Grantham Town 0-5 Millers
Last updated : 16 July 2006 By Deano
Young Ryan Taylor completed 90 minutes and netted a treble as Rotherham gained an easy win in this friendly workout at Grantham.
In a crowd of just over 300, probably more than half of them Millers fans, the game got underway with a somba feel to it with all the new signings playing a part and trialist Lewis McMahon from Notts County completing over an hour of play. Grantham have a decent little set-up and the beer was going down well for all!
On the field Rotherham made a bright start and Taylor got the ball rolling on 23 minutes, heading in a cross from substitute Sam Duncum. Duncum entered play 10 minutes previously after the unfortunate Richie Partridge limped off with a groin injury.
By the interval the Millers had added a further two goals to their tally as the Gingerbreads offered little in attack. Robertson and Keane swapped neat passes before the Scot applied the cross for new boy Delroy Facey to slide the ball in for his first Millers goal. The third put the Millers out of sight as youngsters Taylor and Duncum neatly set up a chance for Keano to fire the ball home.
Three minutes after the restart Taylor bagged his second after Duncum's run and shot was saved, and he completed his hat-triack on 55 minutes after David Worrell's run and cut back gave him a simple task to put the ball away. Several more chances
came and went, before Neil Cutler saved a Grantham penalty for a dubious decision that no-one could put their finger on in the stands, to keep the clean sheet in tact.
Alan Knill tinkered his team around as expected, with Taylor, Pablo Mills and Sam Duncum all looking impressive in what turned into somewhat of a training exercise, with no disrespect to Grantham who put on a good day out for us.
Teams: (first half) Montgomery, Reece, Mills, Sharps, Robertson, Wiseman (Keane 24), Cochrane, McMahon, Partridge (Duncum 15), Facey, Taylor.
(second half) Cutler, Worrell, Mills (Pritchard 62), Murdock, Hurst, Keane, Duncum, McMahon (King 62), Cochrane (Yates 58), Hoskins, Taylor.
The Millers next friendly is at home to Sunderland this coming Wednesday night at 7.45pm, whilst a youth and reserve side travel to Bracken Moor to take on Stocksbridge Park Steels tomorrow night, 7.30pm start.
