ANNOYING trivia question of the week: which is the only Championship side not to have beaten table-propping, down-with-the-Christmas-decorations-Rotherham United this season?

Indeed, Ipswich Town, who fell to a 1-0 defeat at the somewhat grandiloquently named New York Stadium on Saturday afternoon, having grabbed a last-gasp 2-2 draw with the Millers - their only away point of the season - at Portman Road in October.

While an obviously disappointing result, particularly in the context of the 3-1 home victory over Newcastle United in the previous match, Saturday’s scoreline didn’t tell the full story.

With the win against the Magpies having secured Town’s Championship status, manager Mick McCarthy made nine changes.

And even with the virtually wholesale switch of personnel, after a perhaps inevitable slow start in which Dean Gerken saved a Danny Ward penalty and while only ever fluent in patches, the Blues probably deserved more than the defeat.

They had enough chances to claim all three points before Tom Adeyemi made the most of some hesitant defending to send the New York Stadium rather wilder than you’d expect during what was a meaningless end of season fixture, although I suppose things to celebrate have been somewhat limited in a season in which the Millers have been relegated not so much by a street but by a transcontinental highway.

Danny Rowe came close a few times, Dominic Samuel hit the woodwork and also wasn’t far away on a couple of other occasions, while Brett Pitman and Kieffer Moore also had chances.

One of the criticisms often levelled at McCarthy is that he sticks with his tried and trusted - or to his detractors, his ‘favourites’ - week in, week out.

Saturday was the antithesis of that with the main complaint that there were too many changes and that those coming into the side weren’t given a chance to shine in such a disjointed team.

McCarthy admitted afterwards it was “slightly unfair” that they were thrown into a rather makeshift XI rather than three or four of them being integrated into the more established team.

It’s not the first time McCarthy has taken this approach and subsequently admitted it wasn’t ideal.

After last year’s FA Cup replay defeat at League Two Portsmouth, when he switched his entire side, he said: “Maybe there were too many changes for them to impress and to be pushing for the first team.”

But the Town boss wanted to give a game to as many the players who have travelled with the squad on a regular basis while rarely featuring in what looked to be the only dead rubber at the end of the season, although the match at Nottingham Forest on the final day may now not have anything riding on it either.

Of those given their chance it was January signing from Macclesfield Rowe who made the biggest impression on the right flank.

The pacy 25-year-old, making his first Championship start, looked a threat and may well have done enough to have won his place in the more regular side which is set to face Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow.

Andre Dozzell, 17, gave glimpses of what’s expected of him in the years to come, particularly in a spell just before the break, while on-loan Reading striker Samuel will have been frustrated not to have taken his opportunities.

For Rotherham, striker Ward showed why Town boss McCarthy was eyeing him as a potential signing in January.

The 26-year-old put in an impressive - penalty miss aside - and lively first-half display before succumbing to a hamstring injury and may well be someone McCarthy looks at again in the summer.

Overall though, it was a game not to read too much into in terms of the wider context. The likes of Rowe, Dozzell and Samuel will have benefited from the experience and despite leading to that annoying trivia question and frustrating at the time, the result will be one which will be forgotten before too long.

Tomorrow’s game against the play-off-pushing Owls, who have won their last five, will see a return to a more regular Town starting XI, the Blues having impressively won 2-1 at Hillsborough in November.

Less annoying trivia question of the week: which Championship manager has gone 14 games and almost 22 years without losing to Sheffield Wednesday?

Hopefully by 5pm tomorrow Mick McCarthy will have stretched that to 15 matches and Town will have done the double over the Owls.