Swansea 1 – 1 Rotherham

Swansea and Rotherham earned a point apiece from an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Swansea.com Stadium on Monday night.

Joel Piroe ended a four-match goal drought to give the hosts the lead three minutes before the break, after Chiedozie Ogbene had struck the post inside the first minute for Rotherham.

But Republic of Ireland international Ogbene struck a bizarre, improved equaliser with 52 minutes on the clock with Swansea unable to recapture the lead.

The point is, arguably, more valuable to Matt Taylor’s Millers, who are now six points above the relegation zone with 12 games to play; Swansea now sit 15th, 10 points outside the top six, with their play-off hopes ebbing away.

How Rotherham earned a valuable point in South Wales

With both sides no doubt sensing this as an opportunity to earn points for their respective causes, it seemed proceedings would be open, particularly given that Swansea’s 33 league games had seen a total of 96 goals scored.

The first chance came in a flash, when Ogbene cut in from the right and curled a shot off the left-hand post, but, thereafter, Swansea struggled to dominate possession as they so often do, and while Rotherham were well-organised at the back, at the other end of the pitch, they toiled. A spark was required.

That spark came three minutes before the break. Joe Allen – making his 600th senior appearance – threaded a ball over to Ryan Manning on the left, who delivered a neat cross for Piroe to show a lethal touch to open the scoring despite having been largely anonymous to that point.

The lead did not last long, though. Inside 10 minutes of the restart, Brentford loanee Tariqe Fosu dribbled down the left flank and waited for the overlapping run of Shane Ferguson, whose cross found Ogbene, who prodded in after he had stopped the ball dead when initially sliding to meet the ball.

Bailey Wright was then seemingly fortunate not to be punished as the last man for grappling with Morgan Whittaker as the Swansea forward raced forward to try and latch onto a long ball from Swansea goalkeeper Andy Fisher.

Rotherham had the chance to win the game, when Georgie Kelly fired straight at Fisher after a frantic goalmouth scramble, but it ended end all square, prompting loud boos from the home fans.

Player of the match – Chiedozie Ogbene

What’s next?

Both teams are next in action on Saturday, March 4 at 3pm. Swansea travel to Kenilworth Road to take on Luton, while Rotherham welcome Gareth Ainsworth’s QPR to the New York Stadium.