Relegation-threatened Rotherham earn vital point with Swansea draw

An outrageous finish by Rotherham’s top scorer Chiedozie Ogbene earned the Millers another precious point in their battle for survival as they drew 1-1 at Swansea.

Ogbene had almost got the game off to a flying start when he fired a left-footed shot from the edge of the box against the left-hand upright with less than a minute gone.

That came from Swansea skipper Matt Grimes giving the ball away at a throw in, and he was not the only one in the home ranks to suffer a shaky start as Rotherham followed Stoke’s lead from their 3-1 win at the same venue last week by pressing high and hard.

A few minutes later Ryan Manning sent Oli Cooper running in on goal and his shot forced Viktor Johansson into a smart save. The majority of the first half saw Rotherham on the offensive and a fierce half-volley from Leo Hjelde from 35 yards went inches over.

Swansea eventually got to grips with their intricate passing and a great ball from Joel Piroe gifted Morgan Whittaker a great chance in a one-on-one with Johansson in the 37th minute. He went for the dink over the keeper, but did not get the ball high enough to clear the visiting stopper and his touch sent the ball wide.

The next Swansea attack was more clinical and was finished with aplomb by leading goalscorer Piroe. The overlapping Manning was the provider from the left as he picked out the Dutchman with an inch-perfect pass to the edge of the Rotherham D.

Piroe took one touch before firing into the left-hand corner with his right foot to bag his 13th goal of the season. That gave the Swans the lead on the stroke of half-time, but they did not hang on to it for long.

Solo goal

Seven minutes into the second half, Rotherham dangerman Ogbene made up for his bad luck in the opening minute by scoring a great solo goal. Tariqe Fosu picked up a loose ball just inside his own half and went on a burst down the left.

He gave Shane Ferguson the chance to cross and he picked out Ogbene in the middle of the goal on the six-yard box. His initial lunge at the ball saw him trap it between his legs before flicking it into the goal while lying on his back.

It was end-to-end stuff for the rest of the half, with Rotherham having the best chances to win the game. Andy Fisher’s legs came to the rescue for the home side in the 79th minute when he blocked a shot from point-blank range by Georgie Kelly.