Hull vs Internet Millers Review

Vs: Hull City

Location: Hull- Dene Park

Kick Off: 10:30am

Kit: Home Kit, Red IMFC shirt, White IMFC Shorts, Red IMFC Socks.

Score: 5-5

Scorers: S Burns (2), Jebu, JV, O.G

Squad

Dent
Shark
Steve
Jebu
Copey
Dan
Duds
Adis
JV
Symon
Chris Grist
Lee
Gilby
Paul El

Formation and Tactics

The Millers reverted to their favoured 5-3-2 formation in this is tough-looking fixture against Hull who were unbeaten at home so far. Shark had recovered from a midweek illness to take his place in goal, Paul El, Copey and Duds made up the defensive trio after Mark had pulled out early Saturday morning. After impressing for his Sunday side as a defensive midfielder Denti got the nod in the centre of midfield flanked by Lee and Dan. Gilby and JV filled the wing back roles and IM were at full strength up front with Steve and Jebu leading the line. Chris Grist, Adis and Symon were the only subs after Bash picked up an injury on Friday night- dangerous thing this bouncing lark!!!!

Summary

The Internet Millers snatched a draw from the jaws of victory in a titanic contest on heavy pitch at Dene Park as Hull scored two last gasp goals to recover a 5-3 deficit in a pulsating match where the balance of power swung from side to side with Hull having previously led at 2-0 and then again at 3-1.

First Half

The size and state of the pitch meant for a hard slog for both teams but it was Hull who adapted better with the downhill slope and made by far the better start. In contrast Rotherham were sluggish and their failure to get the ball to the forwards meant they were under constant pressure. A mistake by JV almost led to a goal but the Hull striker hit the post when through on goal and unbelievably two of their players missed the rebound from about a yard away. The escape didn’t ring home as a warning and it was soon after that Hull took a deserved lead. A free kick on the edge of the area was blocked and the second ball was played in to area. It looked as if Shark had a comfortable catch but under pressure from a Hull body he spilled the ball and it tricked in to the net. The Millers had still failed to test the Hull keeper and despite an impressive performance from Denti, the home side were completely dictating play with a commanding midfield. Things then got worse as Hull, who remained on top, doubled their lead from another free kick. A super strike headed towards the top corner only for Shark to get a full hand on the ball. However, the hand proved not to be strong enough as the ball dropped over the line. The scoreline led to a change of tactics as Denti dropped back in to the back three with Copey making way, allowing Adis to take his place in midfield.

The Millers then settled a little, making better use of the ball and putting some decent moves together, with Adis linking up well with JV and the front two. However, Hull still looked a threat up front and it took a few last ditch tackles to restrict the lead to just the two goals. With the first half drawing towards an end Rotherham needed to get a goal back. Then with five minutes to go, the penny had finally dropped when Steve latched on to a long ball down the right hand channel before lashing the ball home from just inside the area in what was a superb goal.

Second Half

This had given the league-title hopefuls a boost and that continued early in the second half where JV found much more space, Adis was causing problems and the front two had finally got in to the game.

However, against the run of play Hull restored their two goal lead with a dubious penalty. A scramble in the box saw the ball fall on to the shoulder region of Copey’s body and the ref had no hesitation in pointing to the spot despite protests from the Roth defenders. The spot kick was coolly tucked away and Rotherham were back to square one and needed to make some changes as Hull continued to press after their penalty. Chris Grist replaced Copey at RWB and Symon replaced Lee at CM. The incoming pair helped raise the tempo and Rotherham gave themselves a lifeline when they won a free kick on the edge of the area. Symon wanted it but seniority ruled and Jebu floated the ball goalwards. JV had placed himself immediately in front of the keeper as Hull had elected to put men on the post. JV’s presence ruffled the keeper and as he flapped at the ball he spilt it and that too found its way in to the net, to be met with uproar from the Hull players who were claiming a foul. It certainly was a day for calamitous goalkeeping. The lift that Rotherham received by getting a goal back was hugely visible and there was still time to get more goals. Denti went close with a header and the away team were now piling heavy pressure on. They forced another corner and this time parity was restored. A decent centre by Chris Grist fell to Dan. He scuffed his shot but JV pounced from 3 yards out to put the ball home, notching his first goal for the club in the process. The Millers were on fire. Symon was having a good game in midfield playing some good balls to the front men, Adis, Chris Grist and JV were giving them width and for the first time the defence looked untroubled. Victory could be smelt and Roth were on the rampage. JV had a tame shot saved and Symon hit the ball over and they had claims for a nailed on penalty inexplicably turned down by the ref, who was reffing from the half way line, after Steve was upended. However, the Millers were not to be deterred and almost immediately took the lead, for the first time in the game. A good ball by Symon through to Steve caused danger and a Hull defender put his foot through the ball smashing the ball straight in the bottom corner of the net, a superb finish one that Steve or Jebu would have been proud of. Things got even better soon after as another through ball by Symon put Steve through again. After twisting, turning and outfoxing the Hull defence and keeper he sent the ball in to the back of the net to send IM in to a match winning position at 5-3. With ten minutes to go the mindset changed however, and it was IM on the back foot. Hull put some pressure on and threatened with some good in swinging corners. Rotherham stopped playing and didn’t keep the ball. Hull then grabbed a goal back to ensure a nervy finish. A long throw in was flicked on and poor marking in the box saw the ball flicked goalwards leaving Sharky helpless. It was sloppy play all around and more poor play led to a series of threatening corners as play entered the final seconds. A great in swinging corner into the six yard box was not claimed by the keeper and a Hull attacker took a gamble on the back post and poked the ball in from a yard to snatch a last gasp draw. The Hull players went wild and the Rotherham players were gutted.

There was time for one more controversial moment as JV stole the ball on the left before taking a few players on. When he got the cross in, the ball was about to fall to Steve before the ref blew for full time ending a truly epic battle between two good teams.

Thoughts On Game

Ultimately this one felt like a defeat having been 5-3 up with ten to play. If we hadn’t have allowed ourselves to be pinned back then we would have seen it out, possibly scoring more goals as Hull pushed forward. But, of course, the natural reaction is to sit back and defend. Also you have to remember that at 2-0 and 3-1 we would certainly have taken a draw. That said though, I shall refer you to my first two sentences in this paragraph.

Our start let us down immensely. We were slow, second to each ball, ineffective going forward and less than competent at the back. Hull were organised across the middle and we couldn’t combat that. We were slow to realise what we had to do to get chances and poor defending saw us slip to a 2-0 deficit. We need to work out what this can be attributed to. We were quiet in the dressing before hand. Was that because we had a longish journey? I know this is difficult but maybe if we all arrive together then perhaps there would be a better spirit and more banter instead of it being so disjointed. Myself, Dan, Denti etc were sat in the dressing room for about 20 minutes before Steve and others arrived, then we were getting changed straight away and then out on the pitch. We know that there is a great spirit within the team but maybe a little interaction and the feeling of a team ethic before a game may help.

Maybe the poor start can just be contributed to Hull adapting better to the pitch or maybe we just weren’t awake.

The character shown in the second half after going 3-1 down was great, to score four unanswered goals was electric and that just makes it all the more disappointing that we allowed the last ten minutes to occur.

I thought man for man we were better than Hull. But they worked extremely well as a team and they showed bouncebackability (this time next year my PC will recognise that word) so credit to them too. No credit whatsoever to the ref apart from at least he was willing to do it.

I think a few players will admit they weren’t really at the races during the game. There were a lot of individual errors that led to goals and generally the standard of play wasn’t great. But we knew it was going to be a battle on that surface and battle we did showing great spirit at times. MOTM was Denti as he impressed in central midfield (got a nose bleed in the first half though due to going too high up the pitch. Last time he was that far up some sort of penalty was missed!!!) and also assured the defence when he moved back there. Dodgy goal kicks though! Also special mention to Adis, who changed the course of the game as did Chris Grist and Symon.