Millers pay for first-half failings ... on-the-whistle report: Rotherham United 0 Luton Town 2
MANY fans didn't turn up. Sadly, in the first half, neither did their team.
Swathes of AESSEAL New York Stadium were empty tonight for the first home game since Rotherham United's relegation from League One was confirmed.
Absent supporters didn't miss much as the Millers failed to build on rare victory at the weekend and were second best to a Luton Town side who haven't given up on promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt.
Lee Clark's men rallied in the second period but were unable to make a breakthrough. By then, they were already two goals in arrears, having caused some of their own problems by continually giving the ball away.
Rotherham fell behind on eight minutes when a patient Luton build-up ended in Kasey Palmer converting Shayden Morris's low cross in front of the North Stand.
The Millers were up against opposition with six wins and three draws in their last nine outings and they were relieved to see Davy van den Berg scuff his shot and give Ted Cann an easy save.
The home side were struggling to find a way into proceedings and the visitors remained on the attack in the opening quarter of an hour.
Rotherham's first chance came on 18 minutes when teenager Cohen Lee's shot was travelling goalwards at speed until Hakeem Odoffin got his head in the way and diverted its path.
Luton had arrived in S60 in eighth spot and only three points away from the play-off reckoning, but the Millers came back into the match for a spell and it took something special to precent them equalising in the 28th minutes.
Jamal Baptiste showed great technique to make perfect contact with the ball and his 25-yarder was arrowing into the net until Josh Keeley pulled off one of the saves of the season.
The left-back then got back to spare Emmanuel Adegboyega's blushes with a terrific block on van den Berg after his teammate had been mugged by Palmer on Rotherham's right flank.
Luton, winners of the Vertu Trophy earlier this month, reasserted a degree of control but, as half-time approached, the next sight of goal came at their end as Dan Gore fired over the bar.
The Millers were left to rue that missed opening when Palmer ghosted in unmarked and headed Town further in front in the 44th minute.
There was one change to the side that had started last Saturday's 2-0 away triumph at Leyton Orient that ended a run of nine games without a win, with Joe Rafferty coming in at right-back and Denzel Hall dropping to the bench.
Nineteen-year-olds Cohen Lee and James Clarke kept their places and Harrison Duncan, aged 17, was named on the bench again.
In the Luton line-up was Odoffin who gave the Millers fours years of sterling service between 2021 and 2025.
After the break, Nahki Wells hit the woodwork for Town and Sam Nombe headed inches over the bar before Jack Holmes' shot lacked the power to trouble keeper Keeley and Harry Gray saw a close-range shot blocked.
Rotherham enjoyed possession and territory as Luton chose to sit back and protect their lead and Holmes blasted too high from the edge of the area before, late on, Hall stole in and had a near-post attempt saved.
By the end, New York had emptied still further and supporters will be glad that only two matches of a miserable campaign remain.
Rotherham (4-2-3-1): Ted Cann; Joe Rafferty, Emmanuel Adegboyega, Zak Jules, Jamal Baptiste; Dan Gore, Cohen Lee (Dru Yearwood H-T); Ar'Jany Martha (Denzel Hall 62), James Clarke (Jack Holmes 62), Harry Gray; Sam Nombe. Subs not used: Ben Childs, Harrison Duncan, Gabriele Biancheri, Jordan Hugill.
Luton (4-2-3-1): Josh Keeley; Nigel Lonwijk, Hakeem Odoffin, Kal Naismith, Joe Johnson; Davy van den Berg (Gideon Kodua 62), Liam Walsh (George Saville 730; Shayden Morris (Jake Richards 62), Kasey Palmer, Emilio Lawrence (Sverre Sandal 86); Nahki Wells (Ali Al-Hamadi 73). Subs not used: James Shea, Devante Cole.
Goals: Palmer 8, 44 (Luton)
Referee: Sam Mulhall (Cheshire)
Attendance: 7,497 (650)