Rotherham beat Boro to secure Championship safety

Hakeem Odoffin's 4th extremity of the play clinched different play successful the Championship for Rotherham

Rotherham secured Championship information with a crippled to spare arsenic Hakeem Odoffin's extremity proved capable to bushed 10-man Middlesbrough astatine New York Stadium.

And moments aft the interruption Odoffin sparked jubilation among the location supporters erstwhile helium lashed a 20-yard changeable into the bottommost country of the net.

The effect leaves Rotherham 5 points wide of the bottommost three, portion third-bottom Reading volition present request Huddersfield to suffer against Sheffield United connected Thursday and past bushed the Terriers themselves connected the last time to debar relegation.

• Relive Rotherham versus Middlesbrough arsenic it happened
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It means the Millers volition walk consecutive seasons successful the aforesaid part for the archetypal clip since 2016-17 erstwhile a three-year enactment successful the Championship ended successful relegation - with their past 2 second-tier campaigns lasting a azygous season.

Matt Taylor's broadside person won conscionable six of 31 league matches since they past secured back-to-back victories successful October, but person been helped by Reading's spiralling signifier and past month's six-point deduction.

For play-off bound Boro, a 4th decision successful their past six distant games means they volition decorativeness the play successful 4th spot and look the fifth-placed broadside successful the play-offs, portion Luton are guaranteed 3rd place.

Riley McGree astir gave Boro a seventh-minute pb erstwhile helium dinked the shot implicit goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, but Richard Wood got backmost to hook it disconnected the line.

Moments later, Jamie Lindsay blasted implicit erstwhile good placed astatine the different end, but the chances proved a mendacious dawn arsenic neither goalkeeper was troubled for the remainder of a stop-start archetypal half.

Rotherham mislaid some starring scorer Chiedozie Ogbene and Shane Ferguson to wounded wrong 40 minutes, but were boosted erstwhile referee Keith Stroud adjudged Dijksteel to beryllium the past antheral successful stopping Hugill's run, contempt Boro appearing to person much cover.

It took the hosts conscionable 3 minutes aft the restart to marque the antheral vantage number arsenic Odoffin recovered abstraction to unleash a onslaught which near goalkeeper Zac Steffen rooted to the spot.

The Millers had won conscionable 1 of their erstwhile 9 matches, but seemed blessed to support what they had and support their lead, inviting Boro pressure.

Michael Carrick's side, who person mislaid 4 of their past seven, bossed the last half-hour without causing excessively galore problems.

However, determination were sighs of alleviation erstwhile Tommy Smith sliced a glorious accidental implicit from the country of the six-yard box, and past successful the last moments, Johansson made a scrambling halt arsenic Lindsay diverted Marc Bola's transverse towards his ain net.