Rotherham United relegated from the Championship after 1-1 draw with Cardiff

Rotherham United have been relegated from the Championship after their 1-1 draw at Cardiff City.

Lewis Wing gave Rotherham the lead in the eighth minute, but Marlon Pack scored a gutting 88th-minute equaliser to draw Cardiff level.

Rotherham needed to beat Cardiff and hope Derby lost to Sheffield Wednesday to avoid the drop on the final day of the season.

However, they could not secure the win they needed despite leading for most of the game.

What happened?

Wing gave Rotherham an unlikely lead in the eighth minute with a spectacular volley from outside the box.

Rotherham dominated the first half and created lots of chances, with captain Richard Wood in particular guilty of spurning a golden opportunity shortly after Wing’s opener.

They were made to rue those missed opportunities, as Pack equalised for Cardiff in the 88th minute. It was a tame effort from outside the box, and ultimately the goal that cost Rotherham a place in the Championship next season.

Who else went down?

Derby and Wednesday played out an entertaining 3-3 draw at Pride Park, with Wednesday twice throwing away leads which would have kept them up. Martyn Waghorn’s late equalising penalty, however, saw Darren Moore’s side relegated to League One.

Wycombe Wanderers secured a surprise 3-0 victory at Middlesbrough but it was not enough to keep them in the division as they needed a Wednesday win and a 12-goal swing to stay in the Championship.

Where did it all go wrong for Rotherham?

It was always going to be a struggle for Rotherham to remain in the Championship, given their relative stature.

Their early-season home form and proficiency in front of goal had them out of the relegation zone for large parts of this campaign — after 25 games Rotherham were 19th having scored 30 goals, the same as third-place Swansea City.

They were never truly clear of the relegation battle, however, and after a 2-0 win at Bristol City on March 20, they won only one of nine matches to condemn them to the drop.

Paul Warne’s side were unlucky earlier in the campaign as they had several matches postponed because of the pandemic.

Rotherham then had to play catch-up late in the season when other teams had more of a break. Their form plummeted as they failed to register a win in their last eight games.

(Photo: Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)