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09:48:00

Rotherham 1 Huddersfield 1: 5 things we learned

Rotherham were forced to wait to complete their Championship survival mission as a 1-1 draw against Huddersfield and results elsewhere mean they can still be caught by MK Dons.

It was anything but their best performance under Neil Warnock against a lively Huddersfield side, but they dug in to earn a point.


Here's five things we learned from the game.

10 games unbeaten is a major achievement

Although they did not hit the heights of recent weeks, Rotherham still had enough battle to earn a point and extend their unbeaten run to 10 games. That sequence against the opposition they have played, with three midweek games and Warnock feeling like he can trust only 15 or so players is simply brilliant, particularly considering the position the club were in when it began. To give it even more perspective, out of the 23 other clubs in the division only Brighton, Burnley, Hull, Derby and Nottingham Forest have managed to go that long without defeat this season. Warnock has propelled himself further into Millers folklore by equalling the 10-game unbeaten run set by Emlyn Hughes' side in 1982, achieving something that Ronnie Moore and Steve Evans were not able to. It's a run that will ultimately fire the Millers to safety and one that requires unrelenting recognition and one that should still be talked about in 30 years.

Keep the champagne on ice

The Millers' would have been popping the champagne against the Terriers had Sheffield Wednesday been able to get past MK Dons at Hillsborough, but the Dons' steely point in S6 means that they delayed the inevitable for a few more days at least. They now officially need snookers to get out of this one. Rotherham's nine-point advantage over them remains in tact and with three games to play and a healthy goal difference, the Dons have no room for manoeuvre. Another point for Warnock's men or anything less than three wins for the Dons and that's that. And even if Rotherham lose all three games and MK Dons win them, that still might not be enough with the goal difference. It didn't come last night, it might not come on Saturday at Wolves, but safety will come.

Running on empty, but doing the job

We have been treated to some fist-pumping moments during this unbeaten run, the derby win at Hillsborough, the late action against Middlesbrough, Derby and Leeds and the rout at MK. There was none of that on show against the Terriers and it was arguably as limp a performance the Millers had put in since Reading away, the game before the march to safety started. So for them to battle hard and still manage to grind a point out, despite five or six of the players being visibly tired, tells you everything you need to know about this side under Warnock, if you did not know it already. Okay, Huddersfield missed some late chances and looked dangerous, but the Millers hung in there, fought until the end and took heed of Warnock's mantra that if you can't win it, make sure you don't get beat. This point should be viewed with satisfaction rather than disappointment.

Richard Wood is the new Paul Green

Richard Wood has been a revelation during Warnock's reign, coming into the side to help tighten up a defence that was leaking goals for fun. He knows his role; he has to head it, kick it, clear it and block it. No fuss required and it's a job he has been doing superbly. But when he arrives in the opposition penalty area he has been found wanting as after his catalogue of misses against Forest on Saturday he was at it again against the Terriers. In fact, he has missed so many headed chances recently that he should be dubbed the new Paul Green. In the first half he failed to get enough power on a free header just eight yards out, nodding it straight to Jed Steer and then in the second half when a loose ball fell to him in a similar position he didn't connect properly and merely flicked it to Steer again. Luckily for Wood it is his performances in the other penalty area on which he is getting judged.

The Millers' weakness is exposed

While Wood and co have transformed the Millers defence into a thrifty unit, conceding just 10 goals in 13 games under Warnock, Huddersfield exposed their vulnerability to pace. Up against the likes of Atdhe Nuhiu, Clayton Donaldson, Alex Revell or Chris Wood and Kirk Broadfoot and Wood will lap it up. But when they come up against Nahki Wells and the like, with pace to burn, they struggled. Wells caused chaos, particularly in the first half, with some searing runs down the channel which left the defensive duo in his wake. Stephen Kelly at right-back, still unbeaten in a Millers shirt, also had his toughest evening yet against the trickery and pace of Rajiv van La Parra. This defence has done wonderfully and, along with Lee Camp, provided the foundations of the fine run, but there definitely has to be an injection of pace in it at some point in the future.

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