Rotherham United brought the curtain down on their Youth Alliance campaign with a 3-1 defeat against Chesterfield.
The Millers, who were looking to end the season on a high, slipped to defeat in the second period after initially starting the game the brighter of the two sides.
“We started the game very well,” said Mike Sheron. “We passed it around on a difficult surface and dominated possession which was great. We created one or two chances where their ‘keeper has made a couple of great saves, then conceded after 15 minutes a great strike from about 25 yards.”
Despite the early setback, the youngsters looked for a way back into the game, and found it when Jerry Yates, who scored in both his previous Youth Alliance and reserve team outing converted a Mason Warren cross to level the game.
“We reacted pretty well, and Jerry scored after about 25 minutes which is good for him and it keeps his goals tally ticking over at the end of the season. It was worked well from a short corner and it’s nice to see that bit of invention. It was laid back to Mason Warren who slid a great ball in between two defenders and Jerry was there sliding in to knock it home first time.
“The second half was a little bit drab, and it was a bit of a non event. There weren’t a lot of chances but they scored another goal from 30 yards and then a header late in the game at the far post.”
Despite the three goals conceded there were some standout performers at the back for Sheron who was also pleased to see a return from injury for one of his youngsters.
“There were some really good performances, especially at the back, and Max Hallatt did well after being out for a couple of weeks. He played the first half only but it was good to get him some minutes.
“We also had two under 16s, Fabien Bailey and Bradley Peace-Macdonald who did very well.”