Opposition in focus - Peterborough United...
Peterborough United provide the opposition for Paul Warne's Rotherham United at the AESSEAL New York Stadium in Sky Bet League One on Good Friday. We take a look at who the Millers are facing in our opposition report...
In the Dugout
Steve Evans will be in the dugout for Peterborough for the Sky Bet League One fixture. The ex-Millers boss joined Peterborough in February 2018 after resigning from League Two side Mansfield Town. As a player, the former striker represented clubs in his home country of Scotland, playing for Clyde, Albion Rovers, Ayr United, Hamilton and St Johnstone.
Evans went into management in 1994, joining Stamford and leading them to promotion to the Southern Football League. After joining Boston in 1998, he helped Boston to promotion to the Football Conference in 2000 and then to the Football League in 2002. In 2007 he made the switch to Crawley Town, taking them to the fifth round of the FA Cup before helping them to clinch promotion to the Football League Two in the 2011/12 season.
He joined the Millers in April 2012 and managed the Millers 173 times, boasting a win percentage of 41.6% which included back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship. He joined Leeds United in October 2015 on a rolling contract before taking over at Mansfield in November 2016.
Stats
The visitors come into the game sitting in the play-off places in 6th, level on points with 7th placed Plymouth Argyle and eight points behind the Millers. After appointing Steve Evans, Peterborough have won two in the last four, drawing one and losing their only game 2-1 away at Oxford. They have scored seven goals in their last four games, whilst conceding four. In their last fixture, they drew 1-1 against Bristol Rovers after Danny Lloyd-McGoldrick's equaliser cancelled out Tony Craig's opener.
Previous Meetings
This is the 35th meeting between these sides with the Millers being victorious 11 times. There have been 11 draws and 12 victories for Peterborough. The first fixture between these sides was in January 1970 where Peterborough won 1-0 away to advance in the FA Cup. The last time these two teams met was in August 2017 where Peterborough prevailed 2-1 in Sky Bet League One courtesy of a brace from Jack Marriott with Kieffer Moore scoring for the Millers at the ABAX Stadium. The last time the Millers beat the Posh was in March 2014 in League One. A 1-0 victory at London Road gave the Millers three points after a penalty from Kieran Agard.
Ones to Watch
In defence, former Southampton defender Ryan Tafazolli is someone who has developed into the heart of the Posh's defence. He joined from Mansfield Town in June 2016 on a three-year deal and was voted Peterborough's best defender for the 2016-17 season as well as Peterborough's best player of the 2016-17 season.
In midfield, Marcus Maddison has received rave reviews this season. The former Newcastle man has been capped at England C level and has made over 100 appearances for the Posh. He has scored 10 goals this season and has an impressive 21 assists this season. Maddison is often partnered with Irishman Chris Forrester, who joined Peterborough in August 2015 for an undisclosed fee from St Pat’s. He has represented the Posh over 100 times and has represented Republic of Ireland U21's as well as making the senior squad a few times.
Up front, Jack Marriott is the one who's been making the headlines. Since joining from Luton in June 2017 for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal, the 23-year old is the League One top scorer with 23 goals this season.