Rotherham United

Rotherham United Under 18s continued their hot-streak in front of goal with an emphatic 4-0 success over Harrogate Town on Saturday.

The Millers - who edged a nine goal thriller against Notts County last time out – were once again in form in front of goal, with a George Giwa brace and strikes from Josh Ayres and Ben Hatton seeing them sweep the Sulphurites aside.

The Academy raced into a 3-0 lead inside the first 20 minutes of the contest. Giwa notched his first of the game with eight minutes on the clock, when he capitalised on a trademark long throw from Hamid Seisay. The ball landed to the attacker after a scramble in the box and he was able to apply the finish.

It was 2-0 five minutes later, when the in-form Ayres found himself on the scoresheet. Giwa turned provider this time after winning the ball back high up the pitch and made headway into opposition territory before squaring to Ayres who finished first time.

The dominant Millers extended their lead further with 18 minutes on the clock and Giwa was once again the architect. Bursting with confidence, the attacker picked up possession on the right before manoeuvring away from three players before bending the ball into the top corner.

And Hatton would put the cherry on top of the cake with six minutes remaining, when he raced onto a long clearance from Nat Ford before burying his opportunity to make it 4-0.

Rotherham United Under 18s continued their hot-streak in front of goal with an emphatic 4-0 success over Harrogate Town on Saturday.

The Millers - who edged a nine goal thriller against Notts County last time out – were once again in form in front of goal, with a George Giwa brace and strikes from Josh Ayres and Ben Hatton seeing them sweep the Sulphurites aside.

The Academy raced into a 3-0 lead inside the first 20 minutes of the contest. Giwa notched his first of the game with eight minutes on the clock, when he capitalised on a trademark long throw from Hamid Seisay. The ball landed to the attacker after a scramble in the box and he was able to apply the finish.

It was 2-0 five minutes later, when the in-form Ayres found himself on the scoresheet. Giwa turned provider this time after winning the ball back high up the pitch and made headway into opposition territory before squaring to Ayres who finished first time.

The dominant Millers extended their lead further with 18 minutes on the clock and Giwa was once again the architect. Bursting with confidence, the attacker picked up possession on the right before manoeuvring away from three players before bending the ball into the top corner.

And Hatton would put the cherry on top of the cake with six minutes remaining, when he raced onto a long clearance from Nat Ford before burying his opportunity to make it 4-0.

Speaking after the game, Joe Skarz said: 

“The lads at the moment are showing a lot the things we look for in a Rotherham United team. The players are playing with so much energy and working incredibly hard all over the pitch.

“Teams really don’t like playing against us at the moment and that’s what I want us to be all about. We want to be on the front foot playing really exciting and aggressive football.

“We’ve spoken as a team and we want to score goals and create chances, we might leave ourselves open at the back, but it’s a risk and reward strategy.

“We’ve got really good attacking players like Ben [Hatton], Josh [Ayres] and Georgie [Giwa], but we won’t get the best out of them if we don’t get them the ball and help them make things happen, which we are doing right now.

“Ben and Josh both already have their professional contracts, but they’ve continued to push themselves every day because you have to earn the right to get yourself in the first team.

“You’re only going to do that by scoring goals and playing well. As a team, we know that they are two excellent attacking players, but they can’t be successful without getting the ball. George is playing in a slightly different position now, we’ve moved him to a wide position rather than central midfield and he’s certainly reaping the rewards.”

ACADEMY: Ford, Scothern, Roddis, Hatton, Ayres (Wilson 84’), Seisay, Clarke (Gordon 84’), Holvey (Tchekwa 84’), Lee (Paisley 59’), Richardson (Gardner 82’), Giwa.