The song, the fans, Woody and Ollie and that Smith strike ... the story of Morecambe 0 Rotherham United 1

Reaching out, touching me, touching you.

Rotherham United had just dealt with strong winds and an even stronger Morecambe side to win on the north-west coast and move into League One’s top six.

Michael Smith had just scored with the strike of his life. Three games in and the Goal of the Season award is already done and dusted.

“His efforts for this club are pretty phenomenal,” said manager Paul Warne. “Everyone knows what he does but he probably doesn’t get the goals that his play deserves, so I am really chuffed for him.

“He has seen players leave this club all the time and he always seems to be the last toy on the shelf, but if he keeps scoring goals like that he is going to be difficult to keep hold of.”

Tuesday’s victory hadn’t come easily. Warne’s team, showing three changes to the one beaten in the last minute at Wigan Athletic the previous weekend, showed the desire to fight for everything as they came through a real test of character.

“The conditions were very difficult,” the boss said. “We didn’t under-estimate Morecambe, we knew we had to battle.

In the first half, we didn’t have enough care in the final third. I asked the players at half-time to take an extra pass. We were much better in the second half and I thought we were good value for our win in the end.”

THE MATCH

Morecambe, despite the working-class weather on the night, is a well-heeled part of the world. So much so that a certain Benjamin Wiles and Wesley Harding appeared on the team sheet.

The Shrimps’ players, newly promoted to League One, were anything other than genteel, however, going full pelt at their opponents and doing all they could to match Rotherham’s hard running and physicality.

First half, it was Millers, then Morecambe, then Millers.

Second half, other than for a brief response after the goal, it was Millers, then Millers, then Millers.

“I knew Morecambe were a very good side before we came and I am leaving with nothing but praise of them,” Warne said. “Teams will come here and struggle.”

Smith had stung the palms of goalkeeper Jokull Andresson in the first half and Wiles had made a right Benjamin of a couple of efforts from outside the box either side of the break before the big moment.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and on 60 minutes Smith took possession on the left, cut inside, beat a defender and smacked in a 30-yarder that fizzed, flew, rasped and rose until dipping beautifully over Andresson and under the bar.

It was a winner of such quality that Warne was good-naturedly worrying again about losing a player who is Rotherham’s talisman.

“I was shouting at Smithy to pass it!” he grinned. “I thought he was going to have to play it off, but he has hit it and it was a screamer.

“All the managers who are listening, I can tell them with all honesty he never does that! That is the one for his career and it’s done now so we have got that out of the way.

“Strikers always want to score and are always judged by their goals, but not so much by what else they bring. It is good for a striker to score.

“A 1-0 win and you’re the striker who has scored ... in the old days you’d buy a newspaper but now Smudge will be buzzing to turn his phone on and get all the praise.”

The game had changed with the half-time introduction of another talisman, Richard Wood, who had been on the bench resting up for skirmishes further down the road.

The centre-half’s old-man nous and ageless power were needed in the face of the gale and the threat of Morecambe targetman Cole Stockton so the old warhorse trotted on in place of Rarmani Edmonds-Green whose first league start was unceremoniously cut short.

“I just thought that, with the wind going that way, it was definitely a game for your warriors,” Warne said. “In windy conditions like that there is no back three in the league that wouldn’t improve with Woody in it.

“I could have taken any of the back three off and put Woody on. I thought we dealt with their physical threat significantly better in the second half.”

Smith’s goal was set up by another new boy making his full league debut, Ollie Rathbone, who ran as much as anyone, went forward as much as anyone and had more clever touches than anyone.

Ollie Rathbone

He won the tackle, saw the pass and delivered it to cap a display which surely played him into the line-up for Saturday’s derby with Sheffield Wednesday.

In the 70th minute, Smith was almost at it again, cutting in from the other flank this time and unleashing a flashing drive from a tight angle that needed a Morecambe deflection to keep it out, while substitute Kieran Sadlier nearly added a late second, shooting just over after a Chiedozie Ogbene breakaway.

Then - and we all know this doesn’t always happen - Rotherham saw out the game.

“We were professional at the end,” Warne said. “We ran the clock down in the last five or 10 minutes, which in 16 years at the club I don’t know I’ve ever seen before.

“Overall, I was pleased with the performance. We fielded a different team tonight. All of the lads are going to play a massive part this season.”

By the final whistle, Morecambe’s unbeaten record was gone and Millers keeper Viktor  Johansson hadn’t had a save to make.

THE SCENES

The squad went to the fans.

Johansson jumped on Harding, Dan Barlaser hugged Jamie Lindsay, Joe Mattock embraced Ogbene, coach Andy Warrington wrapped Rathbone in his arms and Warne stood saluting the away end.

All the while, 640 travelling Millers fizzed and flew, rasped and rose like a long-range Smudge thunderbolt.

“The fans were brilliant,” said Warne. “Thank you. They were giving the lads stick in the shooting drills so I knew they were in good voice.

“There is nothing better than being a supporter of a team and travelling for a day out and seeing them win. Even if we hadn’t won tonight, I think they would have been happy with how we played.

“It is always about winning. If the lads carry on putting in effort like that hopefully the supporters will see some more wins this season.”

“Roth-er-ham, Roth-er-ham, Roth-er-ham” filled the seaside air.

Sweet Caroline, they’d belted out earlier.

Smith’s sweet strike, three away points.

So good, so good, so good.

Morecambe (4-3-3): Jokull Andresson; Kelvin Mellor, Sam Lavelle, Anthony O'Connor, Ryan Cooney; Shane McLoughlin (Adam Phillips 66), Toumani Diagouraga, Alfie McCalmont; Arthur Gnahoua (Wes McDonald 68), Cole Stockton, Josh McPake (Shayon Harrison 76). Subs not used: Callum Jones, Jacob Mensah, Connor Pye, Scott Wootton.

Rotherham (3-5-2): Viktor Johansson; Rarmani Edmonds-Green (Wood H-t), Michael Ihiekwe, Wes Harding; Chiedozie Ogbene, Jamie Lindsay, Ollie Rathbone, Ben Wiles, Shane Ferguson (Joe Mattock 72); Josh Kayode (Kieran Sadlier 78), Michael Smith. Subs not used: Josh Chapman, Hakeem Odoffin, Dan Barlaser, Mickel Miller.

Goals: Smith 60 (Rotherham).

Referee: David Webb (Lancashire).

Attendance: 4,004 (640).