Rotherham United 0-2 West Bromwich Albion: Leam Richardson loses first game as Millers boss

Grady Diangana’s goal was the 40th Rotherham have conceded in the Championship this season

New Rotherham boss Leam Richardson tasted defeat in his first match in charge, as second-half goals from Grady Diangana and Jed Wallace gave West Brom a comfortable win.

The ex-Wigan manager was appointed on Monday, replacing Matt Taylor, who was sacked in November.

After a quiet first half, Diangana scored the opener when the ball was cleared to him on the edge of the box and he fired a deflected shot past keeper Viktor Johansson in the 54th minute.

Sam Nombe flashed a header wide in the 84th minute as Rotherham looked for an equaliser, before Jed Wallace’s excellent late free-kick wrapped up the points for the visitors.

The Millers have the worst defensive record in the Championship and Wallace’s goal was the 41st they have conceded this season.

West Brom came into the game after back-to-back defeats, but the win meant they stayed fifth and moved three points behind fourth-placed Southampton, while Rotherham are now without a win in nine games and remain rooted to the bottom.

Richardson’s side almost worked an opening in a cagey start, with Arvin Appiah and ex-Baggies striker Jordan Hugill combining well before Cedric Kipre made a timely interception.

Hugill then forced Alex Palmer into a first save with a header from Oliver Rathbone’s free-kick, but the West Brom goalkeeper dealt with it comfortably.

Seb Revan was off-target after a mazy run two minutes before the break, and Diangana dragged a shot wide as Carlos Corberan’s side failed to muster a shot on target in the first half.

Leam Richardson was appointed Rotherham manager on Monday

They made a better start to the second as a lofted Conor Townsend ball to the edge of the box found Jayson Molumby, but the midfielder sliced his attempted volley well wide.

Molumby was involved again moments later for the goal, with his cross cleared only to the edge of the penalty area where Diangana took a touch before shooting, with his effort taking a deflection on its way past Viktor Johansson to give the ex-West Ham man his fourth goal of the season.

Rotherham pushed for an equaliser, with Appiah curling a shot wide on the hour mark and Nombe’s flicked header from Rathbone’s powerful delivery as close as they came.

The Baggies made sure of the points in the 90th minute when Wallace hit a powerful free-kick from the edge of the penalty area, which hit the underside of the bar on its way into the net.

Rotherham have drawn four games on their nine-match winless run and are without a home win in their past five, matching a run they endured in April 2021.

What’s next?

Richardson takes the Millers to 18th-placed Plymouth on Saturday (15:00 GMT) looking for a first win, while Albion host Stoke on Sunday (12:00 GMT).

Rotherham head coach Leam Richardson told BBC Radio Sheffield:

“I’ve been here a matter of hours. The group is an honest bunch of pros playing against a fantastic team, with ample forward-thinking players in the squad, but I thought we matched them in every area. There was nothing in the game.

“I think the lads stuck to the task very well and the game plan very well. But can we create that little bit more quality and create more chances? Of course we can.

“I’ve had minutes, it’s not been hours with the players. We need to get to work on the training pitch.

“Everybody knows the challenge. We know we’re in a really unforgiving league. We’ve worked hard to get here and the lads are relishing it. We want to improve every day.”

West Brom boss Carlos Corberan told BBC WM:

“It was one of those games where you need to be very focused to compete and go back to basics because you know at places like here not everything is going to be nice.

“The key to winning the game is to compete from the beginning to the end. Two things were important; the competitive nature of the game and the understanding of the game. You need to adapt to the nature of the game.

“In the first half we suffered a little bit to find the right positions to help us but in the second we did that a little better. We never lost energy. The team was committed. After two defeats it was important to get the three points.”

Line-upsRotherham

Formation 4-3-3

1Johansson

2Lembikisa23Morrison22Odoffin28Revan

16Lindsay27Tiéhi18Rathbone

30Appiah10Hugill3Bramall

Substitutes

West Brom

Formation 4-2-3-1

24Palmer

2Furlong5Bartley4Kipré3Townsend

35Yokuslu27Mowatt

11Diangana8Molumby17Sarmiento

21Thomas-Asante

Substitutes

Referee:Samuel Barrott

Attendance:9,567

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