Pre-season: Rotherham 1 West Brom 1 - Report and pictures
Pre-season friendlies are all about fitness, and it was clear in Rotherham which Albion players were playing catch-up on others.
Because it wasn't until Slaven Bilic made eight outfield substitutes on the hour mark did the Baggies wake up.
It was obvious this second group have already played more minutes this summer than the first group, who were given double-time to help them get up to speed, but looked sluggish for most of it.
They could have hardly started slower. Less than two minutes into his triumphant return to Rotherham, Semi Ajayi conceded a penalty against his former club that was converted.
By contrast, less than two minutes after Dara O'Shea came on, one of Albion's brightest sparks of pre-season so far powered in a header to level things up.
Sharing the honours of meaningless game was fair, but if any team deserved to win, it was Rotherham.
Albion's centre-backs Ajayi and Jack Fitzwater were caused too much grief by goalscorer Freddie Ladapo, and goalkeeper Daniel Iversen was nowhere near as busy as Jonathan Bond.
Less than four hours after he signed from QPR for £1.5million, Darnell Furlong made his debut at right-back, and first impressions were encouraging.
Dynamic and pacy, he was eager to get forward but never caught out of position.
However, £8m striker Kenneth Zohore struggled to make an impact, and Ajayi's return to Rotherham got off to a nightmare start.
He was greeted back at the New York Stadium heartily. Not only did Millers boss Paul Warne hang a welcome poster on the door of the away dressing room, but the home crowd gave him a standing ovation when his name was read out.
No sooner had those names been read out, and Ajayi had repaid that kindness, tripping Ladapo in the box.
The striker roofed the spot-kick confidently, giving Bond no chance of sparing his new centre-back's blushes.
Ajayi nearly managed that himself three minutes later, but he headed Chris Brunt's free-kick over the bar when well placed.
Free headers are usually more prevalent in pre-season friendlies, but Rotherham No.9 Jamie Proctor disagrees, and he caught Fitzwater with a stray arm soon after that earned him a yellow card and a furious look from Slaven Bilic.
The opening stages belonged to Rotherham. Kyle Vassell stung Bond's palms, while others had pot-shots that didn't.
It took 20 minutes for Albion to string a move together, when Rekeem Harper drove forward and slipped in Zohore, who could only win a corner.
The Baggies were inviting pressure on themselves. When Conor Townsend sold Bond short with a backpass, the keeper could only scoop it to safety with his hands, handing Rotherham an indirect free kick in the box.
Kyle Vassell's cheeky chip was easily saved and danger passed, but the hosts continued to have the better of it.
Frustration was boiling over in the blue and white, as midfield pair Chris Brunt and Harper each picked up bookings for cynical fouls.
The Millers started the second half brightest too, but Iversen did well to cling onto Harper's drilled shot after a neat passing move.
Bilic rang the changes on the our mark, making eight out-field substitutions, and it had an immediate impact.
Two minutes later O'Shea's impressive pre-season continued when he arrived late at the near post to bullet a header past Iversen from a Filip Krovinovic corner.
Suddenly Albion looked fitter, faster, and stronger, and finally they started to zip the ball around with purpose.
They switched to a 4-2-3-1 with Krovinovic buzzing around the number 10 role and Oliver Burke up front.
Kyle Edwards looked particularly threatening on the left, and forced Iversen into a full stretch save late on after some typical trickery.
Bilic gave the winger an animated one-on-one tutorial on the pitch after the final whistle, and he appears to be a fan, but he will be hoping the rest of his team can also get up to the same sort of speed soon.
Teams
Albion (4-4-2): Bond, Furlong (Ferguson 61), Ajayi (O'Shea 61), Fitzwater (Bartley 61), Townsend (Melbourne 45), Leko (Phillips 61), Harper (Livermore 61), Brunt (c) (Krovinovic 61), Tulloch (Burke 45), Robson-Kanu (Field 61), Zohore (Edwards 61).
Unused subs: Johnstone.
Rotherham United (4-3-3): Iversen; Olosunde, Ihiekwe (Cooper 82), Robertson, Mattock (Wood 42); Wiles, Barlaser, Crooks (Trialist 80); Vassell, Proctor (Smith 62), Ladapo (Kayode 70).
Unused sub: Bilboe, Jones, Morris.
Goals
02 Goal Rotherham - Ladapo roofs a spot-kick after Ajayi trips him.
63 Goal Albion - O'Shea's bullet header converts Krovinovic's corner at the nea rpost.
Attendance: 2,484 (300 away)
