Tuesday night under the lights at Bloomfield Road saw the Tangerines and the Terriers battle it out for precious Championship points in the fight for second-tier survival, and the game was quite the spectacle.
McCarthy’s men were twice behind after goals from Matthew Pearson and Josh qKoroma, but the hosts managed a 82nd-minute equaliser and finally the crucial 90th-minute leveller from the returning Josh Bowler.
The act of stopping a relegation rival in Huddersfield earning a maximum was just as important as collecting a point for Blackpool, who remain one point behind the Terriers and just two points away from safety in the Championship standings.
The 64-year-old McCarthy had begun his tenure with two successive defeats against Southampton in the FA Cup and Middlesbrough in the league, meaning that the veteran manager will be pleased that he got off the mark on the seaside last time out.
Blackpool’s form in the Championship over the past few months has been nothing less than woeful, with the Tangerines last tasting success in the second tier at Coventry City in October, with talisman Jerry Yates netting the winner on that day.
Rotherham look set for their customary relegation battle in the Championship this season, although the Yorkshire club have shown signs of recovery in 2023 after a difficult Christmas period.
Since exiting the FA Cup at the third-round stage to third-tier Ipswich Town, the Millers have gone three games unbeaten in the league, remarkably beating Blackburn Rovers 4-0 before earning points against Watford and Sheffield United.
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Five points in three matches is not inherently a brilliant return, but couple the teams faced in that trio of matches with the previous run of seven games without a win, it is understandable why the mood has lifted considerably in South Yorkshire.
Matthew Taylor’s men are sitting in 20th in the league standings with a four-point buffer over 22nd-placed Huddersfield, a gap you feel supporters would have accepted at this stage of the season before a ball had been kicked.
Defensive weakness has plagued second-tier Rotherham sides in the past – the Millers had the leakiest backline in both the 2016-2017 and 2018-2019 campaigns as they were relegated – however, clean sheets such as the one earned against the Blades last weekend show that this squad are better equipped than their predecessors to avoid the drop to League One.
