Rotherham United 5 Sunderland 1: Story of the day after Aiden McGeady red card plus Michael Smith and Freddie Ladapo braces at the New York Stadium
and live on Freeview channel 276
Rotherham opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Michael Smith headed home Freddie Ladapo’s cross.
Sunderland managed to draw level before half-time, though, when Ross Stewart produced a neat finish from inside the area.
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Hide AdBut it was all downhill from there for the visitors, as Freddie Ladapo made it 2-1 before half-time.
McGeady was sent off shortly after the interval, before Smith and Ladapo both added another goal each to their names, while defender Michael Ihiekwe also got on the scoresheet.
Sunderland will hope to bounce back when they travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.
Here’s how the game played out:
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RECAP: Rotherham 5 (Smith, 10, 73) (Ladapo, 41, 89) (Ihiekwe, 53) Sunderland 1 (Stewart, 25)
Key Events
- Sunderland XI: Hoffmann, Winchester, Flanagan, Doyle, Cirkin, O’Nien (Wright, 45), Neil, McGeady, Embleton (Gooch, 45), Dajaku (Evans, 59), Stewart
- Subs: Burge, Alves, Wright, Gooch, Wearne, Gooch, O’Brien
- Rotherham XI: Vickers, Harding, Edmonds-Green, Ihiekwe, Ogbene (Miller, 74), Wiles, Barlaser, Rathbone, Ferguson (Sadlier, 74), Ladapo, Smith (Kayode, 74)
- Subs: Johansson, Wood, Sadlier, Miller, Bola, Odoffin, Kayode
Predicted line-ups
Here are the sides we expect to start today.
Sunderland predicted XI: Hoffmann, Winchester, Flanagan, Doyle, Cirkin, Evans, Neil, McGeady, Gooch, Stewart
Rotherham predicted XI: Vickers, Ihiekwe,Wood, Edmonds-Green, Harding, Ferguson, Barlaser, Rathbone, Wiles, Ladapo, Smith
The inside track on Rotherham
Ahead of today’s game we caught up with Stuart Rayner, chief football writer at our sister title The Yorkshire Post, to get the inside track on Rotherham.
Here’s what he said about The Millers’ style of play.
“They have been pretty ridgedly 3-5-2 all season. They basically play with wingers as wing-backs rather than defenders.
“I’d be surprised if they played any other formation all season, it’s been pretty much that all the way through and quick crosses into the box.
“They are fairly direct but not just lumping it forward, they are a bit more than that.
“It’s just a very defined way of playing that everyone understands.”
Rotherham boss a fan of Ross Stewart
If Wood does play, he will come up against Sunderland striker Ross Stewart, a player Warne has previously tried to sign.
“Obviously I’ve been a big fan of Stewart, I tried to sign him before, so I’m well aware of his attributes,” said Warne when discussing his defensive options.
“It’s a flip of a coin. Before I have played them both with Woody in the middle, Ihiey on the left and then Wes as right wing-back.
“Wes’ performances have been good as well so there are a few connotations we are going through and have obviously watched Sunderland all week.
“We will see how they train and pick the team after training.”
Rotherham team news
Rotherham don’t have any fresh injury concerns following a 5-0 win over Manchester City Under-21s in the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday, while wing-back Mickel Miller is available again following a foot injury.
Millers boss Paul Warne is weighing up whether to recall captain Richard Wood for today’s match.
Wood, 36, has started 12 out of 14 league games for Rotherham at centre-back this season but was left on the bench for last weekend’s 3-0 win at MK Dons, with Michael Ihiekwe, Rarmani Edmonds-Green and Wes Harding playing in a three-man defence.
The Millers will be without striker Will Grigg who is ineligible to play while he’s on loan from the Black Cats.
Lee Johnson on facing Rotherham
Here’s what Lee Johnson said about today’s opponents.
“It’s a great test and one I’m really looking forward to,” Johnson said.
“All of our data suggests that they are right up there as one of the top or three teams.
“We’ve got to respect their qualities but at the same time it’s a really difficult game for them as well and if our process is right we’ve got every chance of getting the result.
“Warney (Paul Warne) is a really good guy and a very good manager.
“He almost didn’t want to be a manager and that’s interesting because it means he can just commit to his values and his philosophy 100%.
“His teams reflect him, playing on the front foot, hard working, very fit.
“We love testing ourselves and we don’t go into games with fear, we want to prove we belong here and higher.”
Johnson said his side picked up a few minor injuries at QPR on Tuesday.
Most of the squad should be available for today’s match, yet Denver Hume is out after limping off with an ankle injury at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
Sunderland are still waiting for the results of a scan to see how long Hume will be sidelined for.
Nathan Broadhead isn’t ready to return from a hamstring injury but could be back for next weekend’s FA Cup game against Mansfield.
It’s Matchday!
Sunderland are on the road again and preparing for a meeting with promotion rivals Rotherham in League One.
The Black Cats beat QPR in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night but will have another tough test at the New York Stadium this afternoon.
We’ll have all the build-up ahead of today’s match, as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.
Stick around and refresh the page for live updates.