ROTHERHAM U A
Philogene 5
STAR MAN: JADEN PHILOGENE Cardiff
Referee Oliver Langford was right to abandon Rotherham United‘s match against Cardiff City after a torrential downpour, according to Millers boss Matt Taylor.
He felt players would have been put at risk of serious injury, and the match was called off with just two-and-a-half minutes played in the second period.
Cardiff were ahead 1-0 thanks to a fifth-minute goal from Jayden Philogene but the half-time downpour quickly made the pitch unplayable.
Langford called the match off after two inspections alongside Taylor and Cardiff boss Sabri Lamouchi.
Cardiff refused to do a post-match press conference but Taylor said: “I was so busy at half-time trying to get some information and tactical changes to the group that it was only when one of the coaches came in and told the players to check their footwear that I realised it had started to rain.
“I didn’t realise it had rained that hard. It was incredible and it wasn’t forecast. We were not prepared for it. It hit the ground and within minutes of the second half being under way the referee made the right decision to take the players off the pitch.
“It was farcical. The ball was getting stuck and it was only a matter of time before a decision was made. The water was clearly not draining through. That is something that cannot be helped.
“It was a race against time to see if the pitch would improve at any stage. I told the players to stay ready because we had no timeframe.
“If we had gone back out there two hours later, the players are in a huge position of risk, not from the pitch itself but from cooling down and warming up again. There is a bigger picture which has to be looked at.”
Cardiff had got off to a flier and were ahead in the fifth minute. The goal was carved out by Callum O’Dowda who first ran at the Millers defence and was then on hand to head back across goal from Mahlon Romeo’s cross to set up Philogene for a simple finish.
Former Cardiff man Lee Peltier came close to netting a swift equaliser after the ball fell to him in a scramble but his effort went into the side netting.
The visiting side were looking threatening on the break and Philogene started another rapid move which ended in Romeo’s shot being blocked by Tyler Blackett.
Rotherham enjoyed a decent spell before the break but were still inches away from going in 2-0 down when Perry Ng’s free-kick from the edge of the penalty area rattled the crossbar. Viktor Johansson then came to Rotherham’s aid when Sheyi Ojo was released by Sory Kaba only to see his shot kept out.
The downpour started during the interval and carried on as the match restarted. It quickly became clear that standing water was becoming a big issue for the players and Langford stepped in. The game was eventually called off just before 5pm.
