Rotherham United Manager Steve Evans was pleased with the effort shown by his players despite succumbing to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough.
Substitute Jordan Bowery, just on for striker Alex Revell was shown a red card in the first period for a kick of George Friend, and with the Millers trailing it turned into a frustrating afternoon for Evans’ men although he praised the determined nature of his squad.
“I think second-half when we changed things, we got every ounce of effort from the players as you’d expect and we had to hang in because we knew they’d overload us in some areas. We were 2-0 down through a defensive error and an outstanding finish and I think Middlesbrough had a lot of the ball before half-time but didn’t really create a chance. Matt should score in the second half but I felt for him. He did everything right but the finish just didn’t happen. Then the third goal doesn’t happen if the game isn’t already in the state it is.”
Revell was withdrawn in the first period following a challenge by Ayala but Evans is confident he’ll return for the trip to the Madejski on Tuesday evening, and is already planning ahead to that trip.
“Alex just got a kick in the side of the chin and was a bit groggy so he had to come off. He should be fine for Tuesday. We’ve got no complaints. We were beaten by a very good team and we’ll dust ourselves down and come back fighting tomorrow.”