Crazy comeback on a crazy day ... on-the-whistle report: Rotherham United 3 Shrewsbury Town 3

10 men, in the teeming rain, a goal down in the second half after leading 2-0, with a referee who was no friend of theirs.

It was a test of character.

And Rotherham United passed it.

Nobody had any right to expect an equaliser from the Millers, but somehow they found one against play-off-chasing Shrewsbury Town.

Tom Bradshaw popped up with a header to seal one point that felt like a dozen.

The visitors had a player sent off late on and also finished short on numbers on a crazy, roller-coaster day at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Kian Spence had been the Millers man to walk before the break, soon after a Paul Mullin double had lit up S60.

At the end of an amazing match, full of twists, turns and more twists, the home team were in 22nd place.

Rotherham went close to taking a third-minute lead when a pass from Aaron Nemane sent Mullin running in on goal.

There was nothing wrong with the striker's curling shot, but goalkeeper Will Brook proved equal to it as he used a leg to make a vital stop.

A slip by Dominic Iorfa let in the Shrews who couldn't take advantage of the opportunity as their break forward ended in a tame effort giving Julian Eyestone an easy save.

The rain never relented and the wind was strong enough to have some fans holding on to their hats.

The weather wasn't conducive to good football and the contest was a scrappy one in the opening stages.

The conditions didn't matter one bit to striker Mullin who did what he does best and bagged two quickfire goals to the put the home side in command.

First he dinked a delightful 15th-lob lob over Brook to send the ball bouncing into the North Stand, then, three minutes later, he slid in to convert Nemane's low cross.

The Millers had kicked off in the bottom two after Northampton's Town 2-0 win over Colchester United earlier in the day, but were looking nothing like a relegation side.

However, their cause wasn't helped when Spence was given a straight red card for a challenge on Will Gray in the 21st minute.

Eyestone quickly pulled of a stunning save on a Josh Davison effort to preserve the lead, but, soon afterwards, the keeper fumbled the ball as he appeared to be fouled and Davison had a simple task in bringing the Shrews back into the game.

Not for the first time this season, Rotherham had gifted the opposition a goal, but referee James Oldham might want to look at a replay.

To their credit, the depleted Millers roused themselves and went on the attack again, even though they replaced Jili Buyabu with Brandon Cover to defensively strengthen the side.

Mullin had a shot saved after latching on to Josh Austerfield's pass, a strong handball appeal went unheeded, Jayce Fitzgerald sent an attempt off target and Mullin - of all people - mis-controlled a raking Nemane cross-field ball and saw his eventual effort blocked.

George Lloyd was stretchered off after a prolonged delay in first-half stoppage time following a clash of heads with Iorfa and the Millers man soon followed him out of proceedings.

A opening period of more than an hour ended with Eyestone holding on to a shot from Kian McMahon-Brown and an inept ref being vociferously booed off.

Jamie Jellis was missing through injury, and that meant a midfield recall for Austerfield.

Hamish Douglas, who gave away a penalty in the midweek 2-2 draw with Newport County, missed out on squad place completely as Kieran Ngwenya was handed a start in the centre of defence.

Brandon Williams, signed on the eve of the contest, was on the bench to add cover on the left flank.

In the Shrewsbury 11 was Sam Stubbs, son of old Rotherham manager Alan, while former New York loanee Lino Sousa was among the substitutes.

Alex Bruce's men lined up 5-3-1 in the second half and accepted that they would come under pressure.

They survived for 14 minutes until Josh Ruffels had a free header at the back post and restored parity for Town.

A long, long second half was beckoning for the Millers who brought on Williams in an unaccustomed right-back role for his debut.

Rotherham just couldn't get out of their own half and they fell behind on 67 minutes when a cross was flicked aon nd this time Will Boyle was lurking at the back post to head home.

That was that, then. No, Bradshaw connected with Fitzgerald's 76th-minute free-kick. He had his first goal in open play since his summer move and the Millers had a leveller.

A second spot-kick appeal, when Austerfield tumbled, fell on deaf ears before Kian McMahon-Brown pushed over Joe Rafferty to make it 10 v 10 with seven minutes remaining

At the final whistle, New York caught its breath after one of the most exciting matches ever staged there.

10 men in the teeming rain.

It was a test of character.

And Rotherham United passed it.

Rotherham (4-3-3): Julian Eyestone; Joe Rafferty, Denzel Hall, Dominic Iorfa (Sonny Aljofree 45+17), Kieran Ngwenya; Kian Spence, Jayce Fitzgerland, Josh Austerfield; Aaron Nemane (Brandon Williams 62), Paul Mullin (Tom Bradshaw 62), Jili Buyabu (Brandon Cover 27). Subs not used: Ted Cann, Kane Richardson, Klaidi Lolos.

Shrewsbury (3-4-1-2): Will Brook; Sam Stubbs, Will Boyle, Josh Ruffels; Arkell Jude-Boyd, Tom Sang, Will Gray, Kevin Berkoe; Kian McMahon-Brown; George Lloyd (Michael Golding 45+11), Josh Davison. Subs not used: Cameron Gregory, Isaac Lee, Lino Sousa, Joseph Gbode, Jeval Thompson-McKenzie, Hugo Aiston.

Goals: Mullin 15, 18, Bradshaw 76 (Rotherham); Davison 23, Ruffels 59, Boyle 67 (Shrewsbury)

Referee: James Oldham (Derbyshire)

Attendance: 7,562 (697)