ROTHERHAM UTD 0,
ALDERSHOT TOWN 3
ALDERSHOT belied their wretched away form in the league with a surprisingly emphatic victory in South Yorkshire on Tuesday night to earn a money-spinning second-round tie in the FA Cup.
The Shots' reward is a daunting trip to League One high-fliers Millwall on Saturday, November 28.
Gary Waddock's side had been fortunate to survive the first meeting with Rotherham, forcing a replay thanks to a John Grant penalty deep into injury time.
There was not much argument this time as Aldershot put paid to the Millers with two goals from Kirk Hudson who, in between, set up Marvin Morgan for the crucial second goal.
The Shots have lost seven consecutive matches on their travels in League Two, yet in the Don Valley Stadium at Sheffield, they brimmed with confidence after Hudson had scored his first goal on 15 minutes.
Aldershot looked to have a better balance in the side, with Dave Blackburn's return allowing Louie Soares to play a more attacking role. Danny Hylton was ruled out through injury and old hands Grant and Morgan continued their attacking partnership.
Rotherham, meanwhile, were missing their ever-present, highly-rated keeper, Andy Warrington – injured at Gillingham on Saturday.
It was a new experience for Aldershot, with 2,431 spectators all situated in the main stand of an athletics stadium that can hold 25,000.
And Rotherham began brightly, an early chance falling to Richie Barker who shot high and wide when he should have done better.
Aldershot then took the lead from their first proper attack.
Bulky skipper Pablo Mills was exposed by the sheer pace of Hudson who ran through to blast a fearsome shot past debutant keeper Steve Cann.
The shape of the game immediately changed as Hudson and Soares stretched Rotherham's one-paced defence on the flanks.
Morgan almost added a second soon afterwards with a shot that curled just past Cann's left-hand post.
Soares, Grant and Hudson all had decent efforts, while Rotherham's goal threat receded almost entirely until, five minutes before half-time, Reuben Reid headed narrowly over from an Alex Rhodes corner.
Rotherham lost Mills to injury just before the break and things went from bad to worse for the home side as Aldershot doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half.
Hudson seemed to be in an offside position when he played the ball to Morgan, but the flag stayed down and the gangling striker picked his spot from 10 yards.
Aldershot played with some style, thereafter, and deserved to score from a sweet move that involved Hudson and Blackburn before Morgan struck a low shot that was only grasped by Cann at the second attempt.
With nine minutes left, the Shots put the game out of reach. Ben Harding, fed by Blackburn's precision pass, did some great work on the edge of the box before offloading to Grant who set up Hudson for a crisp finish from 12 yards.
"I expected a difficult game and we got one," said manager Gary Waddock. "Rotherham have been doing extremely well in the league, so this was a fantastic performance and result. We've obviously been struggling on the road, but the players have been putting in a lot of hard work to get things right."
Rotherham: Cann, Tonge, Sharps, Fenton, Nicholas, Hudson, Mills (Burchill 45), Cummins, Rhodes, Barker (Broughton 70), Reid (Yates 58). Subs (not used): Green, Taylor, Joseph, Holmes.
Aldershot: Bull, Blackburn, Day, Charles, Straker, Soares, Harding, Davies, Hudson, Morgan (Elvins 87), Grant. Subs (not used): Jaimez-Ruiz, Chalmers, Howell, Mendes, Newman, Osborne. Booked: Straker.
Attendance: 2,431.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire).
* Aldershot travel to Chester City this Saturday. On Tuesday, they are home to Lincoln City.