Wrexham

Rotherham United

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Next Five Games

Wed 26 Dec: Rochdale (h) 15:00

Sat 29 Dec: Stockport (h) 15:00

Tue 01 Jan: Chesterfield (a) 15:00

Wed 09 Jan: Llanelli (a) 19:00

Sat 12 Jan: Grimsby (a) 15:00

Match Report

Wrexham took more risks as the game wore on and this left space at the back and Rotherham took advantage of this twice in the last twenty minutes to give the scoreline a more balanced feel to it.

Brian Little made three changes from last week’s defeat with Shaun Pejic, Neil Taylor and Silvio Spann making way for Ryan Valentine, Matt Crowell and Michael Proctor.

This meant Wrexham reverted to 4-4-2 but with three defenders and a goalkeeper on the bench, the only attacking option was Josh Johnson as Robbie Garrett and Matty Done were left out.

Rotherham started the game on top and had the ball in the net early on when Holmes headed home but he was caught out by the Wrexham offside trap and Chris Llewellyn responded at the other end of the pitch but his right wing cross evaded Neil Roberts and Michael Proctor in the home penalty area.

Wrexham had another lucky escape when Anthony Williams failed to come from Brogan’s left wing cross and Graham Coughlan planted his header against the bar.

The ball fell to Holmes inside the six yard box but, despite being under no pressure, he fired the rebound straight into the arms of a relieved Anthony Williams.

Then came Crowell’s red card when he went in two footed on Ian Ross and it was no surprise that referee Ward brandished a red card that means Crowell is now suspended for the remaining games of his contract.

Although Crowell did not make much contact with the Rotherham player, it was an unwise challenge in view of these types of challenges dominating the papers this week and the referee had no other option to send the midfielder off.

This forced Wrexham to reshuffle with Neil Roberts dropping back into midfield and Michael Proctor playing alone up front but the lack of attacking options on the bench meant there was little more the manager could do.

Wrexham were now forced to play on the counter attack and our only note worthy chance came from a long clearance by Williams that caused panic in the Rotherham defence.

This allowed Proctor no nip in and his lob over the stranded Warrington dropped the wrong side of the bar but the referee had already penalised the loan Wrexham striker for the slightest of pushes.

Wrexham looked to have weathered the Rotherham storm and looked likely to be holding out for half time when the home side grabbed the opening goal of the game five minutes before the interval.

It was more sloppy defending by Wrexham as both Wes Baines and Steve Evans were caught out down the Wrexham right and this allowed Brogan to measure his cross into the box.

Valentine looked to have done the hard work by intercepting the shot from Harrison but the ball rebounded straight to the unmarked Derek Holmes for a simple finish from close range.

This just about summed the afternoon up so far for Wrexham and Brian Little responded by pushing Neil Roberts back up front for the start of the second half.

Proctor certainly enjoyed the presence of a strike partner and he teed up Mark Jones for a long range shot after a good run down the right but the Wrexham midfielder screwed his shot well wide of the target.

Having one player less in midfield did have a downside whilst defending and this meant Stephen Brogan had the freedom of Millmoor to commence the many Rotherham attacks as the home side went in search for the second goal to end the game as a contest.

This should have come just before the hour mark when debutant Ian Ross found space in the Wrexham area from Brogan’s cross but Williams was quickly off his line to make a smart save.

Sam Aiston then found himself clean through but he was caught in two minds on whether to side foot the ball or lift it over the advancing Warrington but he opted for the former and the Rotherham keeper made a good save.

With the home fans getting restless, Rotherham made the game safe when Newsham and Brogan combined to break the Wrexham offside trap down the left and Brogan crossed for Holmes to net his second of the afternoon at the far post.

Proctor had another chance but his shot was blocked with Josh Johnson, our only attacking option on the bench, replacing Mark Jones with ten minutes to go but was unable to make and impact.

Rotherham capped off the afternoon in style when Brogan picked out Newsham in the box with a floated ball and the substitute rounded off the move with a fine volley past Williams in the Wrexham goal.

You cannot question the commitment of the players today as they literally ran their socks off when falling down to ten men but we are desperately missing that bit of creativity in the middle of the park as chances were again few and far between.

Match Reaction

Mark Robbins: "I thought we were bitty to start with, we didn't start the best but we grew into the game. The sending off can go either way, sometimes it makes it more difficult for you but we coped with that quite well. We took the lead after we had the ball in the back of the net earlier and really we could have gone on and won by more goals. But they defended very well throwing bodies in front of the ball and getting tackles in while they threatened a couple of times through out naivety at times. Our back two were magnificent and they kept us solid while the plus point was the goal from Marc Newsham in the second half. His movement was outstanding when he came on, Jamie Yates' contribution was excellent as well and we picked up a little bit so it was about moving their defenders." [Source: Rotherham United FC - click here for more]