I can't get my head around why AN changed the team. He should have gone with the same team and tactics that won the game so convincingly on Saturday. He should have let Rotherham worry about us, not the other way round. Having said that, a very lucky valuable point, which could be crucial come Saturday.
outplayed and outfought for 87 minutes, knew if we scored they would be rattled, shame it was so late. reet, gooch has perhaps his best game this season then gets shoved out on the left yet our best moves came when he moved to the right, bad move from AN and i really do not want to criticise him as he has done well since he came here. is it just because it is 'my team' i am watching that we seem unable to win those 50/50 tackles and when the ball does break loose it always falls to an opposition player? i was actually hoping we would see a bit of a good show from the lads with it being the final league home game, i am now just pleased we are not fighting a relegation battle.
As others have said AN made a few mistakes tonight, biggest one putting Gooch in the left. I complain about the lad not being consistent, but to be fair if that happens to him he has no chance!
Agreed. Gooch and Embleton must have been frustrated, what more do they need to do. Haven't seen the game tonight but it doesn't sound like we deserved anything, I praised Neil after the Cambridge game but I'm surprised he didn't reward good performances.
Good side them tbf. All massive and very physical. Much better than Wigan. I'd have brought Neil on for Matete and probably Roberts instead of Clarke and tried to play quicker around them. Hilarious OG though. See you all at Wembley.
Roker Report - Player Ratings: Anthony Patterson: 6/10 No chance with the goal but not a lot for him to do, Rotherham had a lot of set pieces but tended to be away from the goalkeeper. Bailey Wright: 6/10 Almost switched off right at the end and gave Rotherham half a chance, got away with that, and otherwise was solid all night. Danny Batth: 6/10 Not particularly troubled by Smith and dominant in the air. Callum Doyle: 5/10 Looked a little troubled when put under pressure and allowed a runner in behind him far too easily early on. Trai Hume: 6/10 Looked confident early on, got forward, and looked quite sharp but tailed off a bit and dived into a tackle late in the first half, allowing the winger a free run into the 18-yard box, thankfully nothing came of it. Corry Evans: 6/10 Had a couple of wild shots on goal and played one top class through ball to Pritchard late on but mainly kept the ball ticking in front of the defence. Jay Matete: 6/10 Typically committed performance but harshly booked after winning the ball and, probably wisely, not quite as snappy into the tackle from that point. A little erratic on the ball. Lynden Gooch: 7/10 Not as good as he was at the weekend but most of our better play came from Gooch. Luke O’Nien: 6/10 I thought he was very poor in the first half, anonymous in open play, and lost the runner for the Rotherham goal. Much better in the second half, got more involved, and put two great crosses into the six-yard box from the left that just evaded Stewart. Nathan Broadhead: 5/10 Not his best night, just couldn’t get involved in attacking positions. Ross Stewart: 6/10 Worked hard all night with little reward. Couldn’t quite get on the end of two dangerous O’Nien crosses but tended to be too deep or too wide as he looked to get involved in the play. Substitutes Alex Pritchard: 6/10 Almost scored from a free kick, only for the shot to hit the side-netting. Doesn’t look up to speed yet but we looked better with him in the team. Jack Clark: 6/10 Put in the cross that forced the own goal equaliser. Elliot Embleton: 6/10 Came on as we pushed for an equaliser, unlucky to be left on the bench after some good displays but played his part in a better end to the game. Man of the Match: Lynden Gooch Carried on his good showing from the weekend with another man of the match display. Started on the left and put in some dangerous crosses, then switched to the right with half an hour to go and carried a threat every time he got the ball. Also defended well and never let a winger get the best of him.
I have said before during Alex Neil's short tenure that it is often said better to be a lucky manager than a good one. Now I am not saying he is a bad manger, but I do hope his luck continues for another 4 games. I thought his selection was odd and too focussed on Rotherham and not enough on Sunderland. I struggled, like others, to imagine a team with Embleton after Saturday. I thought his subs were ill judged too. Embleton not Pritchard was needed in my view and I would have gone to a flat back 4 at half time. Still, even after all that, I was sat thinking we always score late when we need to. It seems we have that fantastic mentality about us. Mind you, no doubting tonight was about luck not judgement or good play, but it has the look of a valuable point. Rotherham looked very strong to me. Dont want to see them in the play offs. I think they are head and shoulders above anyone else in this league and I like the look of their manager too. Be pleased to see the back of them.
Got away with it this evening. Alex got owned tactically. Horrendous set up and I thouhhtt they were superior everywhere.
Neil got it massively wrong tonight but it’s another game unbeaten and and we take the point. Roll on Saturday…
Too bloody worried by what they were going to do. We should've just picked the same team as Saturday. Benching Embleton was ridiculous imo. We're playing a team that were on a poor run, not Man city ffs.
