Rotherham United bid farewell to trialist
ROTHERHAM United have parted company with one of the players who has been bidding to earn a contract at AESSEAL New York Stadium for the forthcoming League Two campaign.
Wing-back James Furlong had trained for around a fortnight and saw action in the opening two pre-season friendlies, but he was missing from the squad list when the club travelled Matlock Town yesterday.
After a 1-1 draw against the Northern Premier League side, Alex Bruce confirmed that Furlong was no longer with the Millers.
“He's moving on to other things,” the head coach confirmed.
The left-sided 24-year-old had come to the Millers on trial after a short spell with Slovenian side Maribor.
Previously, the Irishman had failed to make first-team breakthroughs with Brighton & Hove Albion and Hull City and his only real senior experience came in loans at Motherwell and AFC Wimbledon.
He was given game time against Parkgate and Emley and acquitted himself reasonably but Rotherham didn’t see enough to convince them to put a contract offer on the table.
They fielded a number of trialists against Matlock, with goalkeeper Max Thompson, left-back Brandon Williams and midfielder Jez Davies playing again and defender Sonny Aljofree and striker Kyle Vassell - who scored the Millers' goal - featuring for the first time.
“Some of them did okay,” Bruce said. “There's plenty to think about.”
Rotherham also had attacker Ar'Jany Martha back with them from his World Cup duty with Curacao.
He was a second-half substitute against the non-leaguers after returning to the club on Tuesday and Bruce said: “He's got something to offer.”
Two of the three youngsters who have just signed their first pro deals, Cohen Lee and Dean Gardner, also played, but there was no sign of the third, Harrison Duncan.
The 18-year-old has just recovered from a minor injury and Bruce said: “He's got a bit of work to do fitness-wise because he's been out for a couple of weeks now. As long as his hamstring's all right, he'll come around the squad in some capacity when needed.
“It's always good to see young players coming through. You want to see them do well. If they're good enough, they'll get a chance.”