Two second-half goals from David Ball saw Rotherham come back from behind to beat Blackpool 2-1 at Bloomfield Road.



The striker struck twice in the final 15 minutes to give The Millers all three points, with Blackpool having earlier gone ahead thanks to a stunning strike from Kelvin Mellor,

Clark Robertson backed up his return in the Checkatrade Trophy with his first league start since October, while Kyle Vassell also made the team. Left-back Andy Taylor replaced the injured Ollie Turton.

It was the visitors who started the better of the two sides, with headers from Semi Ajayi and Jonson Clarke-Harris straying off target.

There was a blow for Blackpool and particularly Kyle Vassell in the ninth minute, when the striker pulled up and had to be replaced by Nathan Delfouneso. The change saw Colin Daniel lead the line and Delfouneso go out wide.

Despite the switch in attack, it was the in-form Kelvin Mellor who broke the deadlock. The right-back ran onto the ball from 22-yards and unleashed a powerful drive that flew into the back of the net. The goal was his third in as many games.

A great ball from Andy Taylor moments later was just begging for a touch, however Sean Longstaff was unable to get to it at the near post.

Rotherham captain Richard Wood and Michael Ihiekwe both saw yellow cards within a seven-minute period for fouls of Nathan Delfouneso and Colin Daniel, respectively.

Half-Time: Blackpool 1 Rotherham United 0

The visitors made two changes at the break, with Anthony Forde and Jerry Yates coming on for Jonson Clarke-Harris and Michael Ihiekwe.

It didn’t take Yates long to get involved in the action, though Clark Robertson quickly lunged himself in front of the ball to deny the attacker an attempt on target.

With Rotherham pushing for the equaliser the game really started to open up, allowing Blackpool to set up on the counter attack.

One of those attacks saw Viv Solomon-Otabor receive a square pass from Delfouneso inside the opposition’s box, however the on-loan Birmingham man had his effort saved by Marek Rodak.

There was a real let off for Blackpool in the 65th minute, when Sean Longstaff’s clearance was charged down and fell into the path of Yates. The forward had space to find the target, yet blazed wide.

The Millers then came even closer to levelling matters, with captain Richard Wood’s header bouncing back off the underside of the bar.

A super run down the left from Solomon-Otabor deserved better for Blackpool, with the winger breaking into the box before laying the ball off for Delfouneso. The forward was unable to keep his shot down, though.

The slender lead meant that things could change at any time, and they did with 76 minutes on the clock. A long throw into Blackpool’s box wasn’t dealt with, allowing David Ball to pounce and find the net from close range.

Callum Cooke replaced Sean Longstaff for the final eight minutes of the game but it was the visitors who took the lead, courtesy of David Ball once again. The striker made a near post run from a corner and headed in to cap off the turnaround for The Millers.

Full-Time: Blackpool 1 Rotherham United 2