Craig Morgan talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Skipper Craig Morgan has called on his Rotherham United side to erase the Middlesbrough defeat from their memories as they embark on their Championship adventure.
The Teessiders condemned the Millers' to their first defeat in six as Patrick Bamford and Yanic Wildschut put Aitor Karanka's side in charge early in the New York clash.
The Millers' cause was not helped when talisman Alex Revell was forced to withdraw from the proceedings following a hefty knock before his replacement, Jordan Bowery saw red just minutes after his introduction.
Despite a fine second-half rearguard action from Steve Evans' side, sub Lee Tomlin sealed the win with a late third.
Speaking exclusively to www.themillers.co.uk afterwards, Morgan admitted the defeat was a harsh lesson for his side but praised his team mates for not giving up.
"This is the first game this season where we have been really hit hard," he stated.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game as they are where they are for a reason but we were not helped by the sending-off, which made the game very difficult for us.
"Middlesbrough showed two bits of quality in the first half and we got punished."
Despite their numerical disadvantage at the interval, the Millers refused to throw in the towel and against all the odds, they had some notbale opportunities to halve the deficit, most notably when sub Matt Derbyshire struck the outside of the post before 'Boro sealed the deal late in the game.
The Welsh international insisted that the Millers' can take heart from the second-half display against opponents, who were arguably at the peak of their powers.
"You never get anything else from this group of boys but total commitment," Morgan enthused.
"We were always going to come out and give it our all in the second-half but it was very difficult for us."
With testing trips to Reading and arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday in the next seven days, Morgan admits his side cannot afford to dwell on their 'Boro setback and has called on his side to prove the defeat was just a blip in their Championship campaign.
"It's good we've got a game on Tuesday to put this behind us," he added.
"We will erase this from our memories and we will go again.
"We've been on a good run, and we will be looking to get back on track straight away."