Rotherham United midfielder Ben Wiles declared he was delighted to score his first Sky Bet Championship goal during last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
The 21-year-old broke the deadlock just past the half-hour mark and in spectacular style, courtesy of a low drive from 30 yards.
Following the strike, the Rawmarsh-born operator insisted that he and his teammates have what it takes to compete in England’s second tier this season and that the belief in the side will grow with the more games they play at this level.
“I’m delighted with my goal, it was my first one in the Championship,” Wiles told www.themillers.co.uk.
“It came to me and I just thought I’d strike it and luckily enough it got lost in the crowd and went in the bottom corner. It was uplifting for us to score from open play and it was a very well-worked goal as well.
“We’re capable of playing in this league, we just need to believe in ourselves. Obviously we score a lot of goals from set-pieces, but at the same time we can play as well. We just need the belief and I think that will come with more game time.
“Every game we’ve played in so far, we’ve only conceded one at most. We’re very good at stopping the opposition playing through us.
“The positives were that we limited them to very few chances, they didn’t hurt us in the sense that they had any clear-cut opportunities."
The Millers looked like they had done enough to claim a valuable three points in the all-Yorkshire affair but were dealt a cruel blow in injury-time when Angus MacDonald inadvertently turned Pipa’s strike into his own net.
The Terriers had grown into the game as the second half went on, with the Millers defending resolutely to hold their lead. Following a battling second half display, Wiles conceded that the nature of the equaliser was particularly difficult for the team to take.
“It’s a difficult one for us to take, we said as a group that we had to weather the storm. They were coming at us quickly and intensely,” Wiles added.
“Myself included, we need to work on retaining the ball and making sure that the first pass is secure to get us up the pitch as a group.
“Off the ball we’re very good. We press and don’t let them have a minute on the ball, but when we get it back we have to look after it better.
“They put a lot of crosses into our box, but our line held superbly, like I said it was a tough one for us to take in the end.”