Player ratings: Rotherham United 4-2 Bolton Wanderers

Rotherham United tore up the Championship form book to record only their second win in sixteen games against Bolton Wanderers. Bolton, who drew 0-0 at Anfield at the weekend, found themselves 3-0 down within the first half as the Millers ran riot and paid the price for their sloppy start despite a late fight back.

The Millers were rewarded for a bright start after just two minutes. Conor Newton’s cross found Ben Pringle unmarked on the right hand side and the Millers midfield rifled in a terrific volley to open the scoring. The Millers then went 2-0 up mid-way through the first half. Matt Derbyshire broke clear and his powerful shot was parried by Andy Lonergan into the path of Conor Sammon who gleefully tapped home for his first Rotherham goal. The Millers put the gloss on an outstanding first half display on 44 minutes. Derbyshire again was at the heart of the action as his pinpoint cross found Paul Green who glanced his header into the bottom right hand corner. The game seemed to be all over as a contest shortly after the restart. Matt Derbyshire rounded off a superb individual display with an equally impressive long range strike, his first goal for the Millers. To their credit Bolton did rally late on. A calm finish from Liam Trotter and a header from Matt Mills offered a crumb of hope to the travelling Trotters fans but ultimately they were mere consolation goals. Rotherham, who thoroughly deserved the victory have now moved five points clear of the relegation zone, meanwhile Bolton remain 16th in the Championship table.

Rotherham United

Adam Colin: He was a spectator for the majority of the game. Being picky though he should have dealt with the second goal a lot better than he did. 6.6
Frazer Richardson: Fairly solid throughout the game and offered a good option going forward. 6.8
Craig MorganSolid defencive display and marshalled the defence very well. 7.0
Kari Arnason: Gave a good performance. Carried the ball out well from defence and also played some smart passes. 7.0
Zeki Fryers: At times he was sloppy on the ball but overall he settled into the team well. 6.8
Conor Newton: This was his first start and he made a great impression. His energy and drive down the right hand side offered the team a new dimension. 7.2
Paul Green:  Capped off a fine performance with a very well taken goal in the first half. Tackling and energy was a strong point of his game. 7.0
Richard Smallwood:  Calm and composed on the ball and was there for a pass when he was needed. Broke up the play exceptionally well too. 7.2
 Ben PringleHe was clearly fired up for the game. Scored a perfectly timed volley to get his team on the score sheet. The quality of his deliver and work rate helped to cap off a good performance. 7.4
Matt Derbyshire: His best game in a Rotherham shirt. Brilliant long range goal to open his account for the Millers and his smart forward play helped him set up a further two goals for his team. 8.0
Conor Sammon: Worked hard, created some chances and scored. Perfect performance for a target man. 6.8

Substitutions

Adam Hammill: Had a late cameo role at the end. Didn’t have much time to make any sort of impact. N/A
Jordan Bowery: Held the ball up very well when he came on. Offered something a little different to Derbyshire. 6.6
Richard Wood: Late cameo role. Didn’t really have time to do much.  N/A

Bolton Wanderers

Andy Lonergan: Made a couple of good saves to deny further damage. Couldn’t really have done much to prevent the four goals which were scored. 6.6
Dorian Dervite: Probably the weakest of Bolton’s centre backs, couldn’t get to grips with Derbyshire all game. 6.3
Matt Mills: A goal and an assist from a defender rare and to be fair on Mills he didn’t have a bad game despite the number of goals conceded. 7.0
Tim Ream: Probably Bolton’s best player. Drove the ball out well from defense and made some crucial interceptions. 7.0
Liam Feeney: Didn’t really create anything all game. Looked completely lost when he was put upfront by Neil Lennon. 6.2
Josh Vela: Sideways and backwards passes didn’t offer much for the team which summed up Bolton’s lack of attacking threat. 6.4
Neil Danns: Could have been sent off for a kick out at Smallwood but it was missed by the referee. His overall performance was decent though. 6.6
Darren Pratley: Not great. Like Vela his passes weren’t positive enough as Bolton struggled to create anything. 6.4
Andy Kellett: Did okay in the first half with a couple of interceptions and forward runs. Tired in the second half. 6.5
Eiður GuðjohnsenWorked hard but didn’t really have any clear cut scoring opportunities. Didn’t offer much else. 6.3
Conor Wilinson: Didn’t win a lot in the air against Arnason or Morgan and was eventually substituted. 6.3

Substitutions

Jay Spearing: Gave a positive performance when he came on. His passing was more direct and purposeful. Should probably have started. 6.7
Liam Trotter: Took his goal well, but that’s about it. 6.7
David Wheater: Late cameo role, not enough time to make an impact of any significance. N/A

Man of the Match

, Player ratings: Rotherham United 4-2 Bolton Wanderers

Matt Derbyshire: I have probably been his biggest critic in his short time at Rotherham but his performance yesterday made it hard to give Man of the Match to anyone else. His clever forward play and runs were just a small factor. The main factor being two assists; one a brilliant cross to put it on a plate for Paul Green and to add to that an outstanding goal from 20 yards out.  8.0
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