Dean pushes ‘jaded’ Rotherham closer to the drop

At the New York Stadium

Rotherham Birmingham

One manager’s heaven is another manager’s hell. True delight arrived for Lee Bowyer in the shape of a fourth victory in six games since he took charge at Birmingham City, moving them nine points above third-bottom Rotherham United.

Purgatory for counterpart Paul Warne came with a second successive 1-0 home defeat, raising serious questions about his side’s ability to beat the drop.

The strain of playing a fourth game in eight days, following a series of postponements caused by two Covid-19 outbreaks at the club, eventually told for Rotherham as Birmingham captain Harlee Dean headed home an 88th-minute winner. The heavily-tattooed centrefarke half is proving a key figure in the club’s Bowyer-inspired revival.

“It was a big win,” Bowyer said. “We knew it was going to be a tight game with two teams pushing each other, same formations and cancelling one another out. It was just going to be who took that chance when it fell to them and thankfully we did.”

Although Rotherham lacked genuine quality, their spirit could not be faulted and they fashioned a golden opportunity early in the second half, Lewis Wing’s fierce shot drawing a brilliant block from Dean.

Putting your head in where it hurts has been Birmingham’s mantra under Bowyer, who said: “Harlee was outstanding in both boxes. He came up with a goal and that’s our fourth clean sheet on the spin, which is some going in this division.

“When I walked through the door, I told the players, ‘This is what I expect and this is what I demand’. They’ve all bought into it.”

Bowyer had some sympathy for Rotherham, branding their fixture schedule “crazy”, and Warne said: “I have nothing but respect for the lads and you could see they were obviously jaded at the end.

“You could hear Birmingham celebrating afterwards and it’s a sad thing in sport. If you’re in that dressing room, your life’s perfect, but if you’re in the other dressing room then it’s brutal.”

Rotherham United (3-5-2) Johansson; A Macdonald, Wood, Ihiekwe; Wing, Harding, Crooks, S Macdonald (Wiles 81), Robertson (Hirst 81); Ladapo (Lindsay 81), Smith. Subs Blackman (g), Ogbene, Barlaser, Sadlier, Giles, Olosunde. Booked Ihiekwe, Wood. Birmingham City (3-4-1-2) Etheridge; Pedersen, Dean, Roberts; Sunjic, Gardner (Hogan 89), S Seddon (Harper 89), Colin; Mcgree (Sanchez 71); Leko (G Friend 89), Jutkiewicz (Cosgrove 89). Subs Bela, Miller, San Jose, Trueman (g).

Referee Tim Robinson (West Sussex).