Rotherham 0 York City 0: Minstermen and Millers forced to replay

York fans, who comprised around a third of the 3,227 crowd, were obviously delighted with the outcome while Millers supporters, who rarely had anything to shout about, were clearly frustrated at their team's inability to defeat non-league opposition.

So it is back to Bootham Crescent on November 17, the venue for the last first-round meeting between the clubs in 1994 which ended 3-3 before the Millers triumphed 3-0 in the replay.

Previously, Rotherham had again triumphed after second round stalemates at Millmoor in 1971 and 1976, although it took a second replay to go through on the latter occasion.

The worrying aspect for Rotherham and confidence-boosting lift for York from Saturday's encounter was that there was little difference between a side in the League Two promotion mix and one that is languishing in the lower reaches of the Blue Square Premier League.

And if it had not been for a player who 15 years ago made his York City debut against Manchester United the Millers could easily have been facing another first-round exit.

Goalkeeper Andy Warrington became part of Minstermen folklore as they knocked the Red Devils out of the Carling Cup

4-3 on aggregate but this time his late full-length save from Michael Rankine prevented York going through.

Powerfully-built Rankine perhaps deserved more for a strong front-running display as manager Gary Mills switched to a 4-1-4-1 system which worked a treat.

Yet it was the deployment of Djourmin Sangare in front of the defence which gave York a stability which Rotherham rarely threatened to break down.

Millers chief Ronnie Moore had also made a tactical switch by employing a three-man strike force spearheaded by Ryan Taylor but it seemed to affect the effectiveness of 14-goal top scorer Adam Le Fondre, who was rarely found in the danger area.

His best chance, ironically, almost resulted in a York goal. Le Fondre broke through a tackle but goalkeeper Michael Ingham, whose handling of crosses was poor, rushed out to block and York countered at speed in the 18th minute. Left-back James Meredith was up in support to break into the area but Millers captain Ryan Cresswell made the block and Peter Till drove wide after catching left-back Tom Newey in possession in the area from the ricochet.

Those opportunities were followed six minutes later by an even more clear-cut chance as David McDermott pounced on an error by Nick Fenton near halfway, spread the ball to Rankine and raced through the middle but failed to control the return cross and fluffed his opportunity.

Both sides had half-chances after the break but it was not until the 88th-minute when Warrington was tested that there was any sign of a breakthrough.

"It could have snuck in but he made a brilliant save," said a rueful Rankine.

Whether York have missed their chance remains to be seen but the 25-year-old Doncaster-born striker remains bullish about their prospects.

"They have got to come to our place and it will not be easy and we'll take the draw," he said.

Though York are 19th in the Conference, Rankine believes this performance can lay down a marker for the rest of the campaign. "I enjoyed today and it just shows that anything can happen in the FA Cup. Hopefully, this game will give me a little bit more confidence which is just what I needed. We played brilliant and I think we should have come out with a win.

"It's all down to small margins and the Conference is a very hard league but teams that go up tend to stay up. We've had a rough season so far and are just trying to get back to basics but we have some good players who I know could play at a higher level and it's just getting the chance I suppose."

Former European Cup winner and recently installed York manager Mills said: "We had enough chances in the first half to get the goal. Our desire to be in the hat for the next round was magnificent and I'm going home a bit disappointed that we haven't got through and beaten Rotherham."

"The fans were superb today and will go home happy. It's a good day for York City."

Millers chief Moore, who made just one change to his side bringing in winger Marcus Marshall for Kevin Ellison, said: "It was a tight game. York are a decent side, a strong side but we just huffed and puffed around the final third. We kept the ball well enough but needed the end product. We are just lacking that little spark or belief in and around their area.

"We are still in there, that's the big thing. We did not want the replay but we want to go as far as we can in the Cup but have made it just that bit more difficult for ourselves."

Regarding the crowd's reaction, he added: "I thought being booed off was unjust, a bit of over-reaction. We need patience and them to get behind us."

Rotherham United: Warrington, Mullins, Fenton, Cresswell, Newey; Marshall, J Taylor, Harrrison; Law, R Taylor, LeFondre. Unused substitutes: Brogan, Green, Ashworth, Elison, Warne, Pope, Annerson.

York City: Ingham, Parslow, McGurk, C Smith, Meredith; Sangare; Till (Racchi 76), Lawlesss, J Smith, McDermott (Fyfield 90); Rankine. Unused substitutes: Knight, Carruthers, Barrett, Young, Constantine.

Refereee: K G Evans (Lancs).

MATCH FOCUS

Hero: Djourmin Sangare

Did not just sit in front of the defence as York adopted a new 4-1-4-1 formation but quickly moved up to make incisive tackles in central midfield and looked to support attacks at all times.

Villain: No-one

This was the FA Cup so it was disappointing that no-one was able to provide that touch of devilment just to get the game going.

Key moment

88th-minute: Michael Rankine unleashes a shot which could have been the winner until Andy Warrington makes a great save.

Ref Watch

Karl Evans: Had very little to do apart from making three bookings for late tackles.

Verdict

York will glean greater satisfaction from the result and performance than the Millers.

Next game

Rotherham v Huddersfield, JP Trophy, tomorrow, 7.45.

Quote of the day

People who think that because you are playing a Conference side that you can just walk over them are wrong. It doesn't happen like that, it doesn't happen.

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