Day 2 – The knockout Stage
Rotherham vs Lincoln
We were rewarded with an 11am Kick off in a tie against Lincoln. We turned up confident after beating Lincoln 6-0 earlier in the season, but this game was to prove a much tougher test. A totally different Lincoln side turned up and passed the ball well. Internet Millers struggled to put any kind of football together but were still the side to take a lead through JV late in the first half. The second half saw Lincoln come out on top and after piling on the pressure the lead was lost after I gave away a penalty. Extra time followed and then penalties. All Internet Millers players scored their penalties (Denti, Jammer, Dan, Steve, Andy), and a save from Sharky saw us progress into the next round.
Final Score: Rotherham 1 - 1 Lincoln (Rotherham win on pens)
Darlington vs Rotherham
After a lucky escape against Lincoln the side appeared much more confident for this game. Darlington who were a little older could not keep the pace of the more youthful IMFC side, although they managed to hold on for the first period. However, Burnsy scored straight after half time and then Jammer scored with 5 minutes to go to seal victory and see us progress into the quarter finals.
Final Score: Darlington 0 – 2 Rotherham
Man Utd vs Rotherham
After watching the Man Utd vs Inter Milan game we knew this would not be an easy game, but it was a chance to show a group of ManUre fans who Rotherham are. Both sides came out strong, but a couple of firm challenges early on kept the Man Utd forward line quiet. ManYoo were playing a very high defensive line, and although this worked early on with numerous offside calls, it was sure to fail at some point. Early in the first half was the first time that this occurred and after I played a through ball for Burnsy he broke the offside trap and put us 1-0 up. 5 minutes later Burnsy found himself through again, and after rounding the keeper he was brought down for a penalty, which jammer dispatched to send us 2-0 up. A massive effort was made by everyone and we hung on to progress into the quarter finals. This could be described as one of the best IMFC performances ever, and after this everyone started to believe we were capable of winning Worldnet.
Final Score: Man Utd 0 – 2 Rotherham
Rotherham vs Forest
A strong and athletic looking Forest outfit turned out against us, similar to that of which beat us 3-1 at Hooten Lodge earlier this season. This was not to be a repeat performance though, and the game remained tight at 0-0 until full time. Shark produced an excellent save near the very end of the game to keep us in it. We then entered extra time for the second time of the day where we sealed the game through a golden goal. A through ball to Burnsy saw him smash the ball past the Forest keeper into the net, nearly knockign the kid's head off, and sparked joyous scenes to chants of “Millers, Millers!”.
Final Score: Rotherham 1 – 0 Forest