Jerry Yates grabs winner for Swansea to sink his former club Rotherham

By Sports Desk December 09, 2023

Rotherham academy product Jerry Yates came back to haunt his former club as he grabbed the winner in Swansea’s 2-1 victory.

Defender Daniel Ayala was sent off for the Millers after 17 minutes and that changed the complexion of the game, with Swansea eventually taking full advantage to secure all three points.

The game saw two interim bosses in charge, with Rotherham believed to be closing in on the appointment of Leam Richardson.

Wayne Carlisle took charge of his fourth Rotherham game following the dismissal of Matt Taylor, while Alan Sheehan was in the dugout for the Swans after the sacking of Michael Duff.

Christ Tiehi was first to force a save in the match as he latched onto a long throw and connected with a strong half-volley which goalkeeper Carl Rushworth was able to gather.

Rotherham were dealt a blow in the 17th minute when Ayala was shown a second yellow card for blatantly fouling Charlie Patino.

Swansea looked to make the most of the extra man and Yannick Bolasie came close to putting them ahead as he met Jay Fulton’s cross to the back post.

Keeper Viktor Johansson had to deny Jamal Lowe with a strong save after the striker had closed down Cohen Bramall’s attempted clearance.

Swansea continued to threaten before the break and Harry Darling should have done better as he rose highest at a corner only to head straight at Johansson.

The Sweden international was called into action again as he had to palm away Fulton’s vicious shot from distance.

Johansson then clawed out Lowe’s header superbly, but he could do nothing to prevent the opener a minute into added time when a cross from Jamie Paterson was deflected in by Patino.

Rotherham’s protests over a handball were ignored by referee Josh Smith.

The Welsh side looked to put the game to bed early in the second half and it was a stinging effort from Darling which first troubled Johansson.

Instead it was the Millers who levelled after 64 minutes, with Sam Nombe tucking home after Hakeem Odoffin had gone up for a flick on.

Darling again threatened at the other end as he headed on target from Matt Grimes’ corner.

Swansea went back ahead in the 73rd minute with Yates able to lash home after Lee Peltier failed to get enough on Josh Key’s centre.

Rushworth was called into action in stoppage time as he pushed Georgie Kelly’s header over the crossbar.

Related items

  • Toronto FC v FC Dallas: Estevez wants cool heads from visitors Toronto FC v FC Dallas: Estevez wants cool heads from visitors

    Nico Estevez says FC Dallas must put their trust in a long-term process as the Western Conference strugglers prepare to visit high-flying Toronto FC on Saturday.

    Dallas sit 13th in the West with just two wins from nine matches this year, though they snapped a seven-game winless run by beating the Houston Dynamo 2-0 last week.   

    Just as Estevez refused to be too critical of his players during their poor run of form, he will avoid getting too high off the back of a single victory.

    "As we always say, we're never too high and never too low. It's about taking the positive things that we did against Houston to carry through the week, having the same mentality," Estevez said.

    "Also, with some of the things that we didn't do well, we'll keep improving on those.

    "As we always say, it is a process and we're trying to keep growing throughout the season, while getting results."

    Toronto, meanwhile, sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with 16 points from their first 10 MLS games under John Herdman.

    They scored two late goals to overturn a 1-0 deficit and clinch a third straight victory against Orlando City last time out, leaving Herdman to credit his players for their resilience.

    "We showed a good mentality to set the tone on how we wanted to approach it," he said.

    "I thought the guys were brave from the front and stamped their physical dominance on the game. To see the shift they put in was exceptional. It was a complete performance."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Toronto FC – Prince Osei Owusu

    Owusu has scored five goals for Toronto in MLS this year, his latest being a 90th-minute winner against Orlando last week. He has had 15 shots overall in 2024, converting 33.33 per cent of those. 

    FC Dallas – Petar Musa 

    Musa has scored in each of Dallas' last two matches, against the Colorado Rapids and Houston. 

    He has scored (three goals) or assisted (one) four of his team's seven MLS goals since the beginning of March, demonstrating his importance. 

    MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

    Toronto won their first-ever meeting with Dallas 4-0 in June 2007, but Dallas have only lost one of 18 subsequent regular-season meetings (11 wins, six draws).

    Dallas, though, are winless in their last 11 games against Eastern Conference opponents across all competitions (five draws, six losses), dating back to a 1-0 win over Inter Miami last April.

    Toronto have more league wins this season (five) than they managed through the entirety of 2023 (four), but Dallas have only lost one of their last four. A draw could be on the cards in Canada.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Toronto FC – 34.8%

    FC Dallas – 35.6%

    Draw – 29.6%

  • Saudi Pro League: Mahrez and Firmino on target as Al-Ahli tighten grip on third place Saudi Pro League: Mahrez and Firmino on target as Al-Ahli tighten grip on third place

    Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino were both on target as Al-Ahli tightened their grip on third place in the Saudi Pro League table with a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday.

    Matthias Jaissle's team were four goals up within just 25 minutes as Damac folded, Ziyad Al Johani and Feras Al Brikan netting their first two before Franck Kessie was felled by Dhari Al Anazi for a penalty, converted by Mahrez.

    Firmino then tapped home a fourth after being teed up by former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin on the break, but Al-Ahli took their foot off the gas from there, Domagoj Antolic's second-half consolation rounding off the scoring.

    Elsewhere, 10-man Al-Riyadh scored two stoppage-time draws to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw with Al-Fateh in Al-Mubarraz. 

    Goals from Djaniny and former Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayan put Slaven Bilic's hosts on the brink of victory, with Al-Riyadh playing almost half the game a player down after Khalid Al Shuwayyi's 54th-minute red card. 

    An astonishing collapse denied them, however, with Mohammed Al Shwirekh halving the arrears one minute into stoppage time before Didier Ndong headed in a left-wing cross three minutes later.

    Thursday's other game saw Al-Hazm and Al-Akhdoud play out a goalless draw, keeping the hosts bottom of the table while Al-Akhdoud inched two points clear of the relegation zone.

  • Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect

    Will Still has left his role as Reims head coach with immediate effect, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.

    Still took over as Reims boss – initially on an interim basis – after Oscar Garcia was sacked in October 2022 and went unbeaten through his first 19 league games at the helm.

    The 31-year-old was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis and led Reims to an 11th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, with his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence causing the club to be fined €25,000 per match until he began the course.

    Reims are currently 11th in Ligue 1 again, though they are winless in their last five games and have lost each of their last three. 

    In a statement, the club said: "Following a meeting this morning between president Jean-Pierre Caillot, general manager Mathieu Lacour and head coach Will Still, it was mutually agreed that the two parties would not continue the sporting adventure together next season.

    "In order to allow Reims to confidently look forward to the next year, it was also decided that Will Still and his deputy Nicolas Still would step down from their respective functions as of today."

    Still was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this season and said in February that he would be open to joining an "ambitious" Championship club. 

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.