It was a case of digging deep for Steve Evans’ men and they delivered. Wolves dominated the game for large spells and should have gone in front when Bakary Sako pounced on a mistake by the Rotherham defence, but he was denied from his initial shot and on the rebound by Colin. The chances for Wolves kept coming in the first half and again they should have broke the deadlock just before half time. Nouha Dicko got in behind the Rotherham defence and spotted Colin way off his line. Fortunately for the Millers his sublime effort from just outside the box curled just wide of the post.
With the game looking set for deadlock, it was the home side who made the break through. Craig Morgan’s header from Ben Pringle’s corner was saved brilliantly by Carl Ikeme but the resulting clearance from Dave Edwards hit Ryan Hall, who was charging him down; and went in past Carl Ikeme. A freak goal, but they all count. James Henry had the best of Wolves’ late chances as he fired a free-kick wide. It was a fantastic day for Steve Evans’ side as they hung on to claim their first Championship home win since March 2005. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t vintage by any stretch of the imagination, but a win as they say, is a win.
Rotherham United
| Adam Colin:After a few early blunders, the Rotherham ‘keeper recovered to have a solid game between the sticks. Made an outstanding double-save to deny Bakary Sako midway through the first half and was very commanding from set pieces. | 7.0 |
| Kirk Broadfoot: He did a job. That was what manager Steve Evans was looking for. Broadfoot had a solid game in a position that isn’t his favourite and did well even when exposed by the lack of support from John Swift. | 6.5 |
| Craig Morgan: Solid and commanding as ever. Can’t recall the captain losing a duel in the air and should have scored in the build up to Hall’s goal was it not for an outstanding save from Ikeme. | 7.0 |
| Kari Arnason: Again looked solid. Seems to get better by every level he goes up. Very commanding at the back and was an assured presence. | 7.5 |
| Joe Skarz: Reliable as ever. Did get caught out a couple of times by the Wolves’ wide man, but recovered well on every occasion. | 6.5 |
| John Swift: I’d heard big things about Swift and sadly he didn’t deliver in this game. He constantly lost the ball and didn’t track back enough to help Broadfoot on the right. Still young and still learning but this wasn’t his game. | 5.0 |
| Paul Green: An outstanding performance. His fantastic work rate and harrying in the middle of the park was vital for Millers as they were without the ball for large spells. Once won, Green started a string of dangerous counter attacks. | 8.5 |
| Lee Frecklington: Struggled to get into to the game but always offered himself as an outlet going forward. Adapted very well to the deeper role he had to play when attempting to stop Wolves from playing. | 6.5 |
| Ben Pringle: Tried to make things happen and worked very hard down the left covering Skarz. Started this season off as he left the last, with an assist. | 7.0 |
| Alex Revell: A standard Alex Revell performance left everything on the pitch. Gave absolutely everything chasing down lost causes until the 90th minute. He got little protection from the referee as it seemed he was man handled by the two Wolves centre-backs on numerous occasions. | 6.5 |
| Paul Taylor: A good debut. Looked a threat until he was substituted and was very unlucky not to score in the first half where he hit the bar. | 6.5 |
Substitutions
| Ryan Hall: A fortunate goal, but you have to be in the right place at the right time. He was substituted straight after the goal due to injury so his only real contribution to the match was in fact to win it for the hosts. | 7.0 |
| Matt Derbyshire: Had very little time to make an impact. Chased defenders down well enough in the later stages when the Millers were under pressure from Wolves. | 6.0 |
| Kieran Agard: Offered an outlet and held the ball up very well down the right hand side when he came on, was vital in seeing the game out. | 6.5 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers
| Carl Ikeme: Unlucky to be on the losing side. Didn’t have much to do and when called upon did well. Made an outstanding save to deny Morgan before Hall scored. | 6.5 |
| Matt Doherty: Largely solid and made himself available down the right hand side. Pringle had a fairly quiet game going forward so that’s a complement. | 6.5 |
| Danny Batth: Dealt well with Revell and was an assured presence at the back. A performance of a man twice his age. | 7.0 |
| Richard Stearman: Again was solid and an assured presence at the back. Rarely put a foot wrong in what was a strong performance. | 7.0 |
| Scott Golbourne: In the first half he didn’t let John Swift past him and caused Broadfoot all sorts of problems down the left. Offered himself well down the left for Sako and always gave him an option | 6.5 |
| Lee Evans: Had very little impact on the game, was largely pedestrian. | 6.0 |
| Kevin McDonald: The best player on the pitch. Can’t remember him giving the ball away once and he had it on various occasions. Came in from deep and always delivered with a pass, whether it was long or short. Rotherham couldn’t get near him all day and he really made Wolves tick. Outstanding. | 9.0 |
| Rajiv van La Parra: Struggled to make an impact. On the game and didn’t get the time on the ball from Skarz to showcase what he can do. | 6.5 |
| Dave Edwards: Like Evans he struggled to make a real impact in the game. Made a costly error which led to the Rotherham goal when he tried to chest the ball and clear in the box rather than just getting the ball clear. | 5.5 |
| Bakary Sako: A bright spark down the left for Wolves. Caused the Rotherham defence on countless occasions and on another day he would have been on the score sheet. Unfortunately for him he was denied by Colin. | 7.0 |
| Nouha Dicko: Caused the Rotherham defence countless problems, as expected. For a small man he’s very, very strong and his pace makes him a hard player to stop. On another day he’d have had a hat-trick and he was desperately unlucky with an effort from outside the box in the first half which bounced just wide. | 7.0 |
Substitutions
| James Henry: Offered a danger down the wing when he came on, but had little time to make an impact. | 6.5 |
| Michael Jacobs: Came on as a substitute and was largely ineffective. | 6.0 |
| 0.0 |
Man of the Match
Kevin McDonald: I’ll say it again, what an outstanding player. Made Wolves tick all afternoon and Rotherham couldn’t deal with his precise passing and tackling in the middle of park. Didn’t waste possession at all and delivered a fantastic defensive midfield performance. Very unlucky to be on the losing side. |
9.0 |
