Wilder on warpath after Proc star strikes
CHRIS WILDER tore into his players after Rotherham supersub Jamie Proctor smashed an injury-time equaliser to deny Sheffield United top spot.
Striker Proctor had only been on the pitch four minutes when he saved the home side in a hard-fought South Yorkshire derby.
The result, and especially the timid performance, left Wilder fuming.
He said: “The performance was very poor. That was way off my standards.
“We thought we could just stroll in here and have an easy afternoon. How can I say it without swearing? We were just dipping our toes in.
“Four or five mistakes contrived at the end for us not to win. Our keeper kept us in it and was outstanding.
“We are training on Sunday morning. The players realise I am not happy. We have set the bar high. There were some poor performances.
“Some were fortunate to play today but might not be so fortunate on Tuesday.”
The Blades were cruising to a win they did not deserve after Chris Basham put them ahead in the 85th minute.
But Proctor struck home a cross that slid across the area with United players stretching for a touch. Marvin Johnson, just on for the Blades, lost the ball tamely on the halfway line.
Mark Duffy snuffed out Rotherham’s bright start in the eighth minute, evading two challenges before shooting across Marek Rodak for his third of the season.
Jon Taylor levelled in the 66th minute, smashing home from 18 yards with the help of a deflection.
Defender Basham thought he had grabbed the winner after Billy Sharp dinked in a dangerous cross to the back post presenting him with a simple header.
Rotherham could even have won it but for a series of fine saves from Dean Henderson.
Boss Paul Warne said: “We were rocked by their first goal but I was proud of the performance – toe-to-toe with one of the best in the league.
“Jamie has a hard year last year with his injury but when he plays more often than not he scores.”