The pushing, the screaming and how it came from only one side ... the story of Rotherham United 0 Sheffield Wednesday 1

He stood over Hakeem Odoffin spitting venom into the face of the grounded defender.

He had a screaming dig at the referee, and then another one.

This was Will Vaulks.

If only the Rotherham United old boy had still been wearing red and white rather than a Sheffield Wednesday shirt at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

His performance, his desire, his confrontational competitiveness epitomised what a South Yorkshire showdown should be all about.

The midfielder - and his fired-up teammates - gave a proper derby display on a day the bottom-placed Millers didn't and for the second time this season Rotherham were bested by the team from S6.

Saturday didn't bring the shame and fury of the October defeat at Hillsborough that signalled the beginning of the end of Matt Taylor's managerial reign, just grim, resigned anger over another depressing afternoon in a campaign gone depressingly wrong.

Nineteen points from safety was now the margin, if anyone was even counting any longer.

Leam Richardson inherited the mess in December. Relegation won't be on him but he finds himself caught in a malaise that has left him calling for a “shift in culture” at the club.

There have been marginal gains since he became head coach. Seven defeats in the last seven matches and only two points in 2024 nod at problems that were already there and can't be properly addressed in this campaign.

Afterwards, he defended his players: “If people don't see honesty and a work ethic from our lads out there then I'm watching a different game,” he said.

“Whatever we lack in certain areas, we certainly don't lack a will to win. Absolutely not.”

They lacked too much to bother a team only a place above them in the table but one buoyed by belief and momentum amid a run of victories in their scrap for safety.

The boss had called for a performance from his beleaguered men to match the size of the occasion. The boos at the end told you he didn't get one.

THE MATCH

An hour before kick-off, the Millers were already on the back foot.

The team sheets had just been circulated and their bench contained only seven substitutes.

It sent out a message of injuries, of fragility, of few options.

“You have to be careful what you say,” Richardson said guardedly, not wanting to further damage already-brittle spirits. “We're very ‘fix and mend’ at the minute.

“We've got a lot of people playing out of position. We're limited in a lot of areas. Having six outfield subs in the Championship in March, and having only one fit recognised centre-half (Cameron Humphreys), it's always going to be a challenge.”

He injected a touch of gallows humour: “On a positive note, most of them know they're going on!”

The visitors dominated from the first whistle, fashioning chance after chance up to the interval.

Viktor Johansson pushed away Liam Palmer's early effort and Cameron Humphreys block was a goal-saving one when he deflected Ike Ugbo's shot following Anthony Musaba's left-flank break.

Vaulks had Johansson scrambling across goal when he tried to sneak a cheeky free-kick into the corner of the net from 30 yards, Akin Famewo had a header wrongly ruled out for offside and Ian Poveda skipped inside from the right and curled an effort off target.

Christ Tiehi threatened, briefly, at the other end, lifting an attempt over the bar, before normal service resumed as Odoffin did well to deflect Musaba's shot, Vaulks was off target from distance and Marvin Johnson volleyed wide at the back post.

“It was frustrating,” Richardson said. “I'm gutted for the fans really. You want to give them a positive result in a derby.

“Sheffield Wednesday went up the pitch and stayed up the pitch for some time. They had corners and free-kicks and serviced the box.”

Vaulks had tackled and passed, led and cajoled, delivered quality set-pieces and almost scored. Ironically, he had just left the fray when the breakthrough came.

Sam Nombe attacked for the home side and then, nervously, turned back rather than press deeper into Owls territory.

It set in motion the chain of events in the 66th minute that saw Dominic Iorfa cross low from the right for Ugbo to steer in his sixth goal in five outings.

“The goal is horrendous from our point of view,” Richardson said. “Games are taking the same pattern where we are competitive to a level but then we are looking for that bit of quality and momentum to go our way.

“Our levels seem to drop too much after 60-70 minutes. That's down to the levels of fitness we've got at the minute.”

Rotherham had improved in the second half. Before the goal, Nombe wasn't far away with a curling effort; after it, Andy Rinomhota saw a shot cleared off the line by Barry Bannan and his follow-up effort saved by James Beadle.

After that, there was no frenzied push for an equaliser, no mad dash at a point, just a horrible highlighting of the Millers' limitations at this level in this season.

The identity of the Paul Warne era is long gone. It's not a Taylor team anymore, it's not a Richardson one yet.

Owls sub Mallik Wilks' stooping header in stoppage time came back off the post. 2-0 would have been a fairer reflection on events. 3-0 even fairer.

CONTRASTING MOODS

The North Stand stood cold and deserted.

In the South Stand, a party was going on, choreographed by Wednesday players revelling in their moment in front of a sold-out away following.

Four victories in five matches for the visitors had given them a real chance of staying up and Vaulks played as big a part in the celebrations as he had in their latest win.

The home end had been rapidly emptying before the final whistle. “Cheerio,” the visiting fans had mocked in triumphant glee.

They needn't have bothered, it didn't add any extra hurt. The Millers said that to the Championship weeks ago.