'Stuck his hand up for a starting shirt' - player ratings from Chesterfield's defeat at Rotherham United

The Spireites were once the Millers’ bogey side and their wins tally to 44 to 19 before this first league meeting between the two in 13 years was testament to that.

Victory number 45 didn’t come, poor decision-making and the two shots on target from nearly 70 per cent possession telling its own story. Credit too to Rotherham's stoic defensive work.

Still, they did their best to leave the door open to a comeback by missing a lot of chances after Fabio Tavares shot them into a first-half lead.

Handed a get-out-of-jail card by Liam Mandeville’s late penalty, what manager Paul Cook admitted would have been a fortuitous point was lost when one defensive slip let Paul Mullin in to make it 2-1.

In that solitary moment a scruffy draw that most of the 2,000-plus supporters behind the goal would have accepted turned into a tight loss and a post-match inquest.

The frustration from the fans was justified. The more over-the-top reactions just three games into a 46-game league season less so.

With Gillingham in town tomorrow there’s a swift chance to try and make amends.

Here’s our player ratings from the game.