Rotherham United withstand late Bolton Wanderers fightback

Rotherham United surged into a four-goal lead against Bolton Wanderers before withstanding a late fightback to win 4-2 in this evening's Championship clash at the New York Stadium.

The hosts opened the scoring within the first minute of the match as a Conor Newton cross from the right flank found Ben Pringle, who kept his composure to smash a volley beyond Andy Lonergan.

Following the restart, Craig Morgan then forced the Trotters goalkeeper into a backtracking fingertip save before Paul Green struck a powerful volley from the edge of the box that flew just wide.

Bolton struggled to contain the Millers as Matt Derbyshire then blasted another effort from the edge of the area which whistled past Lonergan's far post.

Rotherham went on to double their lead midway through the first half when Derbyshire forced a save from the Bolton stopper before Conor Sammon rushed in to convert the rebound.

Green then emphatically added a third in first-half injury time, nodding home Derbyshire's pinpoint cross to the delight of the home crowd.

The 28-year-old Millers striker finally got himself on the scoresheet when, on the hour, he bore down on the Trotters goal before thundering the ball into the top corner of the net for his side's fourth goal.

Bolton then pulled a goal back in the 77th minute when Matt Mills nodded a ball into the path of Liam Trotter, who duly fired home first time.

Just a minute later, the visitors struck again when Mills threw himself at the ball in the middle of a scramble in the Rotherham box to head home from close range.

However, there was to be no heroic fightback as the hosts were able to contain their opponents in the latter stages of the match and claim all three points upon the final whistle.

The result means that Rotherham are five points clear of the Championship's drop zone, while Bolton are in 16th place.