Evans lets rip in call for better finishing
ROTHERHAM manager Steve Evans claimed his half-time rant inspired his side to beat Carlisle after blasting his troops for not being 5-0 up at the break.
The Millers dominated the first half and should have been in front at the interval only for Carlisle striker Lee Miller to cancel out Wes Thomas’ opener.
It looked as though the Cumbrians would make the most of their good fortune and hold out for a point only for Kieran Agard to turn in Alex Revell’s cross at the death.
And while the scoreline did not match up to Evans’ demands, the manager insisted they got nothing less than they deserved.
“From the start we were completely dominant,” he said.
“We must have had about 80 per cent possession in the first half, and probably should’ve been 5-0 up by half-time.
“That chat at half time was a rare occasion where I’ve had to tear into the lads a little bit, because it’s vital we keep churning out wins and keep the momentum.
“The cross from Alex Revell for the winner was fantastic, and Kieran (Agard) has done the hardest thing in football in terms of cutting across his defender and stroking the ball in the net.
Wes Thomas wasted the first great chance of the game, after a Kari Arnason long throw was flicked into his path by Claude Davis but the front man rolled the ball wide.
Thomas again found himself clean through on goal after an Agard flick, but managed to loft the ball wide of the goal.
The striker did finally find the net after 24 minutes, when home keeper Jordan Pickford collided with his own defender.
But Carlisle grew back into the contest and drew spectacularly level, with virtually the last kick of the half.
A flick-on was controlled on the chest by Miller who then unleashed a terrific bicycle kick into the far corner.
After the break Thomas was denied by Pickford while Brad Potts blazed two efforts over the bar before Agard managed to divert the ball low past Pickford in stoppage time. Carlisle manager Graham Kavanagh said: “We’re very disappointed to lose the game in that manner, but to be honest, I didn’t think we were anywhere near where we needed to be in a physical sense.
“I definitely saw signs of fatigue, which is understandable with a young squad. The first half was very flat for us, but a bit of great technique from Lee Miller gets us in level.
“Second half I felt like everybody “manned up” and we had a lot of the ball, but couldn’t really break them down.”