Zak Jules praised by Rotherham United boss for bravery in win over Stevenage

The 27-year-old centre-back was named man of the match as the Millers secured only their second clean sheet in 14 games in a 2-0 home win over Stevenage, with Jordan Hugill and Mallik Wilks scoring in the second half.

Jules had only been handed his first league start during the 1-0 midweek defeat at Leyton Orient when ever-present Jamie McCart pulled out of the warm-up through injury, and Evans said: “Zak was devastated after losing his mum in the summer at a time when he was going to get married.

“It meant his family and friends had to turn up for a funeral instead of a wedding, which was cancelled, so he’s really been through the mill and has received help from support staff at all levels inside the football club, so I’m really pleased for him that he’s produced a man-of-the-match performance.”

Rotherham created the best opportunities of an uneventful opening 45 minutes, with goalkeeper Taye Ashby-Hammond diving low to his left to keep out Zak Jules’ header.

Substitute Hugill eventually made the breakthrough in the 70th minute when Sam Nombe helped the ball on and his effort from the edge of the box deflected off Lewis Freestone before looping over Ashby-Hammond.

Victory was sealed three minutes later when Nombe’s shot was diverted onto the crossbar by Ashby-Hammond’s right boot, only for Wilks to lash the loose ball into the roof of the net from an acute angle.

Evans said: “I considered bringing Jordan on at half-time because I knew he would give us some presence and he’s been really good in training. When he came on, I thought he changed the way we played in terms of our intensity and ability to get up the pitch quicker.”

Stevenage boss – and ex-Rotherham striker – Alex Revell agreed that Hugill, who once commanded a £10million transfer fee when he moved from Preston to West Ham, was the game’s key performer.

“Hugill came on and made a huge difference in the second half,” Revell said. “He won all the first contacts and the ball was played up to him every single time for him to flick on to help them get opportunities and win corners.

“The game changed when he came on and, once you allow somebody to dominate you and get the better of you like that, it’s hard to turn that back around.”

Rotherham: Dawson, Rafferty, Humphreys, Jules, Bramall, Odofin, Tiehi (Hugill 58), Powell (MacDonald 90), Wilks (James 90), Nombe, Hungbo (Holmes 62). Unused substitutes: Phillips, Kelly ,McGuckin.

Stevenage: Ashby-Hammond, Smith (Simpson 82), J Wildin, Freestone, Butler, King (Freeman 65), White, Roberts, Phillips, Young (List 65), Reid (Pressley 82). Unused substitutes: Cooper, Kemp, Doherty.

Referee: S Gill (Berkshire).