Sky Bet League One
Saturday 16th November 2019
This was an intriguing contest; feisty, battling and energetic, with some decent football played.
Rotherham, just about, deserved to win and got their goal thanks to Carlton Morris' header from a set-piece move on the half-hour mark.
Unable to get a second, however, they dropped deep and put their fans through a nerve-jangling juggernaut of emotions late on as Accrington pressed, probed and came incredibly close to snatching an equaliser.
What made this game all the more unpredictable was referee Darren Handley, who perplexed people time and again by reaching a string of bizarre conclusions. He dished out seven yellow cards, one red card and fully-deserved the chant of 'You don't know what you're doing!'
When in comes to inept officials, he isn't quite in the same 'elite' category as Trevor Kettle, Darren Drysdale, Eddie Ilderton or Graham Salisbury, but a few more displays like this will almost certainly ensure his mugshot takes centre stage in the gallery of despised referees.
Amidst the joy, fun and downright chaos, there was also a pigeon on the pitch.
The pigeon appeared to have the same amount of brain cells as Mr Handley as it flew aimlessly around the pitch in its quest to nibble on grass seeds - and how it never got trampled on when it took up residence in Accrington's goalmouth, I'll never know!
After a quick dash to the New York Stadium; missing the first few minutes due to exceptionally bad public transport in Sheffield earlier in the afternoon, my camera phone died not long after plonking my backside on a seat in the North Stand.
First-world issues to one side, however, Rotherham were quite dominant; pressing their opponents back, playing on the front and looking decent.
The Millers carved out numerous early chances with Chiedozie Ogbene going close with a curling shot, Michael Ihiekwe seeing a header saved and Matt Crooks, against his former club, twisting and turning his gangly body to great effect and being a great nuisance.
Under John Coleman's leadership, Accrington have always been a tough and uncompromising unit over the years.
It's brought them success so they have no reason to change their style - even if it's not pleasing on the eye or likeable to football purists, but over the next few minutes, a series of tough, full-blooded tackles (and not always good ones) from the visitors went unpunished by Mr Handley as he began to incur the wrath of startled spectators.
That said, the home fans were on their feet in celebration by the half-hour mark when Morris headed home following the simplest of free-kick routines, with Wiles providing the left-foot delivery from the right flank. It was too easy and a poor goal for any team to concede.
It wasn't long until the aforementioned Mr Handley began to infuriate folk once again by penalising Rotherham's players, who weren't exactly shrinking violets when it came to getting stuck in, for trivial offences that in his eyes were fouls but in reality, they were much softer than similar ones which he'd waved play on for, earlier in the game.
It was too inconsistent and indifferent and he soon had his biggest decision to make when Accy 'keeper Dimi Evtimov came flying out of his area and recklessly collided with Crooks who otherwise was in a brilliant position to make something happen.
The home fans were incensed and screamed for a dismissal yet were left raging when only a yellow card was shown. Lets just say that Evtimov was a very lucky boy to still be on the pitch!
More bizarre refereeing decisions, coupled with yellow cards, littered the remainder of the first 45 minutes and with simmering tension, it was a good job the half-time whistle arrived before things reached boiling point.
Ignoring the actions of the bloke with a whistle, Rotherham went close through Morris just prior to the interval and they also started the second half positively - going nearer to doubling their lead when Clark Robertson's close-range header had Evtimov scrambling.
At the other end, Sean McConville enjoyed a couple of efforts though by this stage most of the crowds eyes were on the pigeon that seemed to have a magnetic attraction to the ball - and always left it until the last possible second to avoid being trampled on.
It later earned a round of applause; a feat which Mr Handley also achieved as a sarcastic response to him finally awarding the hosts one free-kick following yet another poor challenge by one of the visiting players.
Ogbene, Crooks and Wiles then linked up in a fine, free-flowing move which saw the latter unleash a ferocious shot from the edge of the box that stung the palms of a back-peddling Evtimov and resulted in a corner.
As the minutes passed and the game entered its final quarter (and considering the Millers' indifferent home form this term and penchant for conceding late on), the tension around the New York Stadium increased by a few notches.
It was something which Accrington thrived on and they began to push forward more with Sam Finley flashing two warning shots narrowly wide of the target, just a few minutes apart.
Rotherham introduced Freddie Ladapo in a bid to ease the tension and score a second goal - something which would have put the result beyond any reasonable doubt.
However, Mr Handley delivered yet another dose of diabolical drama - this time as he dismissed Ogbene for apparent simulation, despite it appearing that the Rotherham player was fouled as he tried to shield the ball out of play.
‘Soft' would be a diplomatic way of describing the red card. 'Ridiculous' would be nearer to the truth - as it was absolutely baffling!
Now playing with 10 men, Rotherham had little choice other than to protect their lead and see out the closing stages.
The undercurrent of disgust at the referee would have become enormous had Accrington forced the ball home three minutes from time when an almighty goalmouth scramble saw three separate efforts blocked or mis-kicked inside a packed area, before the ball eventually skidded wide (somehow) from close-range.
Ultimately, Rotherham were resolute enough to cling on, battle through four minutes of stoppage-time and get three points which moves them up the league table.
Comparing this performance to the ones I saw a few months ago, they're clearly a capable and very good side who are progressing in the right direction. Even if they'd conceded a late on, there was enough in this display to suggest that Paul Warne is getting things right. The blend appears to be quite good, the side seems to have gelled, and though improvement is still needed in both boxes, I don't think they're far off finding some consistency.
Accrington, too, will cause problems for teams due to their style and mannerisms - though they'll probably come undone when they have a referee who penalises them for cynical fouls.
Now where did that bloody pigeon go?
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