The goal, the defiance, the baffled opposition boss ... the story of Rotherham United 1 Middlesbrough 0

Had Cohen Bramall intended the strike that ended Rotherham United's 11-match run without a victory the goal would have been a Christmas miracle.

The delivery from the flank scorched over Middlesbrough goalkeeper Tom Glover and into the roof of the net in front of a North Stand registering delight and surprise in equal measure.

It was stunning. But was it a fluke?

The Millers flying machine, as honest as he is quick, said: “I've gone to cross the ball, it's bobbled up and bloody come off the top of my ankle. As soon as it left my foot I knew I'd scored. For a bobble, it flew in!

“It's gone in. That's the main thing. We needed the three points. It's about time we got a bit of luck.

“I'm not bothered about the goal, I care about the three points. It means a lot more to me to make the team and the fans happy.”

Happiness has been in rare supply this season as injury-ravaged Rotherham have slipped to the foot of the Championship.

Little has gone their way in a miserable campaign but, for once, fortune favoured them and the Boxing Day result against play-off-chasing opponents at AESSEAL New York Stadium brought head coach of a fortnight Leam Richardson his first win.

Boro knocked on the door so many times and the Millers, with goalkeeper Viktor Johansson and centre-halves Hakeem Odoffin and Sean Morrison magnificently to the fore, kept it closed.

One thing the new man has done is get his men working for each other and with each other. There is a growing organisation and stubbornness about them.

“They worked really hard,” Richardson said. “That's why I give them all the credit for this win.

“You know as well as I do how low we are on bodies. People are playing out of position and being asked to do things that are probably quite foreign to them. One thing they are doing is giving a really strong account of themselves.

“It's a choice to tackle, to head, to run back, to make recovery runs, stay connected to your teammates. We had that spirit in abundance.”

Bramall's big moment came in the 72nd minute when he was fed by Ollie Rathbone and took a swing at a moving ball.

After that, Middlesbrough pressed and pressed and the Millers resisted and resisted, bending but never quite buckling.

Relief ran around the stadium at the final whistle but from the demeanour of Richardson you'd never have guessed he'd just opened his account with his new club. He looked like he'd opened a present that he didn't want.

“You'll get to know that I tend not to celebrate goals, or anything really, straight away,” he said. “I like to let the emotion levels and the education kind of seep in.”

In the first half, Johansson tipped over a fierce edge-of-the-area strike from Sam Greenwood who also crashed another effort against the bar.

After the interval, with the contest still goalless, Sam Silvera missed badly for Boro when he strode clear, and Johansson denied Michael Carrick's side an equaliser as he somehow managed to turn Riley McGree's low shot on to the post.

Alex Bangura tumbled in the area under a challenge from Odoffin but referee Andrew Kitchen waved away raucous appeals for a penalty and Seb Revan spread himself on the line to leave Greenwood frustrated yet again.

A spot-kick had looked stonewall in real time but replays cast doubt on how much contact the Millers man had made and how much of it had been inside the area.

Odoffin and Morrison, with considerable help from a resolute supporting cast, restricted Boro to hopeful, wayward efforts as the clock ticked down. By the end, there had been 19 goal attempts for the Teessiders, just three for Rotherham - and one of those was the Bramall attempt that wasn't really an attempt at all.

The stats left Boro boss Carrick perplexed. “Can you explain that one to me, please?” he said. “It's the first time we've not conceded a shot on target and lost a game."

No-one in the Millers camp was giving that too much consideration. The gap to safety was still at nine points by the time night fell but a first victory since October 25 had lifted spirits.

“Cohen was up and down the left all day today,” Richardson said. "If he chooses not to make that final run the cross-cum-shot doesn't go in and we don't win the game. It's a demand from myself that the players make sure they represent the shirt as best they can.”

The hero of the hour also recognised the result's importance. “Yeah, it's massive,” he said. “Some of our defending was unbelievable. We just need to kick on from here.”

Thanks to that ankle of his the Millers still have a tiny toehold on survival.

Rotherham (3-5-2): Viktor Johansson; Hakeem Odoffin, Sean Morrison, Seb Revan; Dexter Lembikisa (Arvin Appiah 66), Jamie Lindsay (Sam Clucas 83), Ollie Rathbone, Christ Tiehi, Cohen Bramall; Sam Nombe (Tom Eaves 66), Jordan Hugill (Cafu 90+2). Subs not used: Dillon Phillips, Georgie Kelly, Ciaran McGuckin.

Boro (4-2-3-1): Tom Glover; Anfernee Dijksteel (Josh Coburn 77), Dael Fry, Matt Clarke, Alex Bangura (Lukas Engel 77); Dan Barlaser, Jonny Howson (Matt Crooks 90+1); Isaiah Jones, Morgan Rogers, Sam Greenwood (Riley McGree 70); Sam Silvera (Calum Kavanagh 90+1). Subs not used: Jamie Jones, Rav van den Berg, Alex Gilbert, AJ Bridge.

Referee: Andrew Kitchen (Durham).

Attendance: 11,487 (2,404).