The frustration, the stoppages, the time-wasting, the referee ... the story of Rotherham United 0 Wycombe Wanderers 0

I’m feigning injury on the office floor and I’ll get up in a couple of minutes or so.

Now I’m walking to the edge of the office as slowly as possible before being allowed back to my desk.

I’ll be repeating this many times over the next 90 minutes plus the time added on for me doing it so many times in the first place.

Okay, on to the 0-0 League One draw at AESSEAL New York Stadium on Tuesday ...

"It wasn't one for the purists," said Rotherham United manager and master of under-statement Paul Warne. "Wycombe are a really good away side. They made it difficult.

"There were a lot of stoppages in the game, It felt like the ball was in play for only about 15 minutes."

Wanderers had come to spoil, to niggle, to frustrate, to slow things down, and they left with the point they wanted.

They arrived at New York in second spot with four victories on the trot while the Millers were fifth and on a similar winning run, yet this was never going to be a top-of-the-table classic.

Wycombe can play - there were instances of attacking as quick and deft as anything the home side produced - but their approach was all about stopping Rotherham playing.

It was a night for defenders, not forwards; delays, not dreams.

"I did worry about one of the lads coming in and saying: 'Sorry, Gaffer, one of their players nipped my arm or pushed me.' We can't be having sendings-off," Warne said.

"I thought we played the game as professionally as we could. It was pleasing the lads didn't react in any way.

"We were always trying to score a goal and win the game and it is maybe a compliment to us that Wycombe were happier with a point than we were. We wanted three."

THE MATCH

Two efforts on target for Rotherham, just one for the visitors. "We didn't have enough guile in the final third," said Warne.

Disrupted in the first half by another injury for Joe Mattock, the Millers had to bring on Chiedozie Ogbene earlier than they wanted to rather than save him for a game-changing impact around the hour mark.

Neither goalkeeper was troubled in opening period that saw Michael Smith head tamely at David Stockdale, Ogbene drag a shot wide and, at the other end, Ryan Tafazolli fire two headers over the bar.

In the meantime, Wycombe throw-ins took a minute, goal-kicks two minutes, the sly tugs and pulls never stopped and visiting players dropped like flies, rose like Lazarus and took forever to leave the field.

By the end of a contest lasting more than 102 minutes the ball had been in play for 39 minutes 18 seconds.

Tempers flare in the first half of a niggly clash

Wanderers are arguably the only team in the division who can match the Millers' incessant snap and bite and neither side backed away from the scrap.

"At half-time Richard Wood thought he'd broken his leg," Warne said. "You could see in the second half that he couldn't run. He got a right crack on it. Ben Wiles has got a massive mark down his leg.

"I just said to the lads at half-time not to 'boo-hoo' at hurting because they were going to hurt even more if they didn't pick up something from the game. You have to compete and win your battles, I don't think anyone shirked a battle.

"It was frustrating for me on the sideline that the match was just so stop and start. I feel we were the better team but not enough so to create a real gilt-edged opportunity."

Four minutes after the break, Josh Vickers, in for the injured Viktor Johansson, marked his league debut for the Millers with a flying save to keep out Joe Jacobson's curling 20-yard free-kick.

Rotherham dominated the rest of the encounter but their chances, or half-chances, were in keeping with the bitty, untidy nature of the game.

Will Grigg saw a low shot deflected for a corner, as did substitute Freddie Ladapo, while Ogbene's deep cross almost caught out Stockdale who was later given an easy save by Ollie Rathbone's half-hit effort on the turn.

The positives on a night of frustration were that Rotherham improved their unbeaten record to eight matches and don't have to play the Chairboys again until March.

"The lads are disappointed they haven't won, but we are in good form," Warne said. "I thought the fans were good tonight. They stayed with the team, clapped them off and appreciated the effort we put in.

"If we finish a point ahead of Wycombe we are at least going to be in the play-offs. They are definitely going to be top six. Respect to Gareth (boss Ainsworth) and his team, they managed to reduce us to very little in terms of shots on target."

THE REF

Referee Robert Madley let Wycombe's antics go unchecked, was inconsistent in his bookings and deserved a caution himself for how many decisions he got wrong.

It was a show of Premier League arrogance from a former top-flight official messing up two divisions below where he thinks he should be.

"They ref the way they like," said Warne. "I didn't particularly enjoy it, that's the best way to put it.

"I couldn't work it out at times. There was just some crazy stuff going on. Physios took ages to come on to the pitch and then it's a three-minute delay, a two-minute delay, just loads of delays.

"The more the game went on, the better we looked and then boom, they're down again; boom, they're down again. It just kills the tempo."

Madley achieved the feat of being booed off at the end of the first half and also the second.

The final whistle brought handshakes between promotion rivals who'd gone hard at each other.

Then came a novelty: Wycombe players walking off the pitch at normal speed.

Rotherham (3-5-2): Josh Vickers; Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Richard Wood, Joe Mattock (Chiedozie Ogbene 27); Wes Harding, Ben Wiles, Dan Barlaser, Ollie Rathbone, Shane Ferguson (Mickel Miller 86)s; Will Grigg (Freddie Ladapo 63), Michael Smith. Subs not used: Viktor Johansson, Hakeem Odoffin, Kieran Sadlier, Josh Kayode.

Wycombe (3-4-2-1): David Stockdale; Anthony Stewart, Ryan Tafazolli, Joe Jacobson; Jason McCarthy, Dominic Gape (90+4), Josh Scowen, Jordan Obita; Daryl Horgan (Sullay Kaikai 71), Garath McCleary (Brandon Hanlan 77); Sam Vokes. Subs not used: Adam Przybek, Jack Grimmer, David Wheeler, Anis Mehmeti.

Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire).

Attendance: 8,104 (244).