Rotherham v Scunthorpe United

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Football League One

Rotherham :
Cutler, Worrell, Mills, Sharps, Robertson, Partridge (Wiseman 89), Williamson, Bopp, Keane, Facey, Hoskins (Hibbert 84)
Subs not used:
Woods, Taylor, Montgomery

Scunthorpe United :
Murphy, Mulligan, Crosby, Foster, Ridley, Taylor (MacKenzie 45), Hinds, Baraclough (Byrne 45), Sparrow, Sharp, Keogh (Ferretti 66)
Subs not used:
Williams, Lillis

SULSESC REPORT

by Mal Watson at Millmoor

IT all started so well. After dominating from the kick-off for five minutes, Scunny took the lead with a Sharp header from a quickly taken corner. It's amazing how many headers the little fella seems to get.

If Scunny had managed to consolidate for a while, things might have been so different. As it was, Rotherham wellied the ball forward almost straight from the restart and a cracking 25-yard volley from Bopp was too good for Murphy.

Taylor gave perhaps one of his typical performances – providing a pacy threat but his control and crossing letting him down. The rest of the first-half was a torture to watch, culminating in a second goal for the home side.

From a central free kick, but a bit too far out for a direct shot, Rotherham cleverly worked the set piece around the leaden footed defenders to give a free header at the far post.

The second-half saw two subs coming on for Scunny, MacKenzie for Baraclough and Byrne for Taylor with Mulligan going into midfield. MacKenzie did provide a bit more energy but taking Taylor off looked a mistake. Despite his poor control at times, he does provide pace and width. With Mulligan moving forward, he just became a mirror image of Sparrow, providing neither.

Sharp provided a lot of energy, was clearly up for this game and seemed desperate to score. Keogh, for once, seemed out of sorts. The most disappointing aspect from the front two in this match was how often they were caught offside - they must have been watching some Guy Ipoua masterclass videos before the game.

‘Berretta’ came on for Keogh but could only fire blanks. Scunny had a couple of chances near the end, blazing over the bar, but to be honest a draw would have been daylight robbery.

This was a very disappointing performance, especially the sloppy defending and the lack of a threat down the flanks when Taylor isn't playing or performing. The performances must improve dramatically on this or it will be a long battle to avoid the dreaded drop.