SkyBet EFL Championship
at the New York Stadium
Rotherham United (1) 1
Matt Crooks 22
Birmingham City (0) 3
Jacques Maghoma 56
Jota 63
Kerim Mrabti 90+3
Attendance: 10,703 inc. 2,573 away fans
Rotherham United (1) 1
Matt Crooks 22
Birmingham City (0) 3
Jacques Maghoma 56
Jota 63
Kerim Mrabti 90+3
Attendance: 10,703 inc. 2,573 away fans
Rotherham United:
Rodak, Jones, Mattock, Ajayi, Wood (Forde 68), Vaulks, Towell, Crooks, Newell (Taylor 61), Williams (Vassell 77), Smith.
Unused subs - Price, Robertson, Vassell, Ihiekwe, Wiles.
Birmingham City:
Camp, Colin, Pedersen, Dean, Morrison, Jota (Mrabti 77), Davis, Gary Gardner, Maghoma, Adams (Roberts 87), Jutkiewicz (Vassell 81).
Unused subs - Trueman, Craig Gardner, Harding, Lakin.
Rodak, Jones, Mattock, Ajayi, Wood (Forde 68), Vaulks, Towell, Crooks, Newell (Taylor 61), Williams (Vassell 77), Smith.
Unused subs - Price, Robertson, Vassell, Ihiekwe, Wiles.
Birmingham City:
Camp, Colin, Pedersen, Dean, Morrison, Jota (Mrabti 77), Davis, Gary Gardner, Maghoma, Adams (Roberts 87), Jutkiewicz (Vassell 81).
Unused subs - Trueman, Craig Gardner, Harding, Lakin.
The scene was set, after Blues home draw against Derby County on Friday afternoon; that if Garry Monk's side could avoid defeat today, then, regardless of having been dealt with a recent a nine point deduction, they would preserve their Championship status for another year, with two games left to spare. Which they managed with two games left to play, courtesy of three quality second half half strikes, that consequently saw them reach a total of fifty points for the second time this season.
Things don't look good for today's host side Rotherham, who finished the afternoon, cemented into a bottom three relegation spot, three points behind Millwall, who have a game in hand over the Millers ans a better goal difference.
Reading, who have drawn twice over the Easter weekend, are six points ahead of Paul Warne's team, who would need to make up a thirteen goal differential to catch the Royals up, which means having to win their remaining two games, against West Bromwich Albion at home and Middlesbrough away, while Reading travel to Middlesbrough at the weekend, before facing a certain Birmingham City on the final day of the season.
Millwall, for their part, have a three game run in, consisting of back to back home games against Stoke City and Bristol City, followed by a trip up to Wigan Athletic... and the Lions goal difference over Rotherham is two better than that of Reading.
Today's result, meant that Blues have completed the double over Rotherham United, having already beaten them 3-1 at St. Andrew's earlier this season.
But, as the half time whistle sounded at the New York Stadium this afternoon, it was the home fans who had the most reasons to be cheerful as their side led by a single goal, scored by Matt Crooks, when he forced the ball over the line after it had sat up and hit him on the chest, via Michael Morrison's attempted clearance from Ryan Williams low sideways knock across the face of Lee Camp's goal.
Rotherham are, of course, yet another one of Camp's former Championship clubs, between them, him and Blues manager Garry Monk, mist have at least 50% of teams in this division covered between them in that respect. The Millers almost netted a second goal before the break, when Semi Ajayi's header rebounded invitingly for Crooks, but his shot was off target.
HT: Millers 1 v Blues 0
Without any shadow of a doubt, Rotherham were the better side during the opening forty five minutes, but after the break, Birmingham took over and won the game convincingly, with three top quality goals,
A tweak in Blues tactics at half time, saw Jota and Jacques Maghoma playing in a more advanced role, in support of Che Adams and Luka Jutkiewicz... and in the fifty sixth minute, the change reaped rewards, when Jota stroked a pass forward to Maghoma, from just inside the Rotherham half and the Congolese international tore forward, leaving three would be challengers in his wake, before unleashing a thumping shot past Marek Rodák, cue celebrations amongst the travelling Blues fans... and the party had only just begun too.
Maghoma went close with a free kick that skimmed over the bar off of a defender and Jukiewicz saw off the attentions of Richard Wood, before forcing a last ditch save from Rodak.
Wood was involved again (or very much not involved again) just moments later, when Adams robbed him of the ball from David Davis' forward knock towards the right flank, before heading for the dead ball line and knocking a precision cross to meet the incoming run of Jota, who took a touch, before rolling the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
Jutkiewicz went close again as Blues turned the screw on their shell-shocked hosts... and when Rotherham did make inroads into the visitors half, through Richie Towell, Harlee Dean moved in like a minesweeper to clear away the danger.
The Millers lofted a long ball into the Birmingham area, as they adopted a direct approach as they chased the game, but Dean was on hand again, tidying things up at the back for the visitors again, with a clearing header from virtually underneath his own crossbar.
Gary Gardner's long range, curling free kick, brushed the outside of the left hand post, as the game careered towards a frantic finish... while Blues introduced Marc Roberts from the bench to add more height at the back, in an attempt to curb Paul Warne's side's long ball approach towards the closes stages of the game.
The single goal advantage was scant reward for the way that the visitors had bossed the second half, but with a draw being enough to stave off the threat of relegation, the away fans were noisily backing their team home over the finishing line.
Deep into the five minutes of stoppage time, they had another strike to celebrate, when second half substitute Kerim Mrabti drilled the ball past Rodak, from Maghoma's lay off, to notch up his first ever Blues goal... and even Lee Camp sprinted the full length of the pitch to celebrate that one in front of the Blues fans.
FT: Rotherham United 3 v Birmingham City 1
On the walk back to the car, the Rotherham fans seemed resigned to the fact that the outcome to their season had been inevitable for quite a while now... but the 2,573 visiting supporters were all happy in extremes, that yet another turbulent season was reaching a stress free conclusion, which makes a nice change.
Regardless of how exciting they might be, nail biting end of season finales, aren't good for either your physical, nor mental health.
