Rotherham endured an afternoon from hell as they missed the chance to pull away from the relegation zone, going down 4-1 to Charlton.
The manner of the defeat, not to mention the scoreline, was a harrowing affair and it is one most people will want to forget quickly.
Here's five things we learned from the game.
A wake-up call
An
upturn in results over recent weeks and an encouraging transfer
window may have led to increased optimism in the Millers camp, but
this was a harsh reminder that they are well and truly in a
relegation scrap. Charlton were undoubtedly an improved side from the
one had shipped 11 goals in their previous two away games but they
were still one that had not won since November 21 and everyone will
have had this down as a home banker. Perhaps that's where the
problem lied and maybe the players also came into the game thinking
that. They always say it's the games with teams around you in the
table that will define your season, but how important this game will
be at the end of the season, only time will tell. They are now out of the relegation zone on goal difference alone and are just one point ahead of Charlton instead of being seven. A damaging day.
Here's your monthly horror show
Whether
it was complacency, nerves or an inability to cope with the
expectation, the Millers proved that they can never afford a bad day
at the office in this division – no matter who the opponent. Neil
Redfearn has said from very early on in his reign that the Millers
have to be at the top of their game to win in this division and even
now that is no different. What does not help is their tendency to
have a horror show every four weeks or so and unfortunately all-but
one of those horror shows have been against teams around them in the
division. MK Dons, Fulham twice, Huddersfield and now Charlton. They
can ill-afford many more.
Tearing your hair out
For
large parts of the afternoon, the overriding feeling at New York was
one of frustration. The other was one of despair! As dangerous as
Charlton were on the break, the Millers had enough play and enough of
the ball in good areas to be able to get a foothold in the game but they never did.
Their play in the final third was well below their best, lacking any
quality and it led to some real fist-clenching moments of
frustration. Grant Ward running and tripping over. Argh! Jonson
Clarke-Harris' penalty. Argh! Endless deliveries into the box
straight down Stephen Henderson's throat. Argh! Paul Green's attempt at a dinked ball to nobody in the box. Argh! This was definitely a
day to forget.
The panto villains
Of
course, the Millers were not the only source of frustration as
Charlton and referee Keith Stroud helped with that. The Addicks put
in a masterful performance of spoiling, time-wastingn and frustrating
and it got the blood boiling. However, Stroud's inability to nip it
in the bud early on gave Charlton the green light to carry on.
Two-goal striker Simon Makienok, who was troublesome throughout the
afternoon, became a particular villain and was lucky not to be sent
off. After his booking for an altercation with Kirk Broadfoot, he
then goaded the home fans when he scored his second before going in
late on Joe Mattock immediately after the restart. Stroud's
performance with the whistle only added to the frustration as he was
nit-picking, getting clear decisions wrong and making decisions for
the linesman. And to think, he is a certain ex-manager's favourite
referee.
A nasty old habit returns
Just
as we thought the Millers had shirked their habit of conceding on the
break (it had been three games after all), they go and do it again,
handing Charlton a crucial first-half lead. It was in the 43rd
minute when the Addicks broke like lightning down the right and gave Igor Vetokele the easiest of tap-ins – the ninth time this season they
have conceded between minutes 40-45 this season and on seven of those
occasions it has seen them lose a lead to be drawing or go behind
when drawing. In this instance it gave Charlton something to hold on
to and not only that, with their speed on the break, it allowed them
to become even more dangerous.
