ROTHERHAM boss Steve Evans was left fuming on the sidelines after his relegation-threatened side were denied a penalty in their narrow Championship defeat at Birmingham.

The hosts had led through first-half goals by Robert Tesche and Clayton Donaldson, before Matt Derbyshire pulled one back for fourth-bottom Rotherham.

However, Rob Kiernan’s clumsy handling of Derbyshire near the hour mark saw the former City forward go down in the box only for referee Dean Whitestone to wave away appeals for a spot-kick, leaving the Millers boss visibly enraged as the home side held out.

Andrew Shinnie was unfortunate to be flagged offside from Donaldson’s early flick-on while winger Demarai Gray’s ball into the box from the left was dangerous but fruitless.

The deadlock was broken in the 27th minute with a well-worked but uncomplicated attack. Tesche found space just outside the box and, after a one-two with Donaldson, side-footed coolly into the bottom-right corner to leave Martinez with no chance.

The second came two minutes before the break. Cotterill hit a free-kick from and when Martinez palmed it back into play, rather than for a corner, Donaldson pounced with an easy diving header.

Rotherham gained a foothold less than three minutes into the second half. Slack defensive play left City goalkeeper Darren Randolph in bother and when he only palmed Lee Frecklington’s shot to Derbyshire, the deficit was halved as the striker tapped home with ease.

Derbyshire was not far off with a 76th-minute header, while Donaldson and substitute Lloyd Dyer both came agonisingly close at point-blank range and Tesche twice fired straight at Martinez as the home side missed numerous chances to make the win more comfortable.

by Our Sports Desk