Goal bananza at Middlewood Road...
A confident performance from the Millers earned them a 7-4 win against a youthful Sheffield Wednesday side, in a behind closed doors friendly.Goals from Alex Revell, Lionel Ainsworth, Alec Denton, Mark Bradley, Daniel Nardiello and a trialist, saw the away side come away victors under the watchful eye of Paul Raynor.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring in the 8th minute in spectacular fashion when Ainsworth twisted and turned on the edge of the area, before rifling his effort into the top corner from 20 yards.
Revell almost added a second moments later after expertly bringing down a lofted Dale Tonge free-kick, only to see the goalkeeper get down well to save his effort at the near post.
The home side grabbed an equaliser in the 26th minute, as their persistent pressure down the right flank eventually paid dividends. A good ball into the box was well connected with by the Wednesday striker whose effort flew into the bottom corner.
However, it wasn't long before the Millers had re-established their lead. Nicky Hunt's strike was acrobatically turned over before Bradley turned home a Micky O'Connor delivery from the resulting corner.
Wednesday levelled things up again on the half hour mark when another ball in from the wing found an unmarked blue and white shirt in the area, who bundled the ball into the back of the net.
Revell added the fifth goal of the half with a delightful lob after Ainsworth's pinpoint long ball put him in behind the defence.
Clearly discontent at being behind, the home side continued to press and once again found an equaliser. An intricate passing move was finished equally as neatly as the Wednesday striker flicked home to make it 3-3.
Half Time: Sheffield Wednesday 3 - 3 Millers
Despite both sides suffering a baron spell for the opening 10 minutes of the second half, the Millers did eventually get their noses back in front after a mistake from the Wednesday stopper. Nardiello applied the pressure as the Wednesday goalkeeper pirouetted on the ball, before lunging in to touch the ball over the line and give his side the lead.
Substitute Denton extended the Millers lead with one of his first touches of the game, after he broke into the area and despatched his effort calmly into the bottom corner to make it 5-3.
Straight after the restart the home side gave themselves a lifeline as Wednesday raced forward in numbers, only to see their forward hauled down in the area for a penalty. The lively Wednesday number 10 stepped up and confidently stroked effort home from the spot.
Denton had looked lively since his introduction and was rewarded for his effort when Gareth Evans' powerful drive at goal was parried into the path of the young forward who tapped home from close range to make it 6-4.
The young home side seemed to tire towards the end and despite their resilience, couldn't quite claw their way back into the game.
A Millers trialist rounded it up after his powerful charge on goal was capped with a cool confident finish, to put the game to bed at 7-4.