'Very cruel' - Rotherham United boss Paul Warne crestfallen after late heartbreak at Blackburn Rovers

They were winning 1-0 thanks to Michael Smith's first-half strike and were in control of the game, both with and without the ball.

Chances to extend their lead came and went, but heading into the final 10 minutes things were still going smoothly.

But then it went wrong. Blackburn equalised through Harvey Elliott and it looked like the Millers would have to settle for a point.

But then it went terribly wrong. After missing a gilt-edged chance to win the game in injury-time, they conceded a free-kick in the eighth minute of time added on and Adam Armstrong broke their hearts by poking home a loose ball.

It was cruel, it was harsh, it was unfair, but it was totally symptomatic of a side who have now lost eight of their last 11 games.

Boss Paul Warne was crestfallen at the end of the match.

“Very cruel, it is always cruel when you lose in the last few seconds, it is difficult to take, I am still very raw and emotional about it as are the lads in the dressing room,” he said.

“It's even worse when you play so well, I thought the lads gave everything physically, we had the best chances and I don't think the keeper has had a save to make.

“I might be wrong, I am trying to recall a save he had to make.

“We had gilt-edged chances in the second half and if we don't take them one goal is not going to be enough. We had a good chance in the first half with Smudge, Matt in the second half, Freddie's header, Crooksy 2 v 1 and he takes the shot and it comes back to kill us.

“Overall I am hugely disappointed beyond words, but I am also proud of the way we played.

“We came away from home, we know we need to get our home form going and I thought we at the very least deserved a point.

“I shook hands with all their players after and it was like a dagger to the heart and at least five or six of their lads said we didn't deserve that, but it's worth absolutely nothing.

“But we have to take the positives, we can more than compete at this level but we need to be more clinical.

“If we are, we come to places like this and win and we are cruising, but unfortunately we are not.”

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