Millers pipped by Burnley

Grant Ward’s stunning second-half equaliser looked like earning a point for caretaker manager Eric Black after the Clarets had led at half time. But Sam Vokes swooped nine minutes from the end to sentence the Millers to a 2-1 defeat.     

Playing their first match since Steve Evans’ departure, they were competitive in a keenly contested first half, although it was the visitors, prompted by Joey Barton on his full debut, who carried the extra quality in the final third.

 They made the breakthrough on nine minutes when George Boyd’s ball over the top freed Andre Gray in behind a flat defence and the £9 million man stabbed past Lee Camp.

 Camp was the busier of the two keepers, foiling Tendayi Darikwa and David Jones and the crossbar came to his rescue from a rasping shot on the turn from Sam Vokes.

 It was still an intriguing spectacle for a vocal crowd at the NYS and the armchair supporters, with Tony Andreu flashing a free-kick just wide and Burnley keeper Tom Heaton going full stretch to deny Matt Derbyshire an equaliser just before half time.

 Rotherham did plenty of the pressing in the second half without ever really threatening a goal until Ward brought the crowd to its feet with a stunning equaliser on 77 minutes, lashing into the top corner from 25 yards. It was a terrific strike from the Spurs loanee and reminiscent of some of his goals in pre-season.

 Burnley were feeling the pressure but hit back four minutes later to net the decider from their first serious assault of the second period. Scott Arfield’s angled shot was well blocked by Camp but Vokes was on hand to turn in the rebound.

 The visitors closed the game out to sentence Rotherham to their first defeat in three, their only scare late on coming when Jonson Clarke-Harris whipped an effort just over.

 Millers: Camp, Buxton, Mattock, Rawson (Broadfoot 77), Collins, Grant Ward, Andreu (Maguire 71), Smallwood, Newell (Danny Ward 71), Derbyshire, Clarke-Harris

 Burnley: Heaton, Darikwa, Mee, Duff, Keane, Boyd, Barton, Jones, Arfield, Vokes, Gray (Long 88)

 Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside)

Attendance: 9,752 (1,595 visitors)