Millers set to host Play-off semi-final second leg...
After a tight first leg ended in a 2-2 draw at Glanford Park, Rotherham will be looking to make the most of a home advantage in the second leg of the Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final against Scunthorpe United.
The tie at the AESSEAL New York Stadium takes place on Wednesday evening, kicking-off at 19:45.
The atmosphere is expected to be electric in the second leg, with less than 500 tickets remaining on sale at the time of publishing this article.
The Millers went ahead twice at Glanford Park before being pegged back by the Iron on both occasions to end the first leg with two goals apiece, setting up what is expected to be another hotly-contested game in South Yorkshire.
The winner of the tie will book their place in the Wembley final where they will face winners of the other semi-final Shrewsbury Town, who beat Charlton Athletic 2-0 on aggregate after two 1-0 victories over both legs.
Last Time Out
Rotherham may be disappointed to not have come away from the first leg of the tie with a marginal victory, as Cameron McGeehan salvaged a draw for the hosts with just two minutes of normal time to spare.
It took 16 minutes for the scoring to begin, with Richie Towell’s ball over the top landing perfectly for Jon Taylor, who volleyed low and beyond goalkeeper Matt Gilks to give the Millers an important head start.
But the lead lasted barely a minute, as Michael Ihiekwe turned Duane Holmes’s lobbed attempt into the back of his own net.
Rory McArdle hit the woodwork for the Iron only minutes later, volleying the ball directly from a corner only to see the ball crash against the crossbar.
After the break, cheers from the home crowd towards Towell’s failed overhead-kick attempt from Josh Emmanuel’s cross were quickly silenced when Joe Newell volleyed home Emmanuel’s excellent ball from a tight angle.
With the minutes on the clock running down, it looked like the Millers were going to take a vital advantage into the second leg of the semi-final, until McGeehan poked home on the goal-line in the 88th minute, causing rapturous scenes in the home end and leaving everything to play for on Wednesday night.
The Opposition
The 2-2 draw at Glanford Park on Saturday extended Scunthorpe’s unbeaten run to nine games, with the Iron having not lost since a 2-1 defeat to finalists Shrewsbury Town at Glanford Park back in March.
The draw also meant that Paul Warne’s side would not make it three wins from three over the Iron this season, after the Millers did the league double over their promotion rivals earlier on in the season.
Iron top-scorer Josh Morris, who failed to bag a goal on Saturday, will be looking to extend this season’s league tally to 12 goals.
Team News
Other than a few “aches and pains”, Paul Warne has no new serious injury concerns ahead of the big fixture, though he stated that he remains unsure on a few.
Jamie Proctor will not be featuring in Wednesday’s second leg due to long-term absence, whilst a return for Darren Potter also remains unlikely.