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46 Dinnington and Maltby Guardian Friday 6th March 2009
Imps’ run is ended
Andy Warrington – Had little to do but pulled off great point-blank save. 6 Dale Tonge – Worked hard and kept Brown quiet. 7 Ian Sharps – Another towering performance at the back. 7 Nick Fenton – Controlled the backline well to keep Lincoln at bay. 8 Jamie Green – Showed his versatility and talent once more. 8 Micky Cummins – Goal capped an effervescent performance. 7 Mark Hudson – Performed miracles in defence and attack. 8
★ STAR MAN
● Nick Fenton, Jamie Clarke and Micky Cummins all worked hard for the Millers
For the love of the game ‘YES.’ That was the answer everybody yearned for, and that’s the answer he gave. Walking into Sincil Bank prior to kickoff, a woman’s voice nervously asked over the stadium tannoy: ‘Will you marry me?’ A loved-up Lincoln City fan chose the match with Rotherham United as the ideal time to propose to her long-term boyfriend. And luckily for her, and the 5,000 fans watching, he said yes. However, the newly engaged couple’s perfect day was soured by their team’s poor performance. The lacklustre Imps were dominated by the defensively sound and attackingly refined Millers. From start to finish Rotherham hassled and harried the Imps into countless mistakes, to the understandable frustration of the home fans. But even when the natives became restless the side withered and Rotherham got the all-important goal that settled the game. The short trip to Lincoln is becoming somewhat of a favourite for Millers’ travelling fans, as they collected their sixth win in nine attempts. But while the away fans may have enjoyed the match, I’m not sure this was the way that the loved-up Lincoln fans had hoped their engagement would start. The Musing Miller
Pablo Mills – Led the side and protected his defence well. 7 STAR MAN JAMIE CLARKE – Gave the Lincoln side an afternoon they’d want to forget. 8 Drewe Broughton – Got a fair few knocks but was an excellent lone front man. 7 Reuben Reid – Another good performance with flashes of quality.
AN imposing performance from Rotherham earned them all three points after a dogged battle at Lincoln City on Saturday. Micky Cummins tapped home the winner following a goal-mouth scramble and condemned the Imps to their first defeat of 2009.
The Millers dominated the scrappy affair, picking up their 14th clean sheet of the season. Rotherham dictated the play from the off, using Drewe Broughton as a target man, with the pace of Jamie Clarke and Reuben Red either side of him. With the raucous backing of 782 travelling fans, the Millers controlled an entertaining first half. Cummins saw the first real effort of the game saved well by former Owls keeper Rob Burch in the fifth minute. Broughton then beat Burch with a low shot, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Lincoln’s first effort came in the 18th minute when Stefan Oakes’s free-kick found János Kovács, only for his powerful header to fly wide. The expected barrage from the home side failed to materialise and it was Rotherham who continued to look most likely to get the elusive goal. Clarke, who was giving Green a torrid time with his dangerous mix of pace and skill, danced past the right-back once more but saw his
6
Lincoln City 0 Millers 1
by Simon Peach at Sincil Bank
fierce drive superbly tipped wide by keeper Burch in the 24th minute. From the resulting corner Clarke was again involved when he latched on to Ian Sharps’ header, but an incredible last-ditch block from Scott Kerr kept the ball out. The Millers continued to press as Reid’s header sailed just over the bar before the game was held up following a late challenge on Hudson by Green. Green received a yellow but the resulting skirmish, which saw everybody bar the Lincoln keeper involved, also saw Horsfield and Fenton go into the book. Hudson’s deflected 25yard drive was the last action of a half that should of seen the visitors at least a goal ahead. Despite the expected comeback from Lincoln their attacks didn’t come to fruition as Rotherham’s high line defended with ease. The physical encounter was a dull affair in the second half, until the 65th minute. Clarke got his shot away after another adroit move but keeper Burch parried his effort, which looped, first to Broughton, before eventually falling to Cummins who stabbed the ball home to the delight to the travelling fans. As chants of ‘your supposed to be at home’ rang around Sincil Bank, the Millers continued to frustrate the home side, with
MATCH FACTS
Score: Lincoln City 0 Rotherham Utd 1 Lincoln: Burch, Green, Kovács, Sinclair, Beevers, Brown, Oakes, Kerr, N'Guessan, Horsfield (Wright 68), Elding (Mullarkey 77) Subs not used: Clarke, Swaibu, Duffy. Booked: Green 30, Horsfield 31, Kovács 77. Rotherham: Warrington, Sharps, Fenton, Green, Mills, Cummins, Tonge, Hudson, Clarke (Joseph 80), Reid (R. Taylor 67), Broughton. Subs not used: Harrison, J. Taylor, Cann. Booked: Fenton 31. Goalscorer: Cummins 65. Man of the Match: Jamie Clarke. Attendance: 4,336.
STATISTICS
Lincoln Possession 48% Corners 3 Shots On 2 Shots Off 3 Fouls 10 Yellows 0 Woodwork 1
Rotherham 52% 6 7 4 11 0 1
substitute Ryan Taylor forcing Burch into another save after a driving run down the right. But Lincoln, undeterred, attempted to force a mistake in the final 10 minutes from the unerring Rotherham defence. The Imps’ best chance came when substitute Ben Wright forced Warrington into a point blank save, but the counter-attacking hosts left gaping holes at the back. A darting run by the impressive Jamie Green, who reverted back to left-back after playing further forward against Wycombe, saw his ferocious shot rebound off the crossbar with moments left, before Lincoln almost grabbed a last gasp equaliser. As the three minutes of stoppage time ran out, N’Guessan’s cross was met by a thundering header by Kovács only for it to clatter the woodwork as the final whistle blew.
Subs: Ryan Taylor – Looked sharp but maybe should have scored 7, Marc Joseph.
FIXTURES Date
Time
Opponents
Sat 7 Mar
3pm
Brentford
H
L2
Tues 10 Mar 7.45pm
Chester
A
L2
Sat 14 Mar
Rochdale
A
L2
Tues 17 Mar 7.45pm
Aldershot
H
L2
Sat 21 Mar
Chesterfield
H
L2
Tues 24 Mar 7.45pm
Bury
H
L2
Sat 28 Mar
Accrington S
H
L2
3pm
3pm
3pm
Venue Comp
Tues 31 Mar 7.45pm
Luton
A
L2
Sat 4 April
3pm
Aldershot
A
L2
Sat 11 April
3pm
Notts County
H
L2
Port Vale
A
L2
Mon 13 April 3pm Sat 18 April
3pm
Shrewsbury
H
L2
Sat 25 April
3pm
Bradford
A
L2
Sat 2 May
3pm
Exeter
H
L2
LEAGUE TWO Team Brentford Wycombe W Rochdale Bury Bradford City Exeter City Gillingham Shrewsbury T Dagenham & R Darlington Chesterfield Lincoln City Morecambe Aldershot Town Notts County Macclesfield T Port Vale Rotherham Utd Accrington S Barnet Chester City Bournemouth Grimsby Town Luton Town
P 34 33 34 34 34 34 34 35 35 32 31 32 34 32 34 34 32 30 33 33 35 34 34 33
W 18 16 16 16 15 15 15 14 13 15 12 11 10 11 9 10 10 14 7 6 6 10 4 9
D 11 13 10 8 10 10 9 11 10 9 8 11 14 7 12 6 4 8 9 12 9 11 11 13
L 5 4 8 10 9 9 10 10 12 8 11 10 10 14 13 18 18 8 17 15 20 13 19 11
F 48 39 59 48 52 49 47 48 58 47 49 42 40 48 40 37 35 37 32 39 33 38 32 45
A 25 20 41 35 39 38 45 33 41 29 43 36 43 59 50 62 52 28 48 60 62 44 59 50
Pts 65 61 58 56 55 55 54 53 49 44 44 44 44 40 39 36 34 33 30 30 27 24 23 10