Head boy James Hanson today thanked Peter Thorne for making him a stronger striker.

Hanson was City’s last-gasp hero with a thumping header to beat Rotherham in a dramatic Yorkshire derby.

The stoppage-time stunner, just a minute after the Millers had equalised, was his tenth goal of the season – and followed a big miss early on.

Hanson has fluffed similar good chances in recent games but refuses to let it affect him and he praised the experienced Thorne for building up that mental toughness.

“I volleyed over the bar from six yards out but I don’t particularly mind missing chances as long as other ones keep coming,” he said.

“I’m always confident of scoring and luckily I got that late header and stuck it away.

“Having people like Thorney round the place has really helped. He’s been telling me to keep my head up.

“He’s lost count of the number of chances he’s missed like that but says you’ll be stronger for it.”

City, who had led through Michael Flynn, cleared two off the line before Adam Le Fondre’s spot-kick seemed to have denied them after Steve Williams handled in the box.

But City’s improving prowess from corners got its reward with virtually the last touch of the game as Hanson converted Simon Ramsden’s cross.

Delighted boss Peter Taylor said: “The players know we’re looking quite strong at corners.

“There haven’t been many times when we haven’t tested the opposition from them, so we always fancy our chances a little bit.

“James keeps missing the easy ones and then he gets a great header. It was a brilliant goal.

“I think it would have been a touch harsh if we hadn’t won the game. We played some good football, showed great spirit and created more chances over the 90 minutes.”

Hanson added: “We’ve worked on corners in training and looked more dangerous. The gaffer’s said we’ve got the height in there so put the ball in good areas.

“As long as it gets above the first man, we’ve always got a chance.”