First Division Rotherham dumped Premiership opponents Southampton out of the FA Cup tonight when they beat Gordon Strachan's side 2-1 to progress to the fourth round. The game was delayed by 15 minutes as a bumper crowd turned up for the visit of the Saints and but it proved well worth the wait when the Millers produced a famous victory.
Richie Barker gave Rotherham the lead after 39 minutes when he soared in unmarked at the far post to head Kevin Watson's free-kick past Saints keeper Paul Jones. In the 54th minute, John Mullin made it 2-0 with a finish Manchester United's star striker Ruud van Nistelrooy would have been proud of when he pounced on Chris Sedgewick's through-ball before drawing wide and hammering the ball into the back of the net.
However, Rotherham had to cling on for 15 nerve-jangling minutes when Marian Pahars gave the Saints a glimmer of hope with his penalty kick on 70 minutes after Andy Monkhouse pushed Kevin Davies needlessly. It had been Davies' introduction in the 62nd minute that made a huge difference to Strachan's team as they could do everything but score in the final quarter of the game and came agonisingly close on several occasions to salvaging a replay. But the Millers held out somehow and when referee Matt Messias' whistle indicated full-time, the roar from the packed house at Millmoor could be heard for miles around.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
