Potters fight back to stun Millers
ROTHERHAM United were denied a fourth home win back in the Championship as Stoke City battled from two goals down to earn a draw.
Two goals early in the second half looked like setting up victory for Paul Warne’s side but they were unable to fend off Stoke and were forced to settle for a point.
The first big chance of the game fell to Stoke’s Benik Afobe, but he was denied from close-range by Marek Rodak before Semi Ajayi completed the clearance.
The visitors then began to take control of the game and enjoyed lots of possession in Rotherham’s half.
The pressure almost paid off when the ball dropped kindly for Wales midfielder Joe Allen on the edge of the box but his volley was pushed over the bar by the impressive Rodak.
Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland almost gifted Rotherham the lead with a slack throw, which was seized by Ryan Manning and then curled into the side netting with the England international way off his line.
Tom Ince was the next Stoke man to have a go but his shot was deflected narrowly wide.
They came even closer to going in front moments later when Afobe’s looping header, from Erik Pieters’s cross, hit the underside of the bar and bounced to safety.
Rotherham came flying out in the second half and were awarded a penalty within a minute of the restart when Ryan Williams was felled clumsily by Ashley Williams.
Manning tucked the ball into the same spot as he did against Derby, in the previous home game, to give Rotherham the lead in the 47th minute.
It was doubled in the 50th minute when Richie Towell en- sured Richard Wood’s powerful header crossed the line following Williams’s in-swinging corner.
Stoke showed their quality to get one back in the 59th minute of the contest, with Ince sweeping home Pieters’s centre to finish off a flowing move.
They should have been level with their next attack but Allen’s unchallenged volley from Cuco Martina’s cross rattled off the crossbar.
Rotherham bravely refused to merely attempt to hang on to what they had and tried instead to extend their lead.
Michael Smith came close as his powerful header from Williams’s cross sailed just wide of goal.
The Millers lost key defender Wood to injury and had to play right-back Zak Vyner in his absence, and it was a cruel blow that proved to be a costly one.
Stoke pushed for a leveller and got one in the 85th minute through substitute Bojan.
The much-travelled striker – who has previosuly represented Barcelona, AS Roma and AC Milan – linked up with partner Afobe and found the space that he needed to guide a diving header beyond Rodak.
Stoke were buoyed by their late leveller, and in pushing for another goal looked the more likely to nick the points during six minutes of added-on time. And it looked like they would do just that, only for Rodak to eny them as he managed to get enough on Martina’s hanging cross to deny substitute Peter Crouch a header on goal.