12 games in, it feels like the season is finally starting ... The David Rawson Rotherham United Fan Column
A FAIRLY low-key game to be pivotal, on the face of it.
Sometimes, though, that’s how it goes.
There’s a parallel universe in which Leyton Orient at home saw Matt Hamshaw under real pressure. In that timeline, the slump after Northampton Town took the lead continued through the second half at Sixfields. That game dribbled away into another away defeat.
Then, illness robbed the team of key players, energy and any sense that luck was on their side. And so, another even contest at home against Leyton Orient is settled by a late defensive mistake, as they bundle in the winner from a corner. There have been passages of good play. We don’t deserve to lose. But we have. Things are bad.
This is not that universe. Instead, it’s starting to feel a bit like something is building. The win against Orient felt like the first game where we saw what the manager is striving for.
We saw real resilience, real grit, real discipline. You could say real guts, but given what so many of the squad were going through, that’s probably too literal.
We saw Jordan Hugill run himself to a standstill, every last piece of energy spent. We saw defenders hurling themselves into blocks, denying Orient’s late onslaught of corners and long throws with the kind of determination and bravery that had been missing in earlier games. We saw a clever, instinctive pass from one defender, a deft, thoughtful header from another and a sharp, intuitive finish from a forward still feeling his way back from injury.
We saw, finally, the combination of craft and graft that is what the best of Rotherham is meant to be.
The clouds haven’t lifted altogether, but there are a few hints of blue sky. Given that a few weeks ago it looked like it might be about to chuck it down, that’s encouraging.
Northampton and Orient are both standard-issue third-division teams. Not easy opponents, but if you can’t beat them then you’re in trouble.
By the same token, beating them doesn’t mean you’re not in trouble. But the path to being actually quite good runs through beating them. And beating them how we did – digging in and grinding through, then sprinkling in a bit of class – is a promising sign.
Because, fundamentally, that’s what it takes. You have to marry up the skill with a bit of sleeves-rolled-up effort.
It’s taken a while, but, 12 games in, it feels like the season is finally starting.
Just the small matter of the team we never beat next. But we travel to Oakwell with at least a bit of optimism.
Three weeks ago, that wouldn’t have been true.
Things are, perhaps, maybe, finally, beginning to turn our way.