RUFC - It's FA Cup Weekend!

Rotherham United are in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday when they travel to the EEB Stadium (or Recreation Ground as it's widely known).

The last time the Millers were in the third round of the Cup was when they were in the Championship - therefore not having to have competed in the first two rounds! The game was in January 2005 and Yeovil Town came to Millmoor and beat the Millers convincingly, scoring three goals in the last thirty minutes. Yeovil went on to play Charlton in the next round and lost three-two.

The season before the Millers went to Sixfields in the third round, again when they were in the Championship, with the game being a one-all draw, Richie Barker scoring for the Millers. Which ever team won the replay at Millmoor would meet Manchester United in the next round at home. The game started well with Paul Hurst opening the scoring for the home side but Richard Smith and Martin Smith scored for Northampton. They lost three-nil to Manchester United in the next round.


The last time the Millers won a third round tie was in the 2001/2 season. Once again they didn't join the competition until the third round when Southampton were the visitors at Millmoor. Due to the weather the game was played on a Wednesday night in January and Richie Barker and John Mullin gave the Millers a two-nil lead. On seventy minutes the Saints pulled one back when Marian Pahars scored from the penalty spot but the Millers hung on and just ten days later had another home game in the fourth round against Crewe.

Teams Millers v Saints
Millers
Pollitt
McIntosh
Scott
Hurst
Swailes
Watson
Warne
Sedgwick (Daws)
Mullin
Monkhouse (Talbot)
Barker
Subs not used - Gray, Branston, Robins

Saints
Jones
Williams
Bridge
Telfer
Dodd
Lundekvam
Fernandes (Davies)
Marsden
Svensson
Delgado (Le Tissier)
Pahars
Subs not used - Moss, Monk, Tessem

The last time the Millers got through the first two rounds of the FA Cup was in the 2000/01 season. A goal from Alan Lee gave the Millers a win away at Wrexham, in a game that saw Guy Branston red carded, and they met Northampton at Millmoor in the second leg where a Garry Hughes og on fourteen minutes was enough to see the Millers through. The draw gave the Millers a great game at Anfield in January.

The Millers managed to hold the mighty Reds for the first forty-five minutes but two minutes into the second half Emile Heskey proved too much and opened the scoring after his shot seemed to be held by goalkeeper Ian Gray but then it seemed to slip from his hands as he fell to the floor and slid under him and over the line. Referee Mark Halsey then showed Igor Biscan a second yellow card leaving the Premier ship club down to ten men. The Millers put the Reds under quite a bit of pressure but they rode the storm and hit back with two goals, one from Dietmar Hamann and a second from Heskey. Liverpool went on to beat Leeds in the next round, then Manchester City, Tranmere and Wycombe Wanderers before beating Arsenal two-one in the Final at the Millennium Stadium.










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