Millers clash is postponed....
Rotherham United and Cardiff City will have to lock horns once again in their Sky Bet Championship survival six-pointer after the AESSEAL New York Stadium pitch was deemed unplayable following a half-time rain deluge.
The clash was postponed with just 48 minutes on the clock - with the Bluebirds leading thanks to Jaden Philogene’s first-half strike - following a series of inspections by the referee and both sets of managers.
Following their midweek defeat at the hands of Preston North End, Millers boss Matt Taylor reshuffled his defensive pack for the visit of the Bluebirds.
Former Manchester United player Tyler Blackett was handed his first start in Rotherham colours following some impressive substitute cameos while Australian international Bailey Wright shrugged off injury to take his place at the heart of the home rearguard.
Leeds loanee Leo Hjelde and Wes Harding were the players to make way but both were named on the bench.
The Millers fans were in full voice prior to kick off and they were soon off their seats when Chiedozie Ogbene showed fleet of foot to force a corner from Callum O’Dowda, but the pressure was released on the visitors from the resultant set-piece.
Nevertheless, Cardiff stunned the home side when they broke the deadlock on five minutes in their first attack of note.
O’Dowda made a marauding run from deep – and with no Rotherham challenge – the ball was played to the right flank. A cross was dinked to the far post whereby Viktor Johansson was backtracking nervously, and the Swedish stopper was unable to parry the ball to safety and O’Dowda appeared to nod the ball back to Philogene, who had the simple task of tapping the ball into the unguarded net from close range.
The Millers responded positively to the setback and Shane Ferguson’s free-kick caused havoc in the visiting defence but Lee Peltier was only able to fire into the side netting from a tight angle.
Just past the quarter hour, Cardiff ‘keeper Ryan Allsop was forced into a straightforward save when Hakeem Odoffin latched onto a ricochet to fire goalwards with his weaker left-foot but any goal would have been ruled out by the offside flag.
The Bluebirds turned defence into attack from the breakdown of a Rotherham corner, but the Welsh side failed to make the most of a four-on-two opportunity when last man, Conor Coventry made a timely intervention.
Goalscorer, Philogene swung over a dangerous centre which narrowly evaded Cardiff runners in the box before Mahlon Romeo had a low shot blocked by Blackett en-route to goal following another sweeping move by the visitors.
Taylor’s side were struggling to find any rhythm to their play until Tariqe Fosu and Blackett combined smartly down the left flank before Coventry had a shot blocked on the edge of the box.
The home side were certainly below par in the first 45 and they had a further scare when Cameron Humphreys was penalised for bundling over Philogene, in an inviting position just outside the box.
From the resultant free-kick, Perry Ng struck a lovely effort around the Rotherham wall, but fortunately for the hosts, the ball smashed against the crossbar before falling to safety.
Taylor made a tactical switch with Jamie Lindsay introduced, in an attempt to shore up the midfield ranks while the Bluebirds were forced into a switch of their own with Kion Etete withdrawn due to injury.
There was a flurry of action near the break when Ogbene flashed an effort narrowly wide of the target before Sory Kaba did superbly well to keep the ball alive to present sub Sheyi Ojo, a glimpse of goal, at the other end, but Johansson was able to divert his tame effort away from danger.
Half-time: Rotherham United 0 Cardiff City 1
The heavens opened during the half-time break with torrential rain coming down onto the AEESEAL New York Stadium surface – and the rain was visibly settling onto the playing pitch.
The game restarted – with Taylor making a further double change – in the shape of Peter Kioso and Georgie Kelly – but with the downpour getting heavier, the referee brought the two captains together before deciding to temporarily suspend play with 48 minutes on the clock.
The Rotherham ground staff were working hard to clear the excess water from the South Stand end of the ground, in particular, but it looked a thankless task with the amount of rain that had come down.
Following a lengthy delay, the referee came onto the pitch for two inspections with both managers, Taylor and his Cardiff counterpart, Sabri Lamouchi but with no improvement in the state of the playing surface, the referee – with consulation from the EFL - finally called time on the game at 4.56pm.
Full time: Rotherham United A Cardiff City A
Rotherham United A
Cardiff City A
Teams: Rotherham- Johansson, Coventry, Fosu, Hugill, Ogbene, Ferguson (Lindsay 44), Peltier (Kioso 46), Odoffin (Kelly 46), Humphreys, Wright, Blackett. Unused- Vickers, Harding, Washington, Hjelde.
Cardiff- Allsop, Romeo, McGuinness, Wintle, Etete (Ojo 44), O’Dowda, Sawyers, Kipre, Philogene, Ng, Kaba. Unused- Luthra, Ralls, Sang, Colwill, Wickham, Rinomhota.
Referee- O Langford