Rotherham United 1-0 Middlesbrough: Millers clinch Championship safety

Hakeem Odoffin’s fourth goal of the season clinched another season in the Championship for Rotherham

Rotherham secured Championship safety with a game to spare as Hakeem Odoffin’s goal proved enough to beat 10-man Middlesbrough at New York Stadium.

Play-off-bound Boro lost full-back Anfernee Dijksteel to a straight red card in stoppage time of a scrappy first half for bringing down Jordan Hugill on the edge of the box.

And moments after the break Odoffin sparked jubilation among the home supporters when he lashed a 20-yard shot into the bottom corner of the net.

The result leaves Rotherham five points clear of the bottom three, while third-bottom Reading will now need Huddersfield to lose against Sheffield United on Thursday and then beat the Terriers themselves on the final day to avoid relegation.

It means the Millers will spend consecutive seasons in the same division for the first time since 2016-17 when a three-year stay in the Championship ended in relegation – with their past two second-tier campaigns lasting a single season.

Matt Taylor’s side have won just six of 31 league matches since they last secured back-to-back victories in October, but have been helped by Reading’s spiralling form and last month’s six-point deduction.

For play-off bound Boro, a fourth defeat in their past six away games means they will finish the season in fourth place and face the fifth-placed side in the play-offs, while Luton are guaranteed third place.

Riley McGree almost gave Boro a seventh-minute lead when he dinked the ball over goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, but Richard Wood got back to hook it off the line.

Moments later, Jamie Lindsay blasted over when well placed at the other end, but the chances proved a false dawn as neither goalkeeper was troubled for the rest of a stop-start first half.

Rotherham lost both leading scorer Chiedozie Ogbene and Shane Ferguson to injury inside 40 minutes, but were boosted when referee Keith Stroud adjudged Dijksteel to be the last man in stopping Hugill’s run, despite Boro appearing to have more cover.

It took the hosts just three minutes after the restart to make the man advantage count as Odoffin found space to unleash a strike which left goalkeeper Zac Steffen rooted to the spot.

The Millers had won just one of their previous nine matches, but seemed happy to keep what they had and defend their lead, inviting Boro pressure.

Michael Carrick’s side, who have lost four of their past seven, bossed the final half-hour without causing too many problems.

However, there were sighs of relief when Tommy Smith sliced a glorious chance over from the corner of the six-yard box, and then in the final moments, Johansson made a scrambling stop as Lindsay diverted Marc Bola’s cross towards his own net.

Rotherham United boss Matt Taylor told BBC Radio Sheffield:

“It means a lot to me personally, but it’s about the football club, it’s about that group of players and the supporters. They should be so, so proud of the effort they’ve put in collectively.

“Spirit underlies everything we do and you could sense that today, even in the first half when everything went against us.

“Chie Ogbene fouled and hamstring and then Shane Ferguson and then we got just that little bit of luck that we’ve lacked in the last couple of weeks. Whether it was a sending off or not, but it went in our direction.

“We’ve tried to change that story, tried to change that headline. We know where we are in the reckoning for this league, but this gives us more time to be better equipped next time around.”

Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick told BBC Tees:

“I don’t think we were great in the first half so I’m not making excuses for that, but that’s two big decisions in a week that have had a big influence on the results.

“I don’t agree with it [Dijksteel’s red card], but I’m not going to go mad with it.

“Obviously it’s a blow for us, it changed the game without doubt and I don’t think it was a red card – it was really, really soft. I thought Darragh [Lenihan] was there covering anyway. A strange, strange decision.

“We’ve lost the game and we’re not happy with that at all, we don’t accept it, but it’s not a time to be on the floor by any stretch. We’ve got great opportunities ahead and we’re looking forward to that.”

Line-upsRotherham

Formation 4-2-3-1

1Johansson

2Harding24Humphreys6Wood3Bramall

22Odoffin16Lindsay

11Ogbene18Rathbone17Ferguson

10Hugill

Substitutes

Middlesbrough

Formation 4-2-3-1

1Steffen

15Dijksteel17McNair26Lenihan27Bola

7Barlaser30Hackney

2Jones29Akpom8McGree

10Archer

Substitutes

Referee:Keith Stroud

Attendance:11,508

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