Wednesday 21 October 2015 15:22, UK
Neil Redfearn hailed his Rotherham side after they earned a first point of his reign in a 1-1 Sky Bet Championship draw with Reading.
Redfearn, who was tasting his first slice of action at New York Stadium after his appointment earlier this month, saw his side battle back through Danny Collins' strike early in the second half.
It had looked as if the rampant Nick Blackman was going to give Steve Clarke's men a fifth straight win as his 11th goal of the season - a superb strike from the edge of the area - gave them a deserved first-half lead.
But the Millers were more than worthy of their point and the former Leeds boss was impressed with what he saw - from both sides.
"They are the best side in this division, I have to say, I have seen a lot of the Championship before I got this job," he said.
"They have got balance, pace and athleticism. I thought for us to produce the sort of performance we did was good, we were hanging on for our lives at one point.
"Second half they knew they were in the game and if we came away with nothing I thought it would have been a travesty.
"I am pleased with the reaction of the players, I am pleased with the endeavour and with the effort.
"I think a draw was a fair result."
Reading's display was a far cry from the side that arrived in South Yorkshire in April, where boss Clarke was left to talk about "a squad in decay" after a 2-1 loss.
The Royals have made big strides in the few months since that game and are looking like genuine promotion contenders.
Clarke was happy with a point and pleased with his side's progress as they made it five games unbeaten.
"I thought we had decent control in the first half and the second goal in the game was going to be crucial and obviously it went to Rotherham and at the end I was probably happy to take the point on the road," he said.
"We keep going, we wanted to win, there was a spell in the game where it was like basketball and I decided to risk it, normally I would be a little bit more conservative and make sure we take the point home but I just thought with the firepower we had on the pitch we could nick the points.
"Credit to Rotherham I thought they were excellent tonight, especially in the second half.
"We have had a good run of wins, that keeps the unbeaten run going, it's tough to go anywhere in the Championship. There's no gimmes and this game proved it, we're happy to take the point."
