Warne-ing signs so good for Paul after a historic away-day
DELIGHTED Rotherham boss Paul Warne saluted his side after they claimed their first away win over Preston in more than 18 years.
A bizarre own goal from defender Joe Rafferty after just 17 seconds and substitute Ben Wiles’ 55th-minute screamer sealed the deal for the Millers.
Victory was their first at Deepdale since Boxing Day 2002 and their first back-to-back wins of the season to catapult them out of the relegation zone.
“It is a long time since we have won anywhere, so any win for us in the Championship is a golden egg,” said Warne.
“We’ve got a bit of momentum and a bit of belief. I think the lads are turning up for games now really having the feeling they can win.
“We rode our luck but it’s a really proud moment to win here.”
The Millers were gifted the perfect start when Freddie Ladapo’s shot was headed into his own net by rightback Rafferty.
But the Lilywhites dominated the remainder of the half and were unlucky not to get back on level terms before the break.
Brighton loanee Jayson Molumby rifled a shot wide and Everton recruit Anthony Gordon curled a free-kick just over the crossbar.
Gordon smashed wide with another good chance before debutant striker Ched Evans had a powerful header superbly saved by Millers shot-stopper Viktor Johansson.
Ryan Ledson picked out Tom Barkhuizen with a delightful pass, but his fellow midfielder poked straight at Johansson with the goal at his mercy. New signing Ben Whiteman then lashed a free-kick against a post and fired wide.
But it was Wiles – with his first away goal since February last year – who put the visitors in the driving seat 10 minutes after the restart.
Evans, who agreed a permanent deal before kick-off, poked home from close-range shortly after the hour mark to give the Lilywhites hope.
But substitute Michael Smith nearly made it 3-1 but for a smart save from Leicester’s on loan shotstopper Daniel Iversen.
Winger Scott Sinclair thought he had snatched a point when he fired home with seven minutes remaining but much to Preston’s frustration the goal was ruled out for offside.
Dejected Preston boss Alex Neil said: “I thought we should have won the game and we had enough chances to win it.
“But we didn’t take our opportunities, which is really frustrating to watch on the side of the pitch.
“You need to be clinical and deadly in those areas but I’ve never seen a start to a game like that.
“It was frightening.”
PRESTON: Iversen 6; Hughes 6, Lindsay 6, Huntington 6 (Van Den Berg
(72nd) 5), Rafferty 5 (Maguire 81st); Molumby 6 (Potts (66th) 5), Whiteman
7, Ledson 6 (Johnson (66th) 5); Gordon 6 (Sinclair (66th) 5), Evans 7, Barkhuizen 5
ROTHERHAM: Johansson 7; Robertson
6, MacDonald 6, Ihiekwe 6; Giles 6 (Olusunde (67th) 5), Lindsay 5 (Wiles
(14th) 8), Barlaser 6 (Wood 90th), Wing
6, Harding 6; Hirst 6 (Crooks (67th) 5), Ladapo 6 (Smith (67th) 7)
STAR MAN: Ben Wiles
REF: G Ward