Villa ease past Millers
Aston Villa went some way to laying to rest the ghosts of last season's Capital One Cup semi-final exit to Bradford by easing past League One Rotherham at Villa Park.
Paul Lambert branded that two-legged defeat to the then League Two club his lowest point as Villa boss, and he was not prepared to risk it happening again as he fielded a strong team which included Christian Benteke, Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann.
And they were far too good for Steve Evans' side, with Lambert's selection justified by half-time as Weimann opened the scoring with a fine 20-yard effort in the 19th minute and then Benteke headed home Agbonlahor's cross 20 minutes later to ease the nerves.
Fabian Delph put the game to bed shortly after the interval with a fine team goal, latching on to Benteke's scooped pass to finish with aplomb.
It could have been a greater margin of victory, but Villa were wasteful in the final 30 minutes, with Agbonlahor and Joe Bennett missing good opportunities.
Although well beaten in the end, the Millers acquitted themselves well, particularly in the first half, where Alex Revell could have twice given them the lead, while Michael O'Connor's curling free-kick which went just over was the highlight of their second half.
As it was, Villa made safe passage through to the third round and avoided a repeat of last season's embarrassment by Bradford.
Source: PA
