Millers boss Matt Taylor was quick to herald the never-say-die spirit of his side as they earned their first Sky Bet Championship away point of the season, at the expense of Southampton, thanks to Jordan Hugill’s wonder goal.
Taylor – who made a brave tactical switch in shape and personnel on the half-hour - saw his injury-hit side fall behind in the opening minutes at St Mary’s Stadium but a combination of Viktor Johansson – who was in superb form in goal – and Hugill’s volleyed equaliser with 16 minutes to go paved the way for the Millers to make the long trek north with a share of spoils.
“I’m not an emotional guy but that certainly touches you a little bit. In terms of the actual game, we were so off the game and the opposition, but we found a way to stay in it. We had to tweak certain aspects as we went through it. In the second half, we were full of spirit and endeavour. We had a little bit of luck and there was a little bit of skill.
“The group was fragile but we kept it at one-nil. A second goal could have killed us. To have the spirit, you also have to have belief on top of it. That was a difficult first-half to be a part of but we stayed in the game with a little bit of luck and good goalkeeping and defending.
“We had to address a few things at half time but we still had to ride our luck against some top quality opposition, like Southampton.
“I think Jordan (Hugill) thought ‘have a little bit of that’ for the goal in terms of not starting for us. I hope it motivated him and I think it did. We want more from Jordan and more from the front line.”