Rochdale boss Keith Hill claims Rotherham paid for arrogance

Posted Sunday, March 11, 2018 by PA

Rochdale manager Keith Hill felt an air of arrogance at Rotherham came back to haunt them as his side ran out surprise 1-0 winners.

Rotherham’s run of 14 matches unbeaten came to a shuddering halt as Stephen Humphrys struck the game’s only goal after 67 minutes.

The Millers were certainly below their best and Rochdale exploited it with Rotherham’s keeper Marek Rodak having to make a string of saves. But he could not keep out the winner from Fulham loanee Humphrys.

The win made it back-to-back away triumphs for Rochdale but they are still seven points away from safety.

Hill said: “They were expecting to beat us. I spent a lot of time outside the changing rooms and the general sense in and around the stadium from the staff was that they were going to roll us over. Some of them were saying it was going to be 3-0.

“Karma’s a strange thing but it wasn’t anything to do with karma. We were just miles better than them.

“It was probably the best performance of the season. I thought the lads were outstanding. Their keeper made some great saves.”

Rotherham thought they had taken the lead late in the first half but Richard Wood’s header was ruled out for a foul.

Hill added: “We could have gone in 1-0 down at half time. I think there was a bit of controversy surrounding the goal but it would have been an injustice. I don’t know why it was chalked off.

“We find ourselves in a hole but with the appetite we’ve shown with the level of performance it’s encouraging but that is all it is at the moment in time.”

Rotherham manager Paul Warne said: “I think the referee disallowed a fair goal because I think their lad fouled their goalkeeper.

“I was just surprised because I didn’t see anything. Maybe our play did not deserve a 1-0 lead anyway. They did a good job against us and we did not do enough to come away with a win.

“We were a little bit one-dimensional. In the second half we had a go but they countered us.

“I can’t knock the lad’s effort but they weren’t good enough. They did not underestimate the opposition in any way. We were not as good as we have been. We looked a bit ring rusty. At times they looked sharper than us. We will have to bounce back.

“In fairness, they did not let us play. There was not much natural flow to the game.

“We did not make their keeper make enough saves. They deserved a point but took all three, which is sad.”