Knilly and Robbo got a good reception on their way to the dugout and there seemed no antagonism towards the board with the crowd instead being fired up by an uncustomary huddle by the players pre kick off. However that didn’t fire the players up enough to start off well and it was a very disjointed and scrappy opening. Rotherham seemed to have trouble controlling the ball and passing it to a man in orange and JCR mastered the art of running in to players. The first half drifted by without anything happening. A JCR shot was the only effort on goal by either team in the first half. The half time soup (leek and potato) was truly a delight!!
Surely, it couldn’t be as bad in the second half? Forest started off well and pressurised the Rotherham area. Bopp went clean through and blazed over and then Pollitt pulled off a super save at full strength. No doubt he was playing for a contract at Forest!!! He also blocked superbly from close range as Forest piled on pressure. Rotherham weathered the storm as Gilchrist marshalled his troops well at the back.
The home side finally managed to string a few passes together and put a bit of pressure on without ever really threatening. A couple of weak headers were as close as we got to breaking the deadlock. To say we needed to win the game we showed little to no urgency and took no risks. A point is no good to us at this stage and we would have cut the gap to a mere 9 points had we won which we was a must!! No hope now, but I am looking forward to visiting the City Ground next season nonetheless.
Player | Rating | Description |
Mike Pollitt | 8 | Pulled off some good saves and was playing against potential future employers. |
Shaun Barker | 6 | Solid overall, his touch let him down a lot though. |
Paul Hurst | 7 | Solid and 100% effort. |
Phil Gilchrist | 9 | A dominating and warrior like performance. Clearly thrilled at Moore being sacked. |
Chris Swailes | 7 | Mr dependable. Interesting to see what will happen when Macca comes back…. |
Paul McLaren | 6 | Ball retention was poor and was not at the races. |
Darren Garner | -32726 | What can I say? Fatty!!!! Nobody likes you Darren. Enjoy non-league next season. |
JCR | 6 | Had a definite off day. |
Andy Monkhouse | 7 | Good second half performance, our most threatening attacking outlet. |
Martin Butler | 5 | Woeful performance. He’s just not got it back yet from his illness. |
Michael Proctor | 7 | Worked hard on his recall and put himself about. |
John Mullin | 7 | His introduction coincided with a good spell for Rotherham. |
Will Hoskins | 4 | Somehow (albeit harshly) contrived to get booked inside a minute on the pitch!!! |