Rotherham v QPR 13APR21 1 - 1 63mins 11th/56pts

The Rs boss was left reeling after the match, claiming he was “angry” before adding: ” Very simply we didn’t deserve to win (after) the last half an hour.”
He’ll undoubtedly want to rethink ever giving Niko Hamalainen an opportunity again as he was absolutely abysmal on the left flank in the absence of Lee Wallace.

West London Sport graded him as QPR’s worst-performing player, and dealt a scathing review of his performance. ‘On this showing looks horribly out of his depth and probably won’t be seen again soon,’ wrote Ian McCullough. ‘Offered nothing whatsoever as an attacking outlet and looked vulnerable defensively all game. His weak challenge on Crooks on the stroke of half-time resulted in a broken nose for De Wijs and was then caught ball-watching as Ladapo wandered past him to slam home Rotherham’s equaliser.’

The numbers would reinforce such a statement. As per SofaScore, the 24-year-old was unable to get a foothold on the game, managing only 49 touches which were some 11 touches fewer than goalkeeper Seny Dieng (60) and lower than the average that Wallace usually puts up (55). Warburton’s current system is heavily dependant on his wing-backs getting up and down the pitch, but the Finland ace struggled to contribute at either end. He failed to provide an accurate cross from four attempts, leaving Dykes to feed off scraps for large spells of the match, and he also made only 64% of his passes – the worst of any QPR outfield start barring the Scottish forward. Nor could he manage a successful dribble. Hugely ineffective.

Defensively, Hamalainen was just as poor. He lost possession a whopping 16 times, meaning every three touches saw him gift the ball back to the Millers, and similarly, the 5 foot 9 lightweight won just three of eight duels (37.5%). This was the 24-year-old’s first start since an abysmal outing at Birmingham ten games ago, and it’s easy to see why as he once again let Warburton down when finally trusted to start. As evident above, it would be a surprise to see Hamalainen given another shot before the end of the season – he really was that poor.

Seny Dieng: 6
Left horribly exposed by the defence for all three goals. Handling was assured throughout and he caught several crosses.

Osman Kakay: 6
A typically wholehearted display. Set up the opener for Lyndon Dykes with a great run and cross and almost scored his first-ever league goal with a fine long-range effort. Moved to right-centre-back in the second half but like the rest of the defence should have dealt with a routine ball over the top for Rotherham’s second goal.

Rob Dickie: 5
Well below his usual high standards. Switched off for Rotherham’s crucial second goal as Freddie Ladapo sprung the offside trap to fire past Dieng. Always looking to play out of defence but the Millers’ high pressing game after half-time thwarted his efforts to start attacks from the back. Struggled to deal with giant striker Michael Smith after his introduction from the bench.

Jordy de Wijs: 7
Another decent showing before he was forced off with a nasty facial injury following a brave challenge on Matthew Olosunde on the stroke of half-time after a deep ball was nodded back across goal by Matt Crooks. Was missed terribly in the second half as Rotherham launched an effective aerial bombardment.

Yoann Barbet: 6
Offered a hint of solidity to the left side of the Rangers defence in the first half, but was unable to get across to Smith for Rotherham’s third goal and was taken out by the cross for the home side’s first. Made at least three timely interceptions after errors from Niko Hamalainen and embarked on one superb run in a rare attack from the visitors after they took the lead.

Niko Hamalainen: 4
Restored to the side for the first time since the loss at Birmingham and on this showing looks horribly out of his depth and probably won’t be seen again soon. Offered nothing whatsoever as an attacking outlet and looked vulnerable defensively all game. His weak challenge on Crooks on the stroke of half-time resulted in a broken nose for De Wijs and was then caught ball-watching as Ladapo wondered past him to slam home Rotherham’s equaliser.

Stefan Johansen: 6
Started strongly with one superb pass to pick out George Thomas, but like the rest of the team wilted in the final half-hour as Rotherham dominated after going behind. Could have been more alert to stop the pass for Rotherham’s second goal.

Sam Field: 6
Similar to Johansen, the on-loan West Brom man was decent in the first half, winning plenty of ball, but was less effective after Rotherham made three substitutions and went more direct.

George Thomas: 6
Rewarded for his late cameo against Sheffield Wednesday with in his first league start for Rangers. Started well by shooting just wide with a decent strike and embarked on some decent forward runs. Faded in the second half as the game became more of a physical battle.

Charlie Kelman: 6
An encouraging debut for the 19-year-old, who showed some good touches, made some intelligent runs into space and showed plenty of confidence to thump a 25-yard effort that forced a good save out of Viktor Johansen. Didn’t see much of the ball after Rotherham equalised and was taken off.

Lyndon Dykes: 7
Continued his rich run of form with a brilliant strike to put Rangers ahead for his 10th goal of the season. Led the line well up to that point and made some very important defensive headers in his own box.

Todd Kane: 6
Came on for the injured De Wijs at half-time and was unlucky to see his decent block tackle ricochet straight to Lewis Wing, who put in a fine cross for the equaliser. Tried to get forward but had little success as Rangers found themselves under the cosh after conceding two goals in as many minutes.

Macauley Bonne: 6
Replaced Kelman and spent most of his 20 minutes on the field helping out the defence and dropping deep to the left side of the field trying manfully to make something happen. Was almost put clear by a surging Barbet run only for the defender to over-hit the pass.