A goal in either half from Ben Wiles and Shane Ferguson saw Rotherham to a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Blues, extending the Millers’ unbeaten run to 15 games and taking them to the top of League One. Wiles opened the scoring on 24 with a shot from the edge of the box with Ferguson adding the second a minute before the hour with the Blues never looking like getting back into the match.

Conor Chaplin came into the Town side for Sone Aluko, who was absent from the 18, but in the number 10 role with Bersant Celina on the right, while Fraser started on the left with Kyle Edwards on the bench.

Matt Penney was back on the bench having been left out of the squad for the last three league games.

For Rotherham, 12-goal top scorer Michael Smith returned from a one-match ban, while midfielder Ollie Rathbone didn’t make the trip having been ill.

The Millers were forced into a late change with keeper Josh Vickers dropping out and sub Viktor Johansson starting.

After the teams taking a knee had been warmly applauded, the game got under way with neither side threatening in a high tempo opening.

Rotherham forced the first save of the game in the 12th minute when Jamie Lindsay hit a curling effort from the edge of the box and Christian Walton did well to get across to his left to tip away for a corner.

Town were seeing a lot of the ball but with the Millers very quickly on to the man in possession they didn’t create a chance until the 21st minute when Janoi Donacien’s header into the box from Macauley Bonne’s left-sided cross was half-cleared to Fraser, who scuffed his shot wide.

Four minutes later, the visitors took the lead. Wiles was allowed to bring the ball to the edge of the area unchallenged from deep before hitting a shot to Walton’s left and into the net. It looked stoppable and the keeper’s reaction suggested he felt he ought to have done better.

It was a poor goal to concede from a Town perspective and handed the impetus to the South Yorkshiremen, who immediately went looking for a second, Lee Evans making an important block on the left of the box and Fraser eventually clearing after the Blues had made heavy weather of getting it out of their area.

A minute later, a clever Town move down the left ended with Bonne losing his footing as he looked to cut Chaplin’s pass into the six-yard box.

In the 31st minute, Freddie Ladapo shot across the face of Walton’s goal from the right from Smith’s pass.

The Blues were having long spells with the ball but without being able to break through the visitors’ determined defence.

The Millers were looking far more dangerous on the break and on 38 skipper Richard Wood headed Ferguson’s free-kick across the face of goal but with Rarmani Edmonds-Green and Ladapo unable to reach it at the far post, fortunately for the Blues.

On 40 Lindsay was shown the first yellow card of the game for stopping Town from taking a quick free-kick, then four minutes later Michael Ihiekwe joined him in the book for dissent, which he continued as he walked away from referee Ward who called him back but decided not to issue any further sanction.

The niggly Rotherham fouls in the closing stages of the half meant the game had little flow, although the Blues won a late corner but which ultimately came to nothing.

The scoreline at the break was a fair reflection of the opening period with the Blues having been unable to lay a glove on the well-organised Millers, who had looked much more of a threat when breaking, although Town will feel they played a big part in Wiles’s goal.

Town had seen plenty of the ball but had been hesitant in playing the final ball into the box or taking a shot with their spells in possession all too often seeing them make their way towards the edge of the area then away again as they struggled to find an opening.

Rotherham really should have doubled their lead three minutes after the restart when Smith tried to head down to Ladapo from Ferguson’s left-wing cross when he should have nodded at goal and failed to find his team-mate by some distance.

Town weren’t too far away from levelling in the 50th minute when Evans curled a free-kick just over from 25 yards after Fraser had been fouled by Lindsay.

After a shaky moment when Blues defenders and Ladapo both failed to get anything on one-time Town trialist Chiedozie Ogbene’s cross from the right, the ball eventually reaching Walton, Town worked their way into the box on the left of the Rotherham area before Chaplin’s low cross was cleared.

Town found some space in the Millers’ half for the first time in the 58th minute but Fraser was unable to find Bonne with his through ball, much to the frustration of the home support.

And a minute later, the visitors doubled their lead. Ogbene worked his way past Clements on the right, Ladapo's effort was blocked but Ferguson was able to slam into the roof of the net at the far post to claim his first goal for the Millers.

Town had a mountain to climb at 2-0 against a side against whom they were yet to manage a shot on target and it was no surprise when manager Paul Cook made changes in the 63rd minute with Edwards and Penney taking over from Evans and Clements.

Town continued to huff and puff without looking particularly dangerous, while Rotherham came very close to netting a third when Smith headed Ferguson’s left-wing cross over from close range following a long spell in possession.

The Blues swapped Chaplin for Joe Pigott in the 73rd minute with a Rotherham third looking more likely than Town pulling one back.

Penney did well to work his way in from the left on 74 but failed to beat the first man with his low cross. Moments later, a Town corner from the right came to nothing.

Edwards did well to beat Ogbene as the game moved towards its final 10 minutes but failed to find Celina with his cutback. Moments later, the Millers swapped Irish international Ogbene and Ferguson for Mickel Miller and Wes Harding.

On 87 Dan Barlaser was cautioned for time-wasting then Edmundson joined him in the book presumably for scuffling ahead of the free-kick.

In injury time, Pigott looped a header at goal which Johansson claimed under his bar to sarcastic cheers from the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.

Morsy scuffed a decent opportunity wide before the final whistle was greeted by muted boos from a frustrated home support.

Town had been comfortably beaten by a well-drilled Rotherham side who prevented the Blues from managing a shot on target until injury time at one end while carving out enough chances to win the game, more than 2-0 had Smith taken his opportunity.

While the Blues ought to have had the Sunderland game won before the Black Cats’ two late goals, Rotherham showed that they’re a level above most of the rest of the sides towards the top of the division

They never allowed Town a sniff and once they had established their lead, where the points were going was in little doubt.

A chastening lesson for the Blues, who are down to 13th ahead of Sunday’s home game against bottom club Crewe Alexandra.

Town: Walton, Donacien, Nsiala, Edmundson, Clements (Penney 63), Morsy (c), Evans (Edwards 63), Chaplin (Pigott 73), Celina, Fraser, Bonne. Unused: Hladky, Burgess, Vincent-Young, Harper.

Rotherham: Johansson, Barlaser, Wood (c), Wiles, Ladapo (Sadlier 86), Ogbene (Miller 81), Lindsay, Ferguson (Harding 81), Ihiekwe, Edmonds-Green, Smith. Unused: Vickers, Sadlier, Grigg, Kayode, Odoffin. Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey). Att: 18,221 (Rotherham: 267).

Photo: Matchday Images

karl1426 added 04:48 - Nov 24 This may be a good team but I think PC may not be the right person to bring us further! His statistics speak for himself! Ole was doing a good job at Man United but he was also asked to go! Serious time to consider bringing someone who can do the job! To me honestly, this season is over!
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Barty added 05:22 - Nov 24 Our seson is going horribly wrong. Cook out now.
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Barty added 05:29 - Nov 24 Our season is going horribly wrong. Cook out now.
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dirtydingusmagee added 07:27 - Nov 24 having read all the posts [except Henrietta's usual book. there is not much i could add, Not plewased about it but i predicted an away win , I WILL just add , as its not been mentioned, the exits were busy a good while before the game ended , THAT SUMS THINGS UP.
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dirtydingusmagee added 07:33 - Nov 24 do you remember last week. player comment '' we dont fear anyone in this league '' ? kin priceless .
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Nobbysnuts added 07:38 - Nov 24 There is more chance of this side under deluded cook getting relegation rather than promotion...if your not worried now ...you should be. Absolute garbage. Cook out.
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Cloddyseedbed added 09:24 - Nov 24 What the hell does the huge team of background staff, coaches, annalists, manager do between games to put out a team to perform like that. For opposition managers it's a doddle, we play the same way every week so it's easy to work to a game plan to stop us winning. Close us down quick from the back, be hard in the tackle don't give us time on the ball, stop crosses into the box and mark bonne tightly. Game won. Peter Reid.......what the hell is he doing at our club, other than taking the money?? Performances have got worse since we have been paying him. Sorry but the manager, tactics and coaching don't seem up to the task and instead of improving going forwards, we now appear to be going downhill. Very worrying and the huge fanbase will soon start to drop off. Last night was no different to when Lambert was in charge, slow paced backwards/sideways football, one up front and no desire to win. We hardly won a header, 50/50 or 2nd ball all night. Crowd started to leave long before the end. Things need to change but Paul Cook and his inexperienced coaches seem unable to. We will never get out of Div one with tactics and desire that was shown tonight.

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tractorboybig added 09:46 - Nov 24 while cook remain it will be the same
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nick8 added 09:59 - Nov 24 Excuse after excuse after excuse, his record as manager is woeful, he is a fraud. Get out of our club now
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dirtydingusmagee added 10:16 - Nov 24 i agree cloddy, we have brought in an army of backroom staff , to do this and do that, where are the rewards , ? .We have not put a run of wins together under Cook ,and we are not getting anywhere . Promotion ? forget it . Playoffs ? that's becoming a pipe dream , another year in Lge 1 , looking the most likely outcome. Another year of re building ect ect ect .I for one am finding it increasingly difficult to listen to Cook ,his BS is taking the p#ss.

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BangaloreBlues added 10:20 - Nov 24 For me it is now confirmed that a) we are a mid table League One team and b) Cook is not the right manager to take us forward.
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ChrisR added 10:21 - Nov 24 Over 60% possession , but that was sideways and back passing , no ideas with a forward pass , could not hold onto the ball with any purpose . Even if promoted ( which is now almost impossible), this squad and manager would get hammered in the Championship.
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bluesman added 10:29 - Nov 24 I was at the game. We didn't look in it till Edwards and Penney came on. They began to get behind the defence which we hadn't been able to do all game and although their defence dealt with everything at least they put them under some pressure. It was also interesting when Evans went off and Fraser played next to Morsy. He looked much sharper and a lot more creative than Evans, who had been very poor. Evans was at fault for first goal and arguably second. IMO there are two noticeable weaknesses in current side. We don't have a creative central midfield player and we only have one central defender. So we don't have a strong enough backbone. I agree that tactically Cook is slow. He should have changed things much earlier. It's one thing to try to play hoof ball when key people are out of the team but another to persist when it's obviously playing into the opposition's hands...

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brittaniaman added 10:36 - Nov 24 The Thrashing of Portsmouth has done them more good than us, as they have leaped above us by 5pts and 9th and are still going uphill as we are going downhill. Not much to say about last nights game as we were so poor at home against a lively Rotherham. Watched it on Ifollow in the warm and comfort
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atty added 12:25 - Nov 24 So we are a work in progress. The only progress l can see is that at least under Cook we are trying to play more positive football. The trouble is it's not working often enough, and in fact it's not very positive either, so we're not progressing in any meaningful way. I'm not calling for Cooks head, but just how long do you give him? We can't just write off a season, it will only become more difficult each season.

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Nobbysnuts added 13:37 - Nov 24 What an absolute embarrassment...I don't care if Rotherham are top of the league...if we can't compete with Rotherham at home then we deserve to be where we are. Cook you are a joke...a fraud...an imbecile ..a tactically inept idiot with no plan b. You don't deserve to manage this club. Just get out. Your only embarrassing yourself now. Totally fed up and had a gut full of this joker.

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ImAbeliever added 14:39 - Nov 24 Thought I'd sleep on it. That was horrible.
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Marinersnose added 15:02 - Nov 24 Whilst I respect Paul Cooks enviable record elsewhere I have not been to impressed with his man management and tactics from day one. He appears to fallout with players and then banish them from the team. He then got rid of most of last seasons squad and I like so many expected a change in fortunes. That hasn't happened and what we have is different personnel who think they have arrived and in actual fact are nowhere near as good as they think they are. I'm puzzled by some of his recruiting Pigott an excellent player but not if played in a Cook system, Fraser and Chaplin both appear to prefer the central number 10 role and if played anywhere else are ineffective. Penny is not at the level of Bailey Clements who is work in progress but show great potential. Now the midfield Evans doesn't look hungry and is ponderous in possession. I'm not a fan. Morsy looked superb in his first couple of games and he was our Messiah according to Cook. Yes he can play but again he's slow in possession and often goes backwards and slows down t(e attacks. Morsy is not particularly tough in the tackle either and most of his bookings have been for silly fouls. Bonne is being starved of service and will not score goals if he's isolated and given high balls to deal with. The bigs positives are Edmundson and Donacien who have both been consistent performers. Cook has had money but for me we are falling we'll short of being a force in this division. Too many players with injury problems which should have been evident prior to signing. Yes I'm sure we'll beat Crewe but this is papering over the cracks. We have dominated teams with possession but it's about winning promotion. The owners are moving this great club forwards and are addressing many issues which is exciting. For me the management and coaching is not where it needs to be.

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blueboy1981 added 15:15 - Nov 24 The New Owners must be as concerned as we are with our League position - they will be taking more than a casual interest in that, and our last two results, as well as the overall situation. Don't be surprised at anything - Cook could be here at the end of the season, he could also be gone tomorrow. One thing is for certain these new owners are not going to put in what they have, and be satisfied with what they've got in return thus far. From the Supporters ? - Yes without doubt. From the Manager and Team ? - No way will either be impressing them right now. Expect anything at anytime - but KEEP THE FAITH. Success will come - come hell, or high water, for ITFC. That's the Mission.

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blueboy1981 added 15:22 - Nov 24 I'm not calling for Cook's head - BUT most people, however rational, will be questioning his ability right now. Game after game - NO Plan B - and blatantly obvious to all. Is he capable of more than what we currently see ?? - if not, he has to go - if he is capable, then high time we saw it. The season is drifting away quite rapidly - as two defeats have now proved to us all.

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blueboy1981 added 15:26 - Nov 24 New Owners, New Manager, New Players - but same old Ipswich Town, as last season … or even WORSE in terms of results … !!!
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istanblue added 15:48 - Nov 24 Lose to another promotion rival: tick Get bullied and dominated by a direct and physical side at home: tick Fail to have a shot on target until injury time: tick 13th in the third tier of English football: tick 8 points off play-offs: tick New era, same old Ipswich
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dirtydingusmagee added 15:50 - Nov 24 i dont see Cook getting us anywhere this season ,and equally i cant see him going anywhere either, got a worrying feeling he will be given this season and then look at early results next season. More upheaval wont save this season . Midtable at best im afraid . That ''give it 10 games '' seems a long way back now and it looks as good as its going to get . Cook has proved just one thing, he has the gift of the gab , nothing more .And his backroom buddies are not worth their corn imo .Christmas coming and people will be counting their pennies , The attendances will start to drop as it becomes obvious this season will be another non event .

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Monkey_Blue added 16:38 - Nov 24 Waiting for the “you are not a real fan” brigade to come out. What they mean of course is you are not blindly accepting of reality. I'll always love the club and having been to some of the worst grounds on cold and windswept nights, spending thousands of ££s when some who demand blind loyalty were warm at home or not even born yet I won't be told I have to cheer on the manager or players on here regardless. At a game? I think of the hundreds I've been to probably booed twice. Even home games from Kent are an all day £100 plus affair and I reserve the right to say Cook is the wrong man and it's been clear to me he is since about a month or so into his reign. The new owners have been cavalier in their backing of cook to the point where sacking him is now more problematic given it's a pension funds money they are throwing around, not theirs. I'm not a gambler but if you are, you know when to cut your loses instead of doubling down. Even lambert would have got us up easily with the backing cook has had and he's no genius. 😡😡😡

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therein61 added 17:31 - Nov 24 If this run continues and attendances dwindle then the money men over the pond will start asking serious questions after all they have pumped a lot of other peoples money into this venture.
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