The penalty, the turning point, the mistakes and the loss of Chieo ... the story of Rotherham United 0 Sheffield Wednesday 2

KIERAN Sadlier held his head in his hands.
Kieran Sadlier strikes the penalty. Pictures by Dave PoucherKieran Sadlier strikes the penalty. Pictures by Dave Poucher
Kieran Sadlier strikes the penalty. Pictures by Dave Poucher

He knew it, so did his teammates; the opposition knew it, so did both sets of fans.

This was a huge moment.

The sold-out stadium fell silent on three sides, the home mood suddenly as dark as the clouds gripping New York that would later bring rain to Rotherham United v Sheffield Wednesday derby day.

On the stroke of half-time, substitute Sadlier had failed to score from the penalty spot and give the Millers the lead their dominance deserved.

And so the game turned ...

The Owls, full of relief and refreshed resolve, danced in at the break and danced out for the second half. Rotherham's big chance had gone.

"It would have been great to go in 1-0," manager Paul Warne reflected. "I thought our play merited that.

"It would have meant Wednesday had to come at us a little bit and there could have been gaps for us to exploit. It wasn't Sads' fault. It was a good save."

The missed opportunity wasn't the only reason for Millers concern as the boss tried to lift his men during the interval.

By now, the Millers were also without Chiedozie Ogbene.

THE MATCH

So it can happen then. Wes Harding is capable of making a mistake after all.

Saturday's contest was 50 minutes old and the home side were in control when shouts for offside were ignored and Callum Paterson was sprung forward by the visitors.

Harding - so good, so consistent since his 2020 move from Birmingham City - should have been stronger but found himself on the wrong side of his man and bundled away from possession as the Owls frontman crossed for Florian Kamberi to plant the ball into the roof of the net.

"It's a good ball down the side, a good run," Warne said. "I thought it was offside but I didn't see it from the best angle. Obviously, I'd like us to defend it better than that. It was an easy tap-in in the end."

It was poor from Harding but nowhere near as bad as the errors that would later lead to the second goal.

Everything has begun so brightly for the Millers. Kick-off had been delayed for 15 minutes because of a repeat of opening-day turnstile issues but there was no hold-up in Rotherham's attacking as they went for Wednesday from the first whistle.

Ogbene, too fast, too direct, too tricky for Liam Palmer and anyone else who dared go near him, led the charge until a 25th-minute hamstring injury stopped him in a way no Owls players could.

"Wednesday started with two left-backs to counter Chieo's threat," Warne said. "We started really well and he was a big danger for us. 

"For him to come off was a big blow. I thought Sads did well when he came on but Chieo on song is something else. Our first-half performance was excellent."

Josh Kayode won the penalty with a piercing 40-yard run brought to an end by a Paterson foul that may have been just outside the area and the young striker wanted to take the spot-kick himself.

The job eventually went to Sadlier whose well-struck effort would have beaten most goalkeepers but not the one performing like three men in the Owls net. Bailey initiated the flying dive, Peacock stretched out an arm and the hand of Farrell stunningly tipped the ball over the bar.

Josh Kayode tumbles for the spot-kick

"It's not so much a penalty miss as an unbelievable save," Warne said. "I think it's fair to say that Bailey Peacock-Farrell is the best goalkeeper in the league."

BP-F denied Michael Smith and Richard Wood poked the rebound just wide as the Millers attacked the North Stand in waves in search of a leveller.

"We huffed and puffed," skipper Wood said. "We had a lot of pressure but didn't create enough clear-cut chances."

Then, on 77 minutes, disaster.

For a moment, Wiles, who had been superb in the first half, forgot that the Owls were also allowed to have players on the pitch and allowed an opponent to move in and take the ball away from him.

The danger appeared to be over when Dennis Adeniran shot weakly at Viktor Johansson but the Swedish goalkeeper, having earlier thwarted Lee Gregory in a one-on-one, somehow let the ball squirm from his grasp. The alert Gregory challenged and this time had his goal.

The Viking has done great things in a Millers shirt and will do so again but this was a terrible slip.

"At 1-0, I honestly thought we were going to equalise," said Warne. "I was waiting for the net to bulge when Smithy had his chance. It didn't feel like a 2-0 defeat. Overall, I come away with a lot of positives. I thought the scoreline was pretty harsh on our lads.

"They were two disappointing goals to give away. At 2-0 down, I thought the lads ran out of steam and a little bit of belief in the last 15 minutes.

"I was disappointed with our set-pieces. We didn't get many first contacts. The opposition are very good players. They make it difficult for you.

"Towards the end, because of the sub early on, we couldn't make enough tactical adjustments."

"I thought Wilesy was the best player on the pitch. He got his pocket picked and then Viktor, unfortunately, spilled the ball.

"I was hanging on to the hope that the ref was going to give it as a foul but I watched it on the big screen and it didn't look like a foul. It's just an error.

"When you're a goalkeeper an error is normally fatal and today that was the case. At times today we were excellent but we just didn't have enough."

The manager was right, there were many positives to take from a frustrating afternoon as the unbeaten Owls went top of League One and the Millers dropped to 11th.

Rotherham don't look far off being contenders; maybe only a striker away.

Consider this. In their last three matches, the Millers were good at Wigan, good at Morecambe and good against Wednesday. But in that time they scored only once.

SICKLY FEELING

Events conspired against the Millers but, well though they played for long spells, they did little to help themselves.

"Chieo goes off, you miss a penalty and then they get two goals ... it's like a punch to the solar plexus," Warne said. "I feel for the lads. It's a sickly feeling."

The contrast after the final whistle said it all.

The away stand bounced in blue as the Wednesday players celebrated in front of their fans.

At the other end, Rotherham players flatly thanked a kop that had already emptied most of its red into the streets.

The scene of an hour earlier was repeating. Sadlier held his head, New York was silent on three sides.

Rotherham (3-5-2): Viktor Johansson; Michael Ihiekwe, Richard Wood, Wes Harding; Chiedozie Ogbene (Kieran Sadlier 25), Jamie Lindsay, Ollie Rathbone (Dan Barlaser 73), Ben Wiles, Shane Ferguson; Josh Kayode (Freddie Ladapo 64), Michael Smith. Subs not used: Josh Vickers, Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Joe Mattock, Mickel Miller.

Wednesday (4-3-3): Bailey Peacock-Farrell; Jack Hunt, Dominic Iorfa, Chey Dunkley, Liam Palmer; Massimo Luongo, Barry Bannan, Lewis Wing (Dennis Adeniran 59); Callum Paterson, Florian Kamberi (Lee Gregory 59), Jaden Brown. Subs not used: Joe Wildsmith, George Byers, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Marvin Johnson, Theo Corbeanu.

Goals: Kamberi 50, Gregory 77 (Wednesday).

Referee: Marc Edwards (Tyne and Wear).

Attendance: 11,522 (2,608).