Will Leeds’ Rotherham United Curse Return?
Leeds United could only manage a 1-1 draw in last Friday’s televised clash against Rotherham United at the New York Stadium. The Whites took the lead in just the sixth-minute courtesy of Dutch striker Crysencio Summerville, but the visitors could not put the hosts away. The Millers have been languishing in the second-tier drop zone all season, but the managerless outfit showed plenty of fight and managed to net a second-half leveller through Hakeem Odoffin.
The South Yorkshire side always performs at their best when their West Yorkshire heavyweight rivals come to town. Admittedly in recent tussles between the pair, Rotherham have been on the receiving end of defeat after defeat. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, between 1983 and 2016, Leeds were only able to manage two victories in ten outings against their Friday night opponents. Will this draw see a return of the dreaded string of results in years to come?
Admittedly at present, the two clubs are on very different trajectories. The Elland Road side is looking for an immediate return to the Premier League following last season’s relegation, and Championship odds providers currently make them the second favourites for automatic promotion this term. The Millers meanwhile are odds on for relegation to League One, but that didn’t appear to be the case in the pair’s recent clash.
Over the years, the current drop zone occupiers have always performed to the best of their abilities against Leeds. Back in the 2004/05 season, they were already nailed on for relegation when Kevin Blackwell’s side visited Millmoor. Ronnie Moore’s men were without a victory in 20 attempts to start the campaign and were rooted to the foot of the table. But despite that, they still managed to stun the oddsmakers and secure a 1-0 victory thanks to a bullet header from Scottish defender Martin McIntosh. By the time of the reverse fixture on the final day of the season, the Millers were confirmed as one of the worst second-tier outfits of all time after finishing with just 29 points and a mighty 21 points adrift of safety, but they still managed a goalless draw at Elland Road.
The pair would meet again in the EFL Trophy in 2008 after Rotherham had been reborn as a club under the ownership of Tony Stewart, becoming exiled to neighbouring Sheffield in the process. But the Millers still managed to secure a stunning 4-2 victory thanks to goals from Ian Sharps, Mark Hudson, Drew Broughton and Nick Fenton. They would have to secure two promotions to join Leeds back in the Championship and when they did, they would once more courtesy of a late strike from Jonson Clarke-Harris.
That was the beginning of a purple patch for the Millers against their Yorkshire rivals. Former Leeds boss Neil Redfern would pick up his first victory as Rotherham manager at Elland Road thanks to Joe Newell’s second-half header. In the return fixture in that 2015/16 campaign, the Millers would get a crucial three points on the road to the great escape thanks to Greg Halford’s late penalty.
In recent years, the two clubs have gone in opposing directions and heading into Friday’s draw, Leeds had won their last four games in a row against the South Yorkshire outfit. Here’s to hoping that the recent dropped points don’t trigger another poor run against a former bogey team.
