When
Kieran Agard slid in his third goal at Molineux on Good Friday not only did he
add further drama to an already enthralling afternoon by making it 4-4, but he
also joined an elite duo of players in Rotherham’s recent history.
Although
his conversion of James Tavernier’s cross-shot ultimately counted for nothing
against Wolves as the Millers went on to lose 6-4, it was his 20th league
strike of the season, a feat only reached by Mark Robins and Adam Le Fondre (twice)
in the last 20 years.
Given
the quality of strikers that have pulled on the red and white shirt over the
last two decades, such as Leo Fortune-West, Alan Lee, Darren Byfield, Martin Butler, Will
Hoskins, Reuben Reid, Lewis Grabban and Daniel Nardiello, and the amount of
money some of them have gone on to earn the club from their sales, that is an
incredible achievement, especially considering the majority of those goals have
come from him playing in a wide position.
It has
been a career-defining season for Agard who failed to make a huge impact in
League Two last year until a run of vital goals towards the end of the campaign
sent the Millers on their way to promotion.
And that
momentum helped him hit the ground running this season, notching in his first
goal on his third start in the win at Crawley
and since then he has never gone more than four games in a row without scoring.
Although
playing on the right, most of his goals have actually come from central areas in the
penalty box, showing he has the highly sought-after predatory instinct and
when he has played in a central role his pace and movement has caused plenty of
danger – none more so than with his two-goal performance in the recent 3-0
demolition of runners-up Brentford.
He has
also proved a reliable penalty taker, sending in five efforts from the spot,
with the miss at Port Vale his only misdemeanour from 12 yards.
He
joins esteemed company in 20-goal players of recent times and could emulate
Robins’ heroics in firing the Millers to promotion to the second tier after the
former Manchester United striker scored 24 in the famous 2000/01 campaign.
Robins
was the ultimate fox in the box for the Millers and scored a number of vital
goals for the club, also proving he could hack it at a higher level top scoring
in the first year in Division One.
Much-loved
Le Fondre bagged 25 times in 2009/10 following his move from Rochdale
and then notched 23 the season after, including a hat-trick in a 6-4 win (!), both years in League Two.
Agard
may not have the X-factor of Le Fondre or the cleverness of Robins, but with his versatility and work rate he arguably he contributes far more to the team and aged only 24, he is playing
his way into the affection of the Millers faithful with the promise of plenty
more to come.