York City 1 Rotherham United 1 (Millers win 5-4 on penalties): Two points for visitors come at a cost

York City lost two as well, on top of the penalty shoot-out which followed a 1-1 draw.

It was, though, a good night for Sheffield United loanee Jili Buyabu, who has well as scoring the Millers' excellent equaliser, also took the responsibility of the decisive tenth penalty, and leathered it high into the net.

The competition is often rebranding itself – this week, and not for the first time even when it is up and running. Its final can be a great occasion, but there is no disguising that too often the group stages are unappetising slop.

York could fit all their 1,601 fans who wanted to be there into the main stand, Rotherham their 354-strong following into a couple of blocks into it.

Scott Lindsey – who stuck two fingers up to the competition by substituting Ollie Pearce 44 seconds into their opening game to make a point about being dictated to about who he could and could not play – was this time able to change the home team entirely from the weekend, Millers coach Alex Bruce kept just two of his weekend XI.

So it was particularly galling for Bruce to lose both the survivors to first-half injuries.

York played most of the football in an opening 45 minutes that failed to live up to its early promise, but did not go enough to work goalkeeper Ted Cann in the process.

So when Rotherham came on strong at the end, they will probably feel they deserved a third point for an outright win.

Inside 100 seconds Jayce Fitgerlad had put a shot wide of the York and Joe Felix had nutmegged Otoo.

The diminutive wing-back gave wing-back Otoo an uncomfortable evening, robbing him in the fifth minute. Dipo Akinyemi's header from the resulting cross forced an excellent save from Ted Cann but it was all wasted effort with the flag up.

Otoo only made it as far as the 36th minute, striker Tavares came off a quarter of an hour later on the wrong end of a tackle, giving a new definition to injury time. Not that it was all Rotherham, Jack Hunt went off for York too – a much more genuine first-half substitution after their contrived one in the opening game.

York lost that, to Newcastle United's under-21s, but looked the part against a fellow League Two opponent.

Akinyemi shot off target on the turn in the 17th minute.

Full debutant Frankie Maguire was wide after Jovan Malcolm did well to win the use of the second ball after Felix kept the ball alive with his head.

Arthur Read caught the eye in midfield, and when his team won the ball in the Millers' final third with the half-hour approaching, his deflected shot won a corner. Felix had his shot blocked from it after failing to contort his body enough to really get it behind his shot.

The men in the bright yellow and black finally caught the eye when, in the 32nd minute, Marvin Kaleta won the ball near the halfway line and wriggled his way through to a shooting position, only to drag his strike wide.

The opening goal came in the 43rd after Felix headed a right-wing Rotherham cross away. His team went straight down the other end and won a corner through Akinyemi. Cann had to help a ball in from Otoo onto the roof his net but Zech Medley rose beautifully to head Read's next corner in.

And although York continued to be the better team at the start of the second half, it was Rotherham who scored the next goal.

Jovan Malcolm headed a Felix cross wide with a deflection, and Cann made a good save from the corner that followed.

But the Millers scored a quality equaliser, slicing the Minstermen open. Buyabu's first-time finish when picked out by Kaleta was emphatic.

Felix had a shot deflected wide when a corner he won was played back to him.

But York began to look more tired and a Rotherham side freshened by all five available substitutes before the 70th minute hungrier.

Fitzgerald curled a lovely free-kick just wide at the other end, then fell onto a good chance created by Joe Rafferty's burst from the back, putting it wide.

Buyabu missed the target with a shot, then put in a cross which deserved a touch, but did not get it.

He would have his moment, though, after Read, Paul Mullin, Akinyemi, Fitzgerald, Stiver and Rafferty exchanged successful spot kicks.

Malcolm put the seventh against a post to open the door to the Miller. Substitutes Denzel Hall and Ben Farrah sent the goalkeepers the wrong way, allowing Buyabu to take a short run-up and emphatically settle the contest.

York City: Sykes-Kenworthy; J Hunt (Farrar 43), Palmer, McArthur; Felix (Ozisik 72), Stiver, Read, Medley (Beadle 90); Malcolm, Maguire (Belleh 72); Akinyemi.

Unused substitutes: Swansbury, White, Woolford.

Rotherham United: Cann; Rafferty, Douglas, Adegboyega, Otoo (Hall 36); Kaleta (Ashley 70), Spence (Austerfield HT), Fitzgerald, Buyabu; Bradshaw (Mullin 70), Tavares (Nemane 45+6).

Unused substitutes: Eyestone, Aljofree.

Referee: D Baines (Merseyside).