Player ratings from Accrington Stanley 4 Rotherham United 1
Paul Davis gives his verdict on last Saturday’s events as the Millers fell well short at the Wham Stadium.
Millers (3-1-4-2)
Cameron Dawson: 5
Some supporters were calling him out afterwards but he wasn't to blame for any of the goals. Hasn't had the most convincing of pre-seasons.
Denzel Hall: 6
The new boy's positioning was found wanting on the right of a back three in the first half, but. took possession really well and moved away from opponents with ease. Looked better when he moved to right wing-back.
Lenny Agbaire: 6
A proper prospect. He'll make mistakes while he learns and and you may seem him dally on the ball now and then, but everything else from a big, mobile unit is encouraging.
Zak Jules: 4
Matt Hamshaw wasn't naming names when he called some players "soft” but the centre-half might have been one of those the manager had in mind as he said it. Too passive and has to accept some of the blame for three of Accrington's goals. More toughness needed from a very impressive physical specimen.
Liam Kelly: 4
A good player having a day as a defensive midfielder where he could make no impact. Accrington got through the Millers far too easily all through the first half.
Marvin Kaleta: 4
One burst that led to a Sam Nombe shot caught the eye but, otherwise, this was a very, very quiet debut.
Dan Gore: 7
Looked really good early on until the overall state of the Millers' performance hampered him.
Dru Yearwood: 5
One or two flashes of quality in his passing. Needs games.
Jack Holmes: 5
Played on the left flank rather than his usual right. Showed up quite well early on and delivered a couple of crosses before his impact faded as the Millers went further and further on to the back foot.
Sam Nombe: 6
Ran hard, stayed honest, posed a few problems and was rewarded with a goal.
Jordan Hugill: 4
Operated on hardly any service but did little to help himself and was dominated by Rotherham old boy Farrend Rawson.
The subs
Reece James (for Holmes H-T): 6
The Millers were better for his introduction and they started to go forward more.
Shaun McWilliams (for Yearwood H-T): 5
Has a good engine on him but wasn't really able to hurt the opposition.
Joe Powell (for Kelly H-T): 6
Always looking to create openings. Another player who improved the Millers with his presence.
Joe Rafferty (for Kaleta H-T): 6 Solid. You always know what you're going to get from him.
Kane Richardson (for Hall 61): 5
Has potential. Didn't see enough of the ball.
James Clarke (for Jules 61): 6
Might turn out to be the pick of the young crop. Has physical stature and can play.
Ted Cann (for Dawson 73): NA
Won't have been happy with his handling. Sometimes it took him more than one attempt to mop things up.
Not used: Reece Wilson.
Accrington (4-4-2): Michael Kelly 6 (Ollie Wright 67, 6); Donald Love 7 (Tyler Walton H-T, 7), Devon Matthews 7, Farrend Rawson 8, Freddie Sass 7; Liam Coyle 8, Isaac Sinclair 8 (Charlie Brown 80), Conor Grant NA (Dan Martin 9, 7, Kelsey Rooney 77, NA), Ben Woods 9; Charlie Caton 8 (Josh Woods 61, 6), Shaun Whalley 7 (Alex Henderson 77, NA). Subs not used: Josh Smith.
Goals: Rawson 10, Whalley 20, Martin 25, Coyle 56 (Accrington); Nombe 60 (Rotherham)
Referee: Ed Duckworth (Lancashire)
Attendance: 613 (174)
Opposition view
“I'm delighted. We had a plan in and out of possession and it worked. Rotherham are in a higher division and we gave a good account of ourselves. We passed the ball really well and scored some really, really good goals. The delivery from Ben Woods at set-plays is just on another level. Everyone says that results aren't important in pre-season, but it's nice to win games. We went about things in the right way.” – Accrington boss John Doolan
Final word
We'll use three of Hamshaw's ... “Not good enough.”