Neil Redfearn's first home game in charge of Rotherham United ended in a draw as his side held Reading 1-1 at the New York Stadium this evening.
The Royals were quick off the blocks and fired an early warning shot in the first minute when Garath McCleary forced a save out of Lee Camp from close range.
High-flying Reading almost found themselves behind in the 19th minute when Matt Derbyshire twisted and turned before letting fly from the edge of the box, forcing a finger-tip save from Ali Al-Habsi.
The Royals stormed into the lead in the 26th minute following a blistering counter-attack, which Nick Blackman capped off by smashing one beyond Camp from long range.
Reading almost went into the break two goals to the good as Orlando Sa gained possession eight yards from goal and got a shot away, only to be denied by a reaction stop from Camp.
The second half started with a bang as Danny Collins struck a vicious volley beyond Al-Habsi to make it 1-1 just three minutes after the restart.
Rotherham dominated the second period and should have bagged a winner in the 75th minute when the ball fell kindly for Tom Thorpe in front of goal, only for the defender to blast his shot over.
The result leaves the Millers second-bottom of the table, while Reading are in third place.
Mark Langshaw
