Town suffered their first home defeat of the season and dropped off the top of the table as Rotherham United won 2-0 at Portman Road via two Matt Crooks goals. The midfielder struck first on 11, then added the second three minutes after the restart as the Blues fell to their second 2-0 loss in four days and Peterborough took over at the top of League One following their 4-0 victory over Accrington, who beat the Blues on Sunday.

Town boss Paul Lambert made five changes from the team which lost 2-0 against Stanley. James Wilson returned to the centre of Blues’ defence, having been suspended at the weekend, with the Blues starting with a four-man backline. Luke Woolfenden moved to the bench and Toto Nsiala dropped out of the 18.

Kane Vincent-Young was at right-back having missed the Accrington game with his groin injury with Gwion Edwards was on the bench.

In midfield, Emyr Huws replaced Andre Dozzell, who also missed out on a place in the squad, alongside Cole Skuse, while Danny Rowe also came into the team behind the front two with Alan Judge among the subs.

Up front, Will Keane started alongside Kayden Jackson with James Norwood and Flynn Downes both back on the bench after groin surgery and a hip knock respectively.

Former Blues keeper Lewis Price was on the bench for the Millers alongside one-time Town trialist Chiedozie Ogbene.

Rain fell steadily and persistently as the game got under way. Within two minutes a pacy Jackson run down the left won a Blues corner from which they went close to taking an early lead.

Rowe claimed he was tugged as he sought to get on to the loose ball after Rotherham had failed to clear but referee John Busby was unimpressed.

The ball eventually reached Huws at the back of the box from where he struck a shot which Millers keeper Daniel Iversen pushed into the air. Keane was first to the ball but headed straight at the keeper.

The wet conditions were having an impact on both sides in the early stages with Rotherham struggling to clear their lines on a number of occasions but with the Blues unable to profit.

The Millers hadn’t seriously threatened but in the 11th minute they took the lead. Skuse felt he was fouled as he held off a Rotherham player on the edge of his own box but referee Busby felt otherwise and Ben Wiles sent the ball back in from the left and it fell for Crooks, who struck a powerful low effort which skimmed across the wet pitch and through keeper Tomas Holy’s legs.

Rotherham should have made it 2-0 two minutes later when Joe Mattock found Matthew Olosunde breaking into the area at the far post with a cross from the left but the US international shot over when he should have hit the target at the very least.

The visitors continued to look the more threatening side and on 25 Trevor Clarke whipped over a freekick from the right which Crooks only just failed to get his head on.

Three minutes later Clarke was booked for a very late challenge on Vincent-Young, hardly the first Rotherham challenge which had warranted a yellow card.

On 30 Mattock was spoken to by the referee for time-wasting with the Millers taking an age with every restart having gone in front. In the 42nd minute Wiles was booked for kicking the ball away as Town prepared to take their 11th freekick of a very stop-start half.

Just before the whistle, Mattock crossed from the left and Michael Smith headed over at the far post.

It had been a scruffy, disjointed half from the Blues who had struggled to pass the ball with any fluidity - the damp conditions playing a part - and aside from the early double chance had rarely looked like scoring. All too often players got on one another’s way in a congested midfield area.

Rotherham took their chance when it came and might well have doubled their lead soon afterwards. From there, they looked to disrupt the flow of the game and frustrate the Blues but when they had the ball also managed to create one or two further openings.

Despite the lacklustre first period, Town were unchanged as the second half got under way with the rain continuing to fall. In the opening minute Jackson crossed from the right but none of his team-mates had broken into the area.

Three minutes after the restart, the Millers doubled their lead. Midway inside the Town half, Skuse cleared the ball against Wiles, who broke towards goal before playing inside to Crooks and the midfielder slipped his second of the game past Holy.

Town briefly put the visitors under some pressure and in the 52nd minute Rowe, by now playing wide on the right with Huws on the left, sent in a cross beyond his team-mates.

Rotherham almost made it 3-0 in the 55th minute when Mattock whipped over a cross from the left and Smith flicked a header across goal, Holy doing superbly to tip it past the post. In the aftermath of the corner Billy Jones shot well wide.

Two minutes later, Jackson sent in a cross from the left which Iversen struggled to claim but referee Busby blew up for an infringement as Jon Nolan hooked Huws’s knockback towards goal.

Smith shot wide for the Millers, who were continuing to create most of the game’s openings, then just before the hour mark Huws was replaced by Anthony Georgiou.

The Cyprus international’s introduction started to have an impact and on 63 he twisted and turned on the left before hitting a shot which took multiple deflections before going behind.

In the 67th minute, with Town not making too much of an impression on the Millers’ backline, the Blues swapped Rowe and Keane for Edwards and Norwood. A minute later, Rotherham switched Clarke for one-time Blues trialist Ogbene.

Three minutes later Garbutt made a brilliant run from very deep, taking the ball into the area via a couple of fortunate ricochets. However, keeper Iversen’s toe took it away from the left-back as he sought to round him and apply the final touch.

At the other end Ogbene almost added a third for the South Yorkshiremen, who were looking a danger on the counter-attack as Town went looking for a goal which would put them back in the game, the former Limerick man sliding in at the far post to divert Smith’s low cross from the right over.

Mattock was booked for a foul on Edwards wide on the Blues right in the 76th minute. From the freekick, Garbutt’s cross-shot flew over at the far post.

Two minutes later, Rotherham were an inch or two from making it 3-0 when Michael Ihiekwe nodded a Wiles corner against a post.

Moments later, the Millers replaced two-goal Crooks with Dan Barlaser as they prepared to take a freekick, Edwards having been booked for a foul.

As the match moved into its final 10 minutes Rotherham were looking the more likely scorers of the game’s third goal than the Blues.

Georgiou smashed in a low cross from the left in the 83rd minute but it was cleared at the near post. Seconds later Olosunde was replaced by Carlton Morris.

Skuse headed a Georgiou corner from the left wide on 88 but the game had been all but over for some while, even with the referee adding four minutes.

Referee Busby’s whistle was greeted by muted boos after a second disappointing Blues performance and result in a few days and a first home loss since the 1-0 defeat to Swansea in April.

The Blues switched things around at the break, moving into a more orthodox 4-4-2 but conceded Rotherham’s poor second only three minutes after the restart.

From there the Blues huffed and puffed and never seriously threatened the goal which would have brought them back into the game, aside perhaps from Garbutt’s solo run.

The team struggled to adjust to the changed system in the first half, with player literally tripping over one another in midfield at times, while too many put in under par performances. Set pieces were poor and all too often crosses hit the first man.

Peterborough’s 3-0 home victory over Accrington takes them above the Blues and Wycombe on goal difference - all three have 27 points - but with Town having a game in hand on both.

The Blues will be hoping to arrest their sudden slide when they travel to take on second-bottom Southend at Roots Hall on Saturday.

Town: Holy, Chambers (c), Skuse, Wilson, Vincent-Young, Nolan, Huws (Georgiou 59), Rowe (Edwards 67), Garbutt, Jackson, Keane (Norwood 67). Unused: Norris, Judge, Downes, Woolfenden.

Rotherham: Iversen, Jones, Wood (c), Ihiekwe, Mattock, Olosunde (Morris 84), Wiles, Lindsay, Clarke (Ogbene 69), Crooks (Barlaser 79), Smith. Unused: Price, Lamy, Hastie, Ladapo. Referee: John Busby (Oxfordshire). Att: 20,550 (Rotherham: 229).

Photo: TWTD

Wishing4arightback added 22:28 - Oct 23 What a load of rubbish....... but fair play Rotherham, they bullied us off the park and did us, simple as! This is league 1, with physical aggressive teams, but we do not have a plan to cope. We missed a physical presence throughout the spine. Wolfy would have been a better match to Smith, Downes would have let their midfield know they were in a game and Norwood at least put defenders on their arse when he came on. Keane never wins much in the air and never chases, For a big lad hes very lightweight! Robert's is a much better replacement for Norwood at this level. No width, no plan B and clear moaning amongst the players. Saturday will be interesting, back to basics and play as if we are in league one, or carry on being a tad arrogant and watch us struggle!

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agravenor added 22:29 - Oct 23 Not good enough again tonight, flashbacks of last year! Back three made totos performance look good. Lacklustre in the midfield with no real steel, not getting to the ball before the bounce and being beaten to every second ball. Keane looked off the pace, positioning was terrible. Need Downes back ASAP and some more physicality from somewhere. Think we should go back to a simple 442 and get a solid base of consistent starters. Refereeing in this league is woeful, how there wasn't a yellow for time wasting I'll never know. Let's stick with lambert and the boys and remember it's not a big disaster...If we are being honest we knew this year wouldn't be simple!! Onto Southend for a big win. COYB

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runaround added 22:29 - Oct 23 Excellent for 4 minutes then awful for the remaining 90 minutes with Rotherham worthy winners. 2 games in a row where it's hard to say any players have played well which is very concerning. After Southend on Saturday we only have 1 league game in the following 4 weeks so we just have to win & have to win well. Nothing else will suffice. I also think Lambert needs to stop so much rotation and play his best available XI every game

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EssexTractor added 22:32 - Oct 23 Yet again devoid of League One ability as we were on Sunday. Rotherham, ( who knew much of their players?..no) were in our faces after the first 120 seconds, giving us no room , sometimes through their combatative play, sometimes even more than that..but it worked for them, and having apparently no worries about collecting bookings they took total control of the match. And for us, now yes 27 points some fortunate, but if possible watch the match again and see how many times we were able to play the ball on the ground, to be a team , the defenders forming a strong back line, encouraging a creative midfield to skilfully set up chances for a scoring frontline..you blinked and missed that? So yes we love skill , and breathtaking goals but we have to find greater physicality to compete against lesser able League One players and play as a team...tonight very simply we were not that. Again flimsy in midfield, shapeless well before the final minute...devoid of everything, our game plan has to alter, for that marvellous band of fans, otherwise we will sadly see more dreary outcomes as we have in last two matches.

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DifferentGravy added 22:36 - Oct 23 Lots of valid points. Understand the need for rotation but only if players are injured or worn out. Tinkering for the sake of it has a detrimental effect. I was at the Tranmere game and Skuse at the back does not work. I go for the 3-5-2 with Chambers/Wilson/Woolfy. Then 3 central midfielders Downes/Nolan/Skuse. Wing backs KVY and Garbutt. Up front Jackson and Norwood. Georgiou/Huws/Keane/Dobra/Rowe on the bench. This team has kept the goals out and created chances. 3 shots at home is unacceptable. Im trying so hard not to moan and complain but i agree with many comments here, it smacked of last season. Back in the early 80s Ipswich nearly won the FA Cup, league and then the Uefa cup with a tiny squad. No tinkering there. The team have already had plenty of rest with international breaks. Fair enough a few injuries......but just play the best team available Lambert!! Almost feels like he is trying to win a game in the most difficult way possible.

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OldClactonBlue added 22:36 - Oct 23 Sorry, in spite of what Paul Lambert just said that was as bad as it gets. If he can't see that Chambers and Wilson are simply not good enough then it's not going to get much better any time soon.
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SickParrot added 22:39 - Oct 23 Losing games back to back to teams we should be beating is disappointing but the manner of the two defeats is very worrying. Southend is now a very important game. We need a win and a good performance. If we lose again, the losing mentality of last season may rear it's ugly head again. I was pleasantly surprised by our unbeaten start to the season but I now fear that we may quickly drop down the league.

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Bluearmy_81 added 22:41 - Oct 23 You calling for significant investment Clacton?!! Dream on. Think league one mediocrity is fine with some though.
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Lathers added 22:42 - Oct 23 Maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but I want us to romp this league and burst back in to the Championship with real momentum. What I don't want is us scraping a top 2 place, struggling to beat rubbish teams in the process, and then enduring another season like last season once we go back up. ATM that is what I can see happening. PL has to decide on his best 18 and start to build a team that develops and becomes a real handful, ready for the step up next season.

6

Dozzells_Bobblehat added 22:49 - Oct 23 Bluearmy bugg*r off . Nothing from you for weeks when we are winning and a couple of defeats and you pipe back up with your boring anti Evans sh*t.
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Bluearmy_81 added 22:50 - Oct 23 We will yo yo at best without serious, proportionate investment leathers. That's fine with some. Strangely they identify as town 'fans.'
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algarvefan added 22:59 - Oct 23 Right firstly lets not panic, we were never going to go all season unbeaten. I am old now and remember the times we didn't win the old first division when we should have as our squad was not big enough, the team, barring injuries, picked itself every week and every game. If there was 3 games in 7 days, players didn't train, the rested and did well from that. My point is we are now in Division 3 (old money) and fr our squad to be 'rotating' is a farce, we don't have the quality of players to do that. Tonight (didn't see Sundays game) we were like a bunch of kids picked in a local park kick about. Players running into each other and passes galore going astray or the wrong pass being made. The team needs to be settled and players need to get to know each other. It seems currently every game there are 4 or 5 changes, it doesn't work well even for the wealthy teams. All we can do as fans is get behind the team, I have never in my 55 years as a Town fan booed my own side, it's disgusting, so please don't do it, it helps nobody. So please Mr Lambert 4-4-2 and pick the same team each week as often as you can, stop tinkering with the players and the formations, it confuses them.

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runningout added 23:05 - Oct 23 Good teams bounce back....? Good teams don't show naivety and get beat. Onwards
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inghamspur added 23:13 - Oct 23 Panic, Mr Mainwairing!!
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Cakeman added 23:21 - Oct 23 Dreadful performance but don't want to dwell on the past. Southend is now a massive game as it could shape our season. If we don't win this one I fear our evidently fragile mindset and confidence will get significantly worse. This includes supporters as well as players. If we do win then we can easily start another good run. Either way I hope the fans stick with Manager and Team. So much good work has been achieved by Paul Lambert and Co over the past twelve months so please don't let two back to back defeats detract from that. I was as disappointed as anyone this evening but I didn't and never would boo my team!

1

dubblue added 23:22 - Oct 23 Hopefully Downes and Norwood will be fully fit soon. Last 2 matches showed we need to be more assertive
2

heathen66 added 23:25 - Oct 23 I do not think we should panic as we would all have taken this position 2 months ago. However, unfortunately the rotation system is not working as we seem to be rotating the wrong players. These same players play week in week out with no question. There is always the debate before the game...who will partner Chambers and who will partner Skuse. We need to stick with what works and that is 4-4-2. We have tried 3-5-1, 5-3-2 and 5-1-3-1 and have always had to revert to 4-4-2 to get a result. Stick with what works and play your best side whenever possible... It is a very simple game really.

1

londontractorboy57 added 23:43 - Oct 23 RobbieBobson Dont get to worried its only a game of football.
1

Bert added 23:58 - Oct 23 To win this league we have to match the physicality of the opposition which plainly we did not do tonight. Rotherham were in our faces, harried us and even bullied us but they broke away at pace. They deserved the three points as they controlled everying after 5 minutes. That doesn't mean I am going to go off on one like many on here. Games like this will happen so we have to have Plan B for when the occasion demands. Nobody was particularly bad tonight we just couldn't play Rotherham at their own game. It would have helped if the ref was on his game but let's put it right at Roots Hall and start another run.

1

Beattiesballbag added 00:43 - Oct 24 Bluearmy_81, There is something seriously wrong with you keep harping on about investment, bigggest squad in this league....probably on the biggest wages as well.......just a shame that we can't come up with a manager that WANTS to play two up front & plays his best eleven unless there are injuries, so the players can genuinely build some confidence with their team mates & know where to find each other with a pass. It's been quite evident for far to long that all other teams have to do is close us down quickly & we can't find a pass. Obviously thats not the case with the last two games we've lost as they both have vast amounts of money to spend on their squads .

2

Minneapolis_ITFC added 02:25 - Oct 24 I was disappointed to learn of tonight's score. Not good enough, surely the team should be beating opposition such as this particularly on home soil and in first position at start of event. What happened I don't know. Read about playing the wrong team, bad choice of formation or starting play. Guess Lambert as manager is culpable first and foremost but the players must take their share of responsibility also. Today was a very good opportunity passed for three points. Not the first time Rotherham have seen victory at Portman Road or even against us - duplicate a similar performance when we face off again and it sure as hell won't be the last. Fell off #1 position in light of this score and others with it but got an extra game over other top-place contenders. Quit playing one lone attacker if that's what Lambert insists on, you got to realize this will only restrict the team and shorten goal opportunities. Had enough of defense-minded managers here already, we don't need another. An improvement required after tonight, many would argue what occurred was simply put, unacceptable.

0

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 04:56 - Oct 24 Disappointed, obviously, that we couldn't find the skill and cohesion to combat R's physicality. I think we've been found out, and maybe we were over- hyped after a few not very convincing wins. Time to get stuck in and show our great start was not just a flash in the pan. I still think we can do this, but like many others, I'd like to see a more settled team. PL will say he knows best, so I guess we have to accept that the rotation policy will continue. Finally, I've never left a match before the final whistle, I've never booed my team, and I never will, unless they start doing Nazi salutes on the pitch or something similar.

1

ThaiBlue added 05:41 - Oct 24 Poor performance and result.too many changes mr lambert no need to make 5 changes.make 2 changes for saturday chambers and skuse please not good enough.
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Bluearmy_81 added 07:06 - Oct 24 Dozzell, except that not true. When we were winning I stated how nice it was to have that winning Saturday tea time feeling etc amongst other posts. Keep backing him quisling
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Bluearmy_81 added 07:12 - Oct 24 Ball bag, yeah press us and we can't find a pass/cope. Whys that? The quality isn't there in depth. Downers out and we suffer badly. Whys the quality not there in depth? Cos Evans sold the heart out of the squad last year. Its all to do with Lambert tonight though!! Always the managers fault, never the owners at this club, you couldn't make it up!!
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