazim-Richards’s header over the bar.

Michael Smith brought David Marshall into action as he fired in from 25 yards out.

Derby boss Wayne Rooney brought on debutants Patrick Roberts and Lee Gregory in search of a winner and the latter spurned a great chance within minutes of entering the fray.

The Stoke loanee got ahead of his man from Nathan Byrne’s cross but his header was skewed wide of goal.

That proved to be a big moment as just minutes later Rotherham were celebrating at the other end. They took a 76th minute lead with Michael Ihiekwe on hand at the back post to prod past Marshall.

The points were made safe in the 81st minute with Smith finishing clinically at the near post after Matt Crooks had burst down the left flank.

Ryan Giles rounded off a great night for the Millers on 88 minutes as he went on a mazy run through the Derby defence and fired powerfully into the bottom corner.

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