West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Rotherham United: Millers relegated after defeat
- Published
Rekeem Harper (right) scored his first senior goal for West Bromwich Albion in their win against Rotherham United
Rotherham United were relegated from the Championship after West Bromwich Albion came from behind to beat them at The Hawthorns.
After Millwall's goalless draw with Stoke City in Saturday's early kick-off, Rotherham needed to at least avoid defeat by Albion to have any chance of survival.
The Millers took the lead after the break when Clark Robertson nodded in Joe Newell's cross to silence the home crowd.
Albion levelled from the spot through Jay Rodriguez after Dwight Gayle was brought down, before Rekeem Harper fired home to seal victory for the hosts and consign the Millers to League One.
The Lions' early draw left them on 44 points, meaning that the Millers would need to better that result to have a realistic chance of staying up.
With a vastly inferior goal difference, Rotherham's relegation back to League One looked set to be delayed until the final day after Robertson's opener.
However, the Baggies found the net twice in two minutes in a frantic second half to stun Paul Warne's side and end their hopes of a dramatic escape from the drop.
Going into the game, Albion had already confirmed their place in the Championship play-offs thanks to their goalless draw at Reading on Easter Monday.
Despite Rotherham's own search for victory at the other end of the table, Albion still had their play-off fate to play for as they entered the final two games of the season.
Albion look likely to meet local rivals Aston Villa in the play-off semi-finals and could be assured of finishing at least fourth - with home advantage in the second leg - if Villa lose at Leeds on Sunday.
Rotherham's stay in the Championship ends
Although it is the second time in three years that Rotherham United have been relegated from the Championship, this campaign has been in stark contrast to the last time they came down.
In 2017, the club went through three different managers before finishing bottom - an eye-watering 28 points adrift of safety.
The Millers ended that season with Paul Warne at the helm and the faith they kept in him was rewarded when he steered them to promotion through the play-offs at the first attempt last May.
Despite operating with one of the smallest budgets in the second tier, Rotherham have remained competitive throughout and several players have impressed.
Midfielder Semi Ajayi's good form was marked by the Championship player of the month award for March, while Will Vaulks made his Wales debut earlier this year.
As Warne prepares for another campaign in League One, his biggest challenge will be to hold on to such players if they are to bounce straight back up again.
West Bromwich Albion caretaker manager Jimmy Shan told BBC WM 95.6:
"I think we performed very poorly. I wasn't happy with the performance at all. I think you have to take into consideration how blustery the conditions were and them obviously fighting for their lives.
"Their style of play is difficult to contend because they're a forward-thinking team [who] get the ball in and around your back line as frequently as they can.
"I was disappointed with us, trying to get a foothold in the game and some rhythm. I think the team appreciated my frustrations at half time."
Rotherham United manager Paul Warne told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"A lot of my team were crying - they've given everything for this great club. There's no shame in what's happened in my opinion, I'm really proud of the group.
"I thought in the first half we were by far the better team and deserved to go in at the break 1-up but it wasn't to be.
"I'm hugely disappointed with [West Brom's] first goal, because it's our throw-in - I've watched it back so I'm happy to put my name to it.
"They then win a penalty and it's a massive swing. We then have to play a high-risk shape because we need to get a winning goal, and then obviously we're open to the counter attack.
"We ended up losing the game, which I don't think was fair. We hit the bar, we hit the post - the lads were excellent."