Player ratings from Rotherham United's pre-season clash with Sheffield United
THE verdict on events at AESSEAL New York Stadium on Saturday when Rotherham United lost 2-0 to South Yorkshire neighbours Sheffield United in their annual summer friendly.
Rotherham (4-2-3-1)
Ted Cann: 6
Made a good save in the first half and was generally sound.
Joe Rafferty: 7
Played his part in a very good first-half defensive display by the team as a whole.
Sonny Aljofree (Trialist): 7
Has looked promising in his trial outings. A big, no-nonsense defender who gets his head or a foot to the ball on most occasions.
Emmanuel Adegboyega: 7
Has shown up well in pre-season and continued to do so here. Strong, committed and can spot a pass.
Kyle McAdam (Trialist): 6
Steady enough without doing anything particularly well.
Ossama Ashley: 6
Hasn't got up to speed yet after an injury with Salford last season but more evidence that he's an athlete and competitor.
Jamie Jellis: 9
Rotherham's man of the match by a distance. Did excellent work in both halves of the pitch. A very encouraging mix of craft and graft from the new boy. Could have had a hat-trick on another day. The way he created space for himself and then beat a quality goalkeeper in Michael Cooper all ends up with a second-half shot that crashed back off the woodwork was sublime.
Aaron Nemane: 5
Quiet. Rotherham were defending for much of the time he was on the pitch so the game didn't suite the winger.
Jez Davies (Trialist): 6
Neat. Tidy. Didn't waste possession but his play might have had a bit more bite to it.
Ar'Jany Martha: 5
Frustrating. Not enough attacking threat from him when he was in possession.
Fabio Tavares: 5
The least lively of the summer signing's appearances so far but he always showed for the ball - and a thumping 50:50 challenge in the second half spoke volumes about his appetite.
The subs
Jake Turner (Trialist, for Cann H-T): 6
Had no chance with the Blades' second goal. It was a shot that would have beaten any goalkeeper. Didn't really have much of an opportunity to impress.
Kian Spence (for Davies H-T): 7
His presence made the Millers better. A mobile player who showed up well in defence and attack.
Lenny Agbaire (for Adeboyega 60): 7
Stood up well to the challenge of facing opposition from two divisions higher.
Marvin Kaleta (for Martha 60): 5
A few flashes but no real sustained impact.
Ewan Otoo (Trialist, for Aljofree 60): 7
A strapping lad who moved well and competed hard. Did himself no harm in his first trial outing at the heart of the backline.
Brandon Cover (for Ashley 60): 5
Gets around the pitch but has yet to be convincing in a Rotherham shirt.
Brandon Williams (Trialist, for McAdam 60): 5
Didn't do anything wrong. However, you'd expect a player of his illustrious pedigree to be catching the eye more.
Bruce Anderson (Trialist, for Nemane 60): 5
Found it hard to get into the game and didn't see much of the ball.
Denzel Hall (for Rafferty 67) 5:
Has had a frustrating pre-season, missing three friendlies through injury. More to come from a talented player.
Dean Gardner (for Tavares 73): NA
Good balance and speed to his running.
Cohen Lee (for Jellis 73): NA
An unspectacular but decent contribution. A young player who makes the right decisions with and without the ball.
Unused: James Clarke, Lewis Clarke.
Sheffield United (4-2-3-1): Michael Cooper; Femi Seriki, Japhet Tanganga, Jamal Baptiste, Sam McCallum; Joe Rothwell, Jairo Riedewald; Tahith Chong, Callum O'Hare, Gus Hamer; Tom Cannon. Subs: Adam Davies, Matt Doherty, Oliver Arblaster, Romelle Donovan, Rabbi Matondo, Nils Zatterstrom, Mark McGuiness, Ryan One, Tommy Betts, Dovy Sasnauskas, Billy Blacker, Harry McGlinchey, Zach Giggs, Sydie Peck, Patrick Bamford.
60 minutes: Off: O'Hare, Cannon, Hamer, Rothwell, Riedewald. On: Peck, Bamford, Matondo, Donovan, Arblaster.
72 minutes: Off: Tanganga, Seriki. On: McGuiness, Docherty.
89 minutes: Off: McCallum. On: McGlinchey.
Goals: Chong 43, O'Hare 53 (Sheffield United).
Attendance: 3,933 (2,499).
Opposition view
"I'm bothered about the result even though it's a friendly. It's that winning mentality we're after. You're bothered about taking the game seriously, about not being arrogant in your approach. You have to respect Rotherham United who've invited us to come over and bring 2,500 punters. You have to do things right."
- Blades boss Chris Wilder