Winning start at New York

A sell-out crowd of 6,000, limited to half the stadium's 12,000 capacity for safety reasons, saw the Millers christen their new home with a 2-1 friendly win over Barnsley.

Chairman Tony Stewart, who has driven through the club's long-awaited return to Rotherham after four years in Sheffield, was given a standing ovation as he strode onto the pitch before kick-off.

Praising everyone who had helped make the project a reality, he said: "What a comeback. We have a new stadium and a new belief and that passion we have got will go on and on.

"Now we want you guys to make sure you tell your friends so we can fill it to capacity week after week and hit the standards we want to hit."

New signing David Noble had the honour of scoring the Millers' first goal at the £20 million ground, netting on on 38 minutes, a minute after Jacob Mellis had given Barnsley the lead. Another new recruit, Kayode Odejayi, scored the winner on the stroke of half time.

Assistant manager Paul Raynor said: "We wanted to create a good impression and we did.

"The stadium has captured the imagination and the quality of our signings has too but the proof of the pudding is out on that pitch and we saw flashes of that. We're not the finished article by any means but there's more to come."

The Millers step up their preparations for the new season with another New York date against Doncaster Rovers tomorrow (7.45pm).