Omari Hutchinson netted a dramatic winner five minutes into injury time a minute after Rotherham had levelled as Town came from behind to beat the bottom-of-the-table Millers 4-3 to climb to third in the Championship. Wes Burns scored twice and Kieffer Moore once as the Blues came from a goal down, scored by Tom Eaves in the second minutes, to give Town a 3-1 half-time lead but the South Yorkshiremen pulled one back via Hakeem Odoffin on the hour, then, with Town having been a shadow of their usual selves, Cafu netted a controversial penalty in the 94th minute before Hutchinson’s heroics a minute later won what could prove three vital points for the Blues.
Town made three changes from the team which won 2-1 at Swansea on Saturday with Burns, Jeremy Sarmiento and Lewis Travis coming into the XI.
Burns returned on the right for Hutchinson with Sarmiento on the left for Nathan Broadhead.
Travis started alongside skipper Sam Morsy in the centre of midfield for the first time with Massimo Luongo joining Hutchinson and Sarmiento on the bench.
The Millers made four changes from the team which lost 1-0 at home to Watford on Saturday with Sam Clucas, Tom Eaves, Lee Peltier and Jordan Hugill coming into the team for Cameron Humphreys, Sam Nombe and Charlie Wyke, who dropped to the bench, and Sebastian Revan, who was left out of the 20-man squad.
The game was less than a minute and a half old when the visitors took the lead from their first attack.
Luke Woolfenden and Harry Clarke seemed to get in one another’s way after Sam Clucas had brought a loose ball inside the full-back and the former Hull City man threaded through to Eaves, who confidently stroked past the advancing Vaclav Hladky to his left.
Town’s 13th goal conceded in the first 15 minutes in the Championship this season, more than anyone else in the division, caused frustration among the home support but not too much panic given the Blues’ comeback credentials.
After one or two passes had gone astray to a few moans - and Rotherham skipper Sean Morrison had been booked for a foul on Sarmiento - the Blues began to get their game together and in the 10th minute they levelled.
Morsy picked up the ball on the edge of the area following a free-kick and drove into the box before sending over a cross, which was met by Burns arriving at the far post, the Welshman nodding his fourth goal of the season across the face and into the corner of the net from 12 yards out.
Having got Town back on terms - via the 12th goal the Millers had conceded in the first 15 minutes of a Championship game this season - Burns wasn’t far away from giving his side the lead a minute later, bringing the ball forward into the right of the box before hitting a low shot across the face but just wide.
However, Town fans didn’t have to wait too much longer to see their team go in front.
On 14, Burns was again sent away on the right, this time by Clarke, the Wales international outpacing veteran Rotherham right-back Lee Peltier before sending over a low cross for Moore to slam home against the club where he made his name on loan from Town back in 2017. It was Moore’s first goal at Portman Road.
The on-loan AFC Bournemouth man has now scored four times in four starts and one sub appearance since rejoining the Blues, while Rotherham now match Town for goals conceded in the opening quarter of an hour.
As the game reached the 20-minute mark, Moore spent some time undergoing treatment on the pitch, having already been seen by the physio prior to his goal. The Wales international returned soon afterwards but not looking entirely comfortable.
Rotherham subsequently had a brief spell of pressure, which ended with Ollie Rathbone hitting low shot through to Hladky.
But that didn’t last long and in the 29th minute, the Blues increased their lead. Burns was again sent away around the outside of Peltier and smashed a shot which Millers keeper Viktor Johansson saved with his right leg.
The ball bounced out to Leif Davis on the left of the area, the full-back rather mishit his strike but Johansson was only able to palm it out to Burns, who tapped home from the edge of the six-yard box.
Not long after the goal, the game was held up for a lengthy spell after Rathbone collided with the advertising hoarding after a challenge with Sarmiento, appearing to have hit his head. The midfielder was eventually taken down the tunnel on the stretcher cart and replaced by Femi Seriki.
As the half moved into its final five minutes, Burns almost completed his hat-trick. Sarmiento crossed deep from the left and the Welshman headed into the ground but just wide of Johansson’s left post.
Three minutes later, Chaplin left the ball for Moore on the edge of the area and the striker looked to have a sight of goal before turning into a defender, perhaps not having expected it to have been allowed to run to him by his teammate.
The fourth official’s board indicated an additional 10 minutes, which had been anticipated after the lengthy hiatus due to Rathbone’s injury and the earlier stops due to Moore’s knock.
Having established their two-goal lead, the Blues had one or two shaky moments during time added on, Hladky fumbling a ball when diving to the left of his goal and Morsy turning it behind before Rotherham could profit.
Despite the sloppy end to the half, the whistle triggered applause from the Town support.
After the all-too-familiar early opposition goal, the Blues quickly gained the upper hand with Burns’s pace against Peltier down the right flank evidently having been spotted as an area which could be exploited.
And exploit it they did with the Welshman scoring twice, assisting once and having come close twice more. Burns and his teammates ought to have plenty of further opportunities after the break.
Nevertheless, it had been a rather disjointed end to the half, while Moore left the field at the end holding his right thigh.
However, the Welsh striker took his place as the teams lined-up for the second half but with Sarmiento making way having given away a number of fouls in dangerous areas in the spell before the break.
The second half began in a similar manner to the end of the first and on 51 there was another stoppage after Burns clashed heads with Peter Kioso and required treatment, but was able to carry on.
The half continued to be a stop-start affair, Christ Tiehi suffering what looked to be an ankle knock and requiring treatment but was also able to keep going.
Town had struggled to get a firm control on the game since the break and just after the hour, the Millers pulled a goal back.
A ball was pumped into the box by Clucas from the left, Hladky came but was unable to get much on his punch as he ran into a crowd of players and Odoffin passed into the empty net.
Another poor goal for the Blues to concede having been lacklustre since the latter stages of the first half.
Peltier was booked for a foul on Burns in the 62nd minute, then Chaplin cleverly fed in Burns with a pass from the left as the Welshman ran across the area from the right but Johansson was equal to it.
But Town were still some way off their best and on 71 sub Seriki headed well wide from a cross from the left.
A minute later, both sides made a double change, the Blues swapping Chaplin and Travis for Hutchinson and Luongo, after the Millers had switched Hugill and Peltier for Nombe and Humphreys.
Two minutes later, Clarke made way for Axel Tuanzebe, the former Arsenal man having suffered a knock.
Town continued to be unconvincing, Hladky and then Luongo giving the ball away in quick succession with the crowd showing their frustration and nerviness as the Millers continued to look for an equaliser.
And in the 80th minute, the South Yorkshiremen went very close, a cross from the right reaching Kioso beyond the far post from where the Irishman, who scored twice against the Blues in a 3-0 Northampton victory at Sixfields in April 2021, struck a low shot which hit the outside of Hladky’s right post.
The incident and Al-Hamadi replacing Moore led to the Portman Road crowd upping the volume, sensing their side needing them and the Blues began to play more of the game in the Rotherham final third.
Town, who looked to have been feeling the effects of three games in seven days, seemed to be given more energy going forward by their subs. Nevertheless, Rotherham were still seeing a lot of the ball and were prodding and probing for a leveller.
The Millers switched Andy Rinomhota for Cafu and Eaves for Wyke on 86, then Kayden Jackson - Town’s sixth sub, permitted as Rotherham were allowed a sixth as Rathbone was replaced with concussion - took over from Burns two minutes later.
Rotherham continue to push for the equaliser with the Blues still making heavy weather of getting the ball out of their final third, Hladky doing well to save Nombe’s effort from the left of the box, as the fourth official indicated eight additional minutes.
And three minutes into the additional time, Rotherham were awarded what looked a very harsh penalty.
Kioso went to ground with seemingly little or no contact from Jackson as he cut into the left of the box and referee Keith Stroud, who up to then had had one of his quieter evenings, pointed straight to the spot. On the touchline Blues boss McKenna made his frustration with the decision clear.
Cafu took the kick and as Hladky dived to his right, the Portuguese midfielder chipped a Panenka down the middle of the goal and into the net.
Rotherham levelling and time still being on the clock led to a surge in the noise around Portman Road and a minute after conceding, Town restored their lead.
Al-Hamadi played inside to Jackson on the right and the forward in turn fed Hutchinson, who took a touch before rifling a low shot past Johansson to his left and into the net to send Portman Road wild with a mixture of joy and relief.
Tuanzebe was shown a yellow card for time-wasting as the Blues sought to see out the final minutes with Rotherham looking for another equaliser.
But the Blues were not to be denied their third win in seven days and referee Stroud’s whistle led to another roar from the home support.
Aside from the spell in the first half in which the Blues went into a 3-1 lead, it was a far from vintage display from Town, who looked to be feeling the effects of having so many games in such a short space of time.
A Rotherham equaliser had seemed an increasingly likely prospect the longer the second half went on with a dubious penalty or a mistake leading to a goal always a possibility.
While some sides might have wilted after a difficult half and then conceding a late leveller, this team has shown time and again it is made of sterner stuff and it probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that the Blues were able to dig out an opportunity to claim their winner with Hutchinson once again finishing with great confidence.
A great result if not a brilliant performance which is made even better by Southampton’s 2-1 home defeat to Hull City, which moves to the Blues up to third in the table behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference alone.
Town were written off by many after their less than impressive spell over Christmas but as Rotherham now know to their cost, this Blues side should never be written off.
Town: Hladky, Clarke (Tuanzebe 74), Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis, Burns, Travis (Luongo 72), Morsy (c), Burns (Jackson 88), Chaplin (Hutchinson 72), Sarmiento (Broadhead 46), Moore (Al-Hamadi 80). Unused: Walton, Harness, Humphreys.
Rotherham: Johansson, Clucas, Eaves (Wyke 86), Hugill (Nombe 71), Rinomhota (Cafu 86), Rathbone (Seriki 36), Peltier (Humphreys 72), Odoffin, Morrison (c), Tiehi, Kioso. Unused: Phillips, Lindsay, Ferguson, Appiah. Referee: Keith Stroud (Hampshire). Att: 28,026 (Rotherham: 145).