The first 17 minutes Rotherham were pretty much in our faces, they used their right wing as the main channel for their attacks which usually left Mark Roberts handling three players on his own. The Rotherham opener was what they deserved really and came from the right wing, a cross in and despite Richard Walker in front of his man Marc Burchill was allowed to cushion his header into Ben Williams' bottom left corner.
This actually led to two or three Alex fans walking off, heading for the exit. Obviously not happy at the prospect of being bottom of the league. They may have scurried back in though when Kenny Lunt was chopped down from behind, showing just why '10 metre Diving' is useful in the Olympics. The penalty was awarded and after two minutes of Rotherham bickering Ashton stroked home the ball.
It eased the tension in the away end and the players seemed to just wake up a little. Ben Williams tried to become more of a presence in the box but on many occasions totally missed the ball, adding fuel for his critics - who were the ones who wanted him to do that. There is no doubting his shot stopping ability though, Chris Sedgewick hit a fine free kick from 20 yards to the right corner of Williams' goal but a athletic dive and catch saw Williams make a wonderful save.
The defence were having a tough game. With an average age of 18-19 they were up against a very physical strike force from Rotherham. Billy was given the shove on many occasions and Mark Roberts really had to get into them to deny their right side of much luck. Paul Bignot had a quiet evening but was there when needed and Richard Walker, although poor in the air for both goals, made his presence known and got the team talking.
The first half didn't see much goal mouth action. There was a scramble in the Alex box when Richard Walker and Kenny Lunt collided on the ball and Steve Jones was being called offside on tight occasions.
Jonah turned out to have the best chance of game in the second half - just 40 seconds in. The rather dodgy Rotherham defence allowed the ball to drop behind them for Jonah on the edge of the box. Jonah didn't expect the ball to get to him and panicked, his turn and shot skimmed over the bar after rushing it.
David Vaughan had a chance which he fired just wide. On the hour Kenny Lunt scored to put us in front. A crafty move saw him eventually open up a gap in the Rotherham defence, inside the area he controlled it with his right foot and fired into the bottom right with his left foot. A classy goal and with a little celebration at the end of it. Nice.
After that we picked up a little. Steve Jones had a free sight on goal a few minutes afterwards but his hard low shot was gathered by the keeper. Within 10 minutes though the Alex had a third, probably un-deserved goal, with superb skill was Dean. Kenny Lunt the provider, Dean nodded the ball round the defender and inside the box chipped it over the keeper and over the line - before Steve Jones made sure of it.
For 15 minutes after that we looked very threatening. Dean and Jonah were hitting top form and should have added. Jones guilty of missing a couple of 'easy' chances when one-on-one with the keeper, Sorvel so near to going clear on goal and hesitation on the edge of the box just let us down. So, when Richard Walker gives Rotherham a cheap corner we could have ended up ruing the missed chances.
From the corner, Ben Williams flapped at the ball as it went all the way over to the right wing but the following cross landed for Shaun Barker to head over Williams' and Lunt's heads to make it 2-3. The game though was ultimately wrapped up before hand and the only other Rotherham chance was a free kick from 25 yards which looked to be heading into the top right corner if it wasn't for a superb save from Ben Williams.
Dean could have had his hat-trick when he once again broke free of the Rotherham defence. He fired his shot past the keeper but Shaun Barker somehow cleared it off the line.
Over all there were decent individual performances but as a team we still looked naive. Deano showed what a player he is - again, Kenny Lunt is heading back to his best and Billy Jones was excellent in a tough game for the defence. Neil Sorvel also stamped his mark on the game. However, for long periods in the first half we were under pressure from a poor Rotherham side, which is worrying.
Hopefully some confidence has been installed for the next few very important games. At least we're out of the bottom three.
Player Ratings;
Ben Williams - 6 - A couple of good saves. Poor in the air though. Can't and shouldn't drop him. Best keeper we've had since the Kearton years.
Mark Roberts - 7 - Another confident performance from Roberts and with a few more games he could easily become a permanent member of the team.
Billy Jones - 7 - Was bullied on the pitch by strong strikers but kept his head and really kept Rotherham quiet up front. Didn't give them an inch. On top form at the moment. Tired? Not showing it.
Richard Walker - 6 - It was a ok performance but then lost his man for the first goal and failed to clear for the second.
Paul Bignot - 6 - Quiet evening but when called upon he was very reliable.
Justin Cochrane - 6 - Huffed and puffed without getting much.
Neil Sorvel - 7 - A decent performance. Worked very hard, box to box, lively and kept the pace of the attacks going.
Kenny Lunt - 7 - One of his better performances this season. Some great passes for Deano, won the penalty and scored a good goal.
David Vaughan - 7 - Still consistent without setting the world alight. Defended well and created a lot.
Steve Jones - 7 - Was offside a lot in the first half but the second half caused endless problems for Rotherham. Should have had a goal though.
Dean Ashton - 8 - The match winner. Everything a striker can have, he has. £2million from Everton? Price needs doubling.