Paul Warne post-Ipswich Town...
MILLERS boss Paul Warne admitted that he was left scratching his head at how his side came away from Ipswich Town without any reward – after Will Keane’s first-half strike turned the relegation clash in the home side’s favour.
Following a tepid first-half display, the Millers were a much-improved side following the interval and despite penning the home side deep for large spells of the second-half, Paul Lambert’s side rode their luck to hold firm near the end and record just their third league win of the season.
Speaking to the assembled media afterwards, Warne believed that his side’s second-half display at Portman Road merited, at least a share of the spoils, as Michael Smith squandered a gilt-edged chance with a point-blank header before Joe Mattock, almost became the unlikely hero but he agonisingly failed to make a clean connection from sub Ryan Williams’ ball over the top before blazing over from the edge of the box.
“I thought the team performance was outstanding,” Warne stressed.
“I didn’t think we moved the ball well enough in the first-half but we still created the best chance of the half which we didn’t take but our second-half was a lot better.
“We can take a lot of confidence in that they have come away from home and limited the home team to one shot.
“It was literally one-way traffic. We did everything we could to win a game but unfortunately for us, it did not drop for us. You can’t ask anymore from our team, we just need to take our chances.”
The pivotal moment of the game came when Sean Raggett failed to cut out Freddie Sears’ cross and Keane pounced on the indecision to lash home from close range.
Despite the Millers limiting to the hosts to few clear-cut chances over the course of the 90 minutes, the Rotherham boss was disappointed with his side’s defending in Ipswich’s winning goal.
“Ipswich had two up top and we knew we would have to ride the storm in the first part of the game, hence why I went with a sitter in midfield,” Warne added.
“We did that pretty well but it was a bit of an error for the goal, but there are always errors when goals are conceded.
“I could be standing here after a three-one win but that wasn’t the case. Goals change games but our performance was excellent.
“We literally penned them in for the second half of the game so it’s disappointing for the lads, that they haven’t got anything. We conceded with their only shot on target, which was a killer for us."