Huddersfield Town vs Rotherham United. Sky Bet Championship.
The John Smith's Stadium.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Huddersfield and Rotherham at the John Smith's Stadium as the Terriers bounced back from their thumping at Norwich in midweek to hold the Millers to a draw
Saturday 10 April 2021 18:18, UK
Huddersfield and Rotherham played out a tense goalless draw that does little to ease either club's relegation fears.
In a scrappy Yorkshire derby, neither side could make the breakthrough although Rotherham had the better chances.
The result means the Millers are six points off safety but they do still have three games in hand on teams around them.
As for Huddersfield, this extended their poor run to just one win in 17 league games but they at least remain eight clear of the Millers.
The early exchanges were scrappy, perhaps as to be expected in a game with plenty at stake. Rotherham had a couple of corners that briefly threatened to put home keeper Ryan Schofield under pressure but his defence managed to clear the danger.
The first major incident of the game came when Lewis Wing tried his luck from distance in the 17th minute. The midfielder cut inside and bent an effort towards goal that warmed the palms of Schofield.
The visitors should have taken the lead shortly after. Wing's glorious pass teed up Ben Wiles and he scampered down the left before pulling it back for Matt Crooks. However, from only a few yards out, Crooks' side-footed attempt came back off a post much to the hosts' relief.
Down the other end, good play from Fraizer Campbell saw him play in strike partner Yaya Sanogo but his scuffed effort was put behind.
Richard Keogh then lashed a shot towards goal on the half-hour mark that drew a smart save from Viktor Johansson in the United goal.
Sanogo again went close soon after but could not find the proper connection after a good centre from Juninho Bacuna, before Rotherham's Jamie Lindsay saw a deflected effort go behind shortly before the break.
The visitors thought they had made a dream start to the second half when Crooks' overhead kick appeared to cross the line but the linesman's flag was quickly raised for offside.
Lewis O'Brien surged forward in response for Huddersfield but saw his dragged effort held by Johansson.
Wing almost produced something special for Rotherham right on the hour mark. The midfielder attempted a clever effort when his long-range free-kick completely caught Schofield out, only for it to cannon back off the crossbar.
The visitors were appealing for a penalty when Richard Wood went down under pressure from Naby Sarr in the box, but referee Lee Mason was having none of it and waved it away immediately.
The impressive Wing then drew the best save of the day from Schofield before a glorious chance arrived late on.
Wiles was presented with the chance to pinch the points in the 88th minute but somehow sidefooted wide with the goal at his mercy to ensure the spoils were shared.
Huddersfield's Carlos Corberan: "It wasn't the result we wanted before the game. We wanted to turn the page from Norwich with a good result and performance and we didn't get either of those things. The point was positive in that we didn't compete well enough in the second half to get even that point. We were very concentrated on competing but didn't create anything in attack.
"The first half was more equal between the two teams. We wanted to play better than them in the second half but it was the opposite. I cannot say this was a positive point because you must always try to add more points to keep the team in the Championship. There was a lot fight in this performance but we were lacking in attack. With the passage of minutes they were better than us and got more of their strengths to come out."
Rotherham's Paul Warne: "I thought our performance was really good today. It was better than the 0-0 scoreline suggested but unfortunately we just didn't take it to that next step. I thought we bossed the game apart from a 15- to 20-minute spell where we couldn't get the ball back off them.
"This is a big point on the road for us but we would have obviously liked three points on what is the biggest week of our season. They are all big games at the moment and I don't know how much more we can get out of the players. As I say, today we had everything apart from the finishing touch."
