Rotherham United 0 – 3 Shrewsbury Town: 10-man Millers torn apart by sublime Shrews

Rotherham United suffered a setback in their bid to win promotion from League One as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 at home by Shrewsbury Town.

The home side were forced to play for almost an hour with 10-men after Angus MacDonald was shown a straight red card before the break.

Goals from Daniel Udoh, Elliott Bennett and Ryan Bowman secured an emphatic win for Shrewsbury, who edged further away from the drop zone.

Udoh began the rout in the 32nd minute, firing a low drive across the helpless Josh Vickers to finish off a fine move.

MacDonald saw red for the hosts soon after for using an elbow in an aerial duel which was adjudged as serious foul play by referee Anthony Backhouse.

Shrewsbury dominated after the dismissal and made the extra man count as Elliot Bennett tapped home a rebound after Vickers saved well from Ryan Bowman.

Bowman then compounded the Millers’ misery in added time, showing great composure before firing home.

Rotherham manager Paul Warne bemoaned the red card and called on his team to bounce back for the remaining games.

He said: “It’s a setback, but the lads have bounced back before.”

“The sending off was a crucial part. I’m obviously biased but I thought it was a bit harsh. I thought Angus led with his arm and didn’t actively elbow the lad.

“It was a bad day at the office. We’re going to lose football games, but it’s a setback.”

Rotherham remain top however with one win in their last five, their position at the head of the table is precarious.

Shrewsbury moved up to 16th and have almost confirmed their safety, after scoring eight goals and conceding none in four days.

Next up for the Millers is a trip to Wembley, to face Sutton United in the final of the Football League Trophy.