STEVE’S HEROES SHOCK MILLERS
DELIGHTED Steve Cotterill feels his Shrewsbury side’s luck is turning as they produced a stunning win at leaders Rotherham.
Strikes from Daniel Udoh and Elliott Bennett, either side of Angus MacDonald’s straight red, secured victory for the visitors.
Ryan Bowman put further gloss on the result in added on time.
Paul Warne’s table-toppers were far from at their best and now only have a fourpoint cushion in the automatic promotion berths.
The Shrews forged ahead after 36 minutes with Udoh finishing clinically into the bottom corner from George Nurse’s pass.
MacDonald then saw red two minutes later for seemingly using an elbow in a collision with Luke Leahy.
The visitors could have made the Millers pay even more before the break with Matt Pennington close to a second from a corner.
Bennett tapped in the clincher after 78 minutes after Bowman’s curling effort was palmed into his path by Vickers.
Bowman added his own name to the scoresheet in the first minute of added on time with a composed finish.
Cotterill said: “We are pleased with the win.
“It is about creating opportunities and we feel like we have been doing that a long time. We are getting the rub of the green now. They are now going in the back of the net opposed to wide or saved.
“We had a good handle of the game and in control of it. To get the goal when we did was really good. It was a great finish.
“We know how difficult it is when you end up with ten men, but at the end of the day, it’s a sending off.
“We have had players sent off for less this season. I thought the referee was brave to give it against a team who are top of the table and in front of a partisan crowd.”
The defeat was a massive dent to Rotherham’s promotion hopes, whose cushion in the automatic spots is now diminshed.
And Rotherham manager Warne couldn’t hide his disappointment. “It’s a bad day at the office but we are going to lose football games,” he said.
“I thought it was a pretty even first half. We were not at our best against a good side. We knew they were going to be tough, they are one of the in-form sides in the league.
“The sending off was crucial. I thought Angus led with an arm and didn’t actually elbow the lad. It was a big turning point for us.
“We tried to stay in the game as long as could. It’s hard to press when you are down to ten men because you are going to get popped off. “It’s a setback, obviously, but the lads have bounced back before and we will give them a couple of days away from football to reset.”