The positives, the Panenka and the kick in the teeth ... the story of Ipswich Town 4 Rotherham United 3

​A chink of light in a wretched season, Rotherham United’s stirring second half against promotion chasing Ipswich Town had everything except the hard currency of a league point or three for comfort.

It was the Millers with the shackles off, going for broke, not respecting reputations and in many ways a blueprint for how to go about the remaining 13 ,matches.

Manager Leam Richardson called the performance “the good, the bad and the ugly.”

The bad was the sloppy defending that allowed the Tractor Boys to accelerate off into a 3-1 lead by half time.

The ugly was the way the team clung on to stay right in the contest and then came the good of the comeback complete with a Panenka-style penalty equaliser from Cafu. You’ve had got long odds on that at the start.

Things got ugly again with Omari Hutchinson’s gut-wrenching, 96th minute winner, proof again that teams at the bottom never seem to be able to catch a break.

“I was so disappointed for the players. The performance levels were there for all to see,” said manager Leam Richardson.

"We’ve gone to a really good Ipswich side and we dominated for large parts, particularly in the second half.

"To score three goals away from you’d like to think you don’t lose the game and to concede like we did at the end is obviously heart-wrenching for the players.

"I’ll take the blame for the result – that’s my pressure – but the players can take a lot of pride because they’ve gone toe to toe with a very good team."

The trio of Sam Clucas, Hakeem Odoffin and Peter Kioso set the standard, typifying the team’s industry and invention.

Clucas hardly put a foot wrong all night, starting with the stab that freed the recalled Tom Eaves to steer in the opening goal after just 80 seconds.

Rotherham’s defensive brittleness was then laid bare as the night seemed to take an expected course.

They were caught napping when Wes Burns ghosted into the 18-yard box to plant a header into the bottom corner of the net.

The Millers had only just digested that blow when they were too charitable again, Burns given the freedom of Suffolk down the right flank to centre for ex-Millers loan hit Kieffer Moore (who else?) to side-foot past Viktor Johansson.

The referee, Keith Stroud, had been in charge the last time the Millers won an away game, at Sheffield United back in November 2022, but the chances of him being a lucky omen were reduced again when the hosts made it 3-1 just before the half-hour mark.

Johansson excelled to keep out two attempts at goal but couldn’t keep out the third as Burns turned the ball home at the second attempt to claim his second of the night.

The sight of Ollie Rathbone having to be taken off after clattering into an LED board only added to the problems, allowing Sheffield United loanee Femi Seriki his first taste of Millers action.

Even though Burns was a whisker away from his hat-trick, Rotherham finished the first half on the front foot and took their corner count to six without really threatening to score.

Any stranger walking into Portman Road as the second half unfolded would have struggled to identify which team was fourth and which was bottom.

Helped by some bold substitutions, the Millers pressed their hosts back, brave in possession, picking their passes, finding holes, doing to the opposition what Championship opponents so often do to them.

The impressive Clucas’s centre created chaos in the penalty area and the ball broke for Odoffin to stab home to reduce the arrears on the hour mark and suddenly it was game on. True, Johansson had to make himself big to deny Burns his hat-trick but Rotherham still looked the likelier.

Ipswich got away with one when Kioso clobbered the post but when he was tripped in the penalty in stoppage time, substitute Cafu showed nerves of steel to dink the resulting penalty equaliser down the middle and in. It was Rotherham’s first penalty of the season and, boy, was it worth waiting for.

"It’s a good job it went in,” said Richardson. “I always credit lads who go up and take a penalty win, lose or draw.”

Such was the scale of the effort on the night, it would be harsh to criticise the Millers for all owing Hutchinson to wriggle free to lash in the 96th minute decider.

The 14-month wait for an away win goes on but if this version of Rotherham United turns up at QPR on Saturday then they won't be waiting much longer.

Referee: Keith Stroud (Bournemouth)

Attendance: 28,026 (145 visitors)

Goals: Eaves 2, Odoffin 60, Cafu pen 90+4 (Rotherham), Burns 9 29, Moore 14, Hutchinson 90+5 (Ipswich)