Rotherham United 0-1 Plymouth Argyle: Millers relegated to League One as Pilgrims get rare win

Rotherham grew to become the primary facet within the English Football League to be relegated this season after a 1-0 loss at house to fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle.

Rotherham keeper Viktor Johansson saved his facet in it with numerous good saves whereas Plymouth substitute Ben Waine hit the publish late on as the Pilgrims ended a six-game winless run.

Argyle – who sacked head coach Ian Foster on Monday after eight losses in 11 video games – eased their very own relegation fears with the win.

It strikes them up to 19th within the Championship, 4 factors from security, and means the Millers return to League One with an unassailable 19-point hole to 21st-place Birmingham City with solely 15 factors left to play for.

Interim Argyle boss Neil Dewsnip made 4 adjustments to his facet, with all 4 dropping out being January signings by Foster as Dan Scarr and Callum Wright returned having barely featured below the previous head coach.

In a primary half that was low on high quality, Argyle had the higher of the possibilities – Wright twice went shut after 4 Argyle gamers additionally threatened throughout a 10th-minute goalmouth scramble.

Mumba introduced the sport to life with a beautiful contact to management Morgan Whittaker’s exact cross-field cross from the proper earlier than blasting previous Viktor Johansson to give the Pilgrims a lead they only about deserved.

Argyle’s confidence started to develop after the purpose and Wright pressured a wise save from Johansson with a low far-post header in first-half stoppage time.

The Millers had to be grateful to their Swedish keeper as again and again he saved them – he tipped Whittaker’s highly effective low effort across the publish earlier than stopping a Jordan Houghton shot.

Rotherham had their finest probabilities halfway by the second half as first Cohen Bramall hit the facet netting having discovered himself unmarked on the again publish from a nook earlier than Sebastian Revan noticed Michael Cooper produce his solely save of the evening quickly after.

Johansson once more got here to the rescue moments later after Cameron Humphreys had acquired a toe on an Adam Randell cross.

He then saved a Dan Scarr header from a nook that noticed Waine head in opposition to the publish from the observe up earlier than the New Zealand striker missed a gilt-edged likelihood when he capitalised on Sebastian Revan’s poor back-pass, however Johansson was off his line rapidly to save along with his foot as the Millers have been relegated with a whimper.

Four wins and 26 losses in nightmare Millers season

Rotherham have endured a dismal marketing campaign, with simply 4 wins and are assured to end backside of the desk.

They have failed to win a single match away from house all season and haven’t gained a league match on their travels since November 2022.

Previous boss Matt Taylor was sacked in November once they have been 4 factors adrift of security however substitute Leam Richardson couldn’t flip their fortunes round and has gained solely two of his 21 league video games in cost.

The South Yorkshire facet dropped into the underside three on 23 September and didn’t climb out of the relegation zone thereafter.

Taylor, who had changed long-serving Paul Warne in October 2022, saved the membership within the second tier final season to finish a run of six successive seasons the place the membership was both promoted to or relegated from the Championship.

This season was at all times probably to be a wrestle for them and Taylor was sacked on 13 November, two days after a 5-0 reverse at Watford.

By the time Richardson was appointed on 11 December that they had slipped to the foot of the division, a place they’d stay in for the remainder of the marketing campaign.

Richardson will now hope he’s able to doing what Warne managed after their three earlier relegations and lead them straight again up – having led Wigan Athletic to the League One title in 2022.

Rotherham United head coach Leam Richardson informed BBC Radio Sheffield:

“We weren’t adequate tonight, I assumed the sport was very cease begin.

“They shaded it in each packing containers, which is probably the most disappointing factor, and I made my views clear at half-time.

“This membership’s skilled it a couple of occasions, they’ve at all times come again stronger, I really feel for the followers on the minute as a result of they’ve had a extremely tough season.

“Myself and [assistant] Rob Kelly got here in on the again finish of the yr and it was there for all to see – we have run across the nation with 64% availability of the squad within the Championship and we have probably not been in a position to get to work so much with amenities, however that is by the by, it is one thing we want to enhance on and want to deal with.

“But on the basis of right here, right now, with the emotion of results and the inevitable relegation, it’s a tough one to take.”