Rotherham United’s U18s continued their Youth Alliance League merit fixtures by prevailing as 3-2 winners in a pulsating five-goal thriller at Lincoln City on Saturday.
If Joe Skarz and his young Millers forgot that they had a significant challenge in front of them in the form of Lincoln City, they were hastily reminded when the home side quickly got their noses in front by way of a side-footed finish.
The Imps weren’t done there as – despite an onslaught of Millers chances – they proved efficient on the counter attack. A quick break culminated in a cross and finish to double Lincoln’s lead.
As is typical of a Rotherham United team, Skarz’ young men refused to roll over. A towering presence in George Giwa restored hope for the Millers, applying a deft finish following some clever play by James Clarke in the middle of the park to reduce the deficit to one.
With 10 minutes of regular time to play, Liewi Abraham took the initiative and drove his side forward. With his quick thinking, and quicker feet, he laid the ball off for Josh Ayres. Ayres once again displayed exactly why he was offered an early professional deal, curling an effort home from the edge of the box to restore parity.
The momentum was all with the Millers, and they were always going to capitalise. Joel Holvey’s corner was expertly placed to allow Reece Wilson to leap above the jumping pack and power a header home just three minutes after Ayres’ equaliser to give his side the lead – a lead which they would ultimately see out to full time.
The young Millers have finished their regular-season campaign and have since moved into an additional post-season round of fixtures, with this remarkable comeback being the third of those post-season outings.
ACADEMY | Childs, Seisay, Holvey, Ayres, Clarke, Hibberd, Grove (Wilson 59'), Shepherd (Gordon 48'), Roddis (Abraham 48'), Giwa, Richardson (Niewiem 48').
UNUSED | N/A.
