Rotherham head coach Leam Richardson was encouraged by his team’s 0-0 draw with Huddersfield and felt the Millers could have picked up a rare three points.
The Millers avoided a 10th straight Championship defeat in the stalemate and came closest to snatching all three points in the Yorkshire derby.
Rotherham have won just three times this campaign and only once under Richardson but they could not force a winner against 10 men.
Sorba Thomas saw red for the visitors just before the hour mark after picking up two yellow cards.
Richardson was pleased to stop the rot but Rotherham, who picked up a rare clean sheet and shrugged off successive 5-0 defeats, remain winless since Boxing Day.
He said: “The positives are that it was a clean sheet in a local derby and we were competitive. There was good work ethic.
“We started the game well. I am obviously disappointed with the end result with them going down to 10 men – our habits have got to be better.
“The players need my support and leadership to recover from weeks like that. I would like to think they have had that in abundance this week.
“The lads were on the floor (after the 5-0 losses). I’ve had to pick them up and change shape a little bit to get more forward runners on the pitch and be more dynamic with it. It helps when players are coming back to fitness and we have more competition for places.
“I thought first half we were disappointed we couldn’t go in 1-0 up.
“We had enough possession and moments to win the game. We could have been better with our decision making.
“Is a draw a fair result? Probably because I don’t think either keeper had to work hard to keep the ball out of the net, which is disappointing on our part. The sending off ruined the game like it often does.”
Huddersfield produced some decent build-up play in the first period but most of it led to routine saves for Viktor Johansson with Jack Rudoni, Delano Burgzorg and David Kasumu all firing within easy range of the Sweden international.
Rotherham almost broke the deadlock with loanee midfielder Andy Rinomhota’s curling effort bouncing back off the woodwork. Charlie Wyke was then unable to turn in the rebound.
Huddersfield’s task was made more difficult in the 59th minute when Thomas picked up a second yellow card for hauling down Ollie Rathbone.
From then on the visitors’ threat came predominantly from set-pieces, all of which were sternly dealt with by Rotherham.
Huddersfield head coach Andre Breitenreiter said: “We came to get the three points. We started really well. Rotherham are dangerous from long throws but we defended really good.
“The game changed with the red card. You know it’s never easy to play with 10 players but in my opinion you could not see that we had 10 players. The boys did really good. We created chances and set-pieces.
“We did not score and we have to work on this. For me it’s not always the shot on the goal, it’s the final pass.
“We have to live with the 0-0. It’s a positive to get the clean sheet and I congratulate the team for their fight for survival.
“I am sure we would have won today with 11 players. It was good to get one point and a clean sheet.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
