Middlesbrough and Rotherham played out an uneventful 0-0 draw at the Riverside Stadium in the evening kick-off of the Sky Bet Championship.
The stalemate means Boro will enter the international break in the relegation zone after just two wins in their first 10 games of the season while the newly promoted Millers sit just outside the play-off places in eighth place.
After an uneventful 15-minute opener, Duncan Watmore was given the game’s first significant chance when Miller captain Richard Wood missed his clearance inside the penalty area – but the striker n was able to get his half-volley over the bar.
Watmore was in the thick of the action again after his run beat two defenders in the box, but his reduction to Isaiah Jones saw the winger find the side netting.
Rotherham fired back just after the half hour mark as Conor Washington’s shot on the spin headed wide but Jones was on hand to return the ball for a corner to stop a visiting player pushing it home.
Rodrigo Muniz ended the half with a shot from the edge of the box that deflected off the right post.
Going into the second half, Watmore were inches away from putting the home side ahead.
After his first touch from Muniz’s high kick took the ball around goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, Watmore could only deflect the ball from inside the post as two Rotherham defenders watched the ball roll across the line. goal and come out the other side.
Paul Warne’s side continued to sit out against Boro as the home side pushed for the first goal of the game. A deft passing move saw Riley McGree unleash Watmore’s run into the box, but Wood slipped in just in time to deflect the ball behind.
At 70 minutes, both groups of supporters observed a minute’s applause for the Queen as a mark of respect for her 70 years as the country’s reigning monarch.
Both teams made triple substitutions with 10 minutes left, but for different reasons. The Millers were looking to hold onto a point while Boro pushed for the three.
Matt Crooks latched onto a jab in the box and was caught by keeper Johansson in the head – but his header bounced off the bar before the linesman spared his blushes.
The full-time whistle sounded to boos from the home crowd at a team that was widely believed to be promotion contenders this season, while the small number of Millers fans cheered their team off the field after a strong start to the campaign which saw them lose only once.
