Yorkshire | Dramatic win for Rotherham United over Oldham
Rotherham United 3 - 2 Oldham Athletic
Rotherham produced a superb second-half fightback at the expense of Oldham to maintain their hopes of taking their EFL Trophy participation past the Group Stage.
Author | Jamie P
Stadium | New York Stadium
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| View from the stands |
Both sides went into the clash looking for their first points of the Group Stage after the Millers lost out at Bolton Wanderers, while the Latics suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Manchester City Under-21’s side in their first outings in Northern Group E.
A night of action and drama
Cameron Dawson, Jamal Baptiste, and Kion Etete were retained from the Bradford City clash last time out. Highly-rated youngsters Hamish Douglas and Kane Richardson (in his full senior debut) were named alongside the club’s senior pro’s.
Hamshaw’s side made the worst possible start. Oldham advanced forward from the kick-off and made inroads around the home box. Kai Payne then played an incisive pass into the stride of Luke Hannant, who made no mistake. Hannant swept home with an instinctive first-time effort that flew into the corner of the home net.
Goal. Hannant opens the scoring.
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The Millers were almost caught napping defensively again when Hannant tried his luck again, but this time, his rising effort from just outside the box cleared the crossbar before Payne worked an opening, but his shot was deflected wide by a home defender.
The home side had their effort of note when Jack Holmes found Kian Spence, who in turn, played a ball into the path of Etete, who could only scoop an effort harmlessly over the bar. Minutes later, Holmes injected pace into a Millers move but his snap shot was blocked at close quarters by Jake Leake.
The visitors had another glimpse of goal when Leake’s long throw was flicked on by Joe Quigley and Payne tried his luck with an audacious lob, but Dawson had correctly guessed his intentions, and the Millers ‘keeper calmly plucked the ball out of the crisp South Yorkshire sky.
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Just past the half-hour mark, the Millers had a good opportunity to level matters when Martin Sherif showed good hold-up play and Holmes delivered a centre which looked inch-perfect for Etete to nod home, but the Cardiff loanee elected for power, and his effort cleared the bar.
At the other end, Kieron Morris (who had just replaced Conlon) ghosted into the Millers' box to meet Leake’s cross, but he failed to trouble the target, too, when he headed over.
The Millers failed to heed the warning, however, when Oldham doubled their lead nine minutes before the interval.
Ryan Woods clipped a free-kick into the box, and Quigley won the aerial duel to keep the ball alive, and Reagan Ogle was the grateful recipient as he nodded into the roof of the home net.
The Millers’ evening almost went from bad to worse when Woods poked the ball forward but Quigley failed to make the most of the opening with a tame left-footed effort before Spence’s shot was deflected behind in a rare home foray.
Hamshaw made a triple substitution at the break, and he reverted to experience with Joe Rafferty, Jordan Hugill and Reece James introduced into the fray.
The move almost paid dividends immediately when Hugill rose highest from a corner but Zak Jules could only bundle the ball wide under pressure from visiting defenders.
The Millers looked a much-improved outfit after the break, and they halved the deficit with 52 minutes on the clock.
There looked little danger for the Latics until Sherif worked the ball to Spence, who showed fleet of foot to work a shooting position, and he duly obliged with a superb dipping effort from distance which flew into the visitors net with Tom Donaghy, a helpless bystander.
The momentum was now with the Millers, but their hard work in the second 45 was almost undone when a moment of defensive hesitation between Dawson and James gave Morris, a sight of the unguarded net, but James spared the Millers blushes with a timely tackle.
However, the Millers had a couple of chances to draw level when James threaded a pass through to Sherif, who showed impressive strength to hold off his marker before turning and forcing Donaghy into a sharp save. In his final involvement, Sherif then found Hugill, who spun smartly to curl a shot towards goal, only for Will Sutton to react quickly and head clear from near his own line.
Minutes later, Holmes dug out a cross which was met by the head of Jules, but he failed to make a telling connection with his downward header before Dru Yearwood and Spence played a lovely one-two which split open the Athletic defence, but Charlie Olson halted Yearwood’s progress with a fine last-ditch tackle.
The Millers continued to press, and their hopes looked to be over when James’ cross was turned home by sub Josh Ayres, which saw the Academy youngster wheel away in delight, but any joy was curtailed with the referee adjudging that he had turned the ball home with the use of an arm.
However, Rotherham were not to be outdone, and they equalised with three minutes to go.
Sub Joe Rafferty darted up the right touchline with gusto before delivering a cross which Leake could only head towards his own goal, and Donaghy, who was in no position to intervene, could only watch the ball sail into his own goal.
With the game heading for spot kicks, there was further drama to come when Millers won the game in stoppage time in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Hugill’s flick on somehow found its way to James, who cut inside Ogle, before curling an effort with his weaker right foot, and despite the last-ditch attempts of Tom Pett to charge down his shot, it beat the outstretched hand of Donaghy to nestle in the far corner of the net.
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