New boy Jili Buyabu makes an instant impression ... Darlington 0 Rotherham United 2

Rotherham United handed an instant debut to loan signing Jili Buyabu on Tuesday night and the 22-year-old caught the eye.

The Sheffield United wing-back emerged for the second half and showed an electric turn of pace, flashes of skill and the ability to whip in a cross from the left flank.

His energetic cameo was one of the highlights of a comfortable victory for the Millers at Darlington as they played the penultimate clash of their pre-season programme.

His move was announced only on the day of this fixture and not that many Rotherham fans will have known his name. A lot more soon will if he builds on this display.

"I think he's going to excite the supporters," said head coach Alex Bruce. "He can run, can't he? He's going to look to get to the byline and he's certainly going to be on the front foot. He could catch pigeons, by the looks of it. He'll be an exciting player for us and I'm looking forward to working with him."

Rotherham kicked off with three trialists in their starting 11 and it took one of them only three minutes to give them the lead.

Scottish striker Bruce Anderson reacted sharply to an error from the home defence and buried his finish from only a few yards out.

Two minutes later, the Milers increased their lead as captain for the night Kian Spence skipped in from the left to send a low shot across the goalkeeper and into the far corner.

It was a warm, sunny night in County Durham but the weather hadn't brought out the spectators and home and away fans mingled in a relatively sparse crowd.

Another of the trialists, Brandon Williams, was enjoying his best outing of pre-season as Alex Bruce's side continued to dominate without extending their advantage.

The left-back was in exactly the right place at the right time when Darlington threatened in the 37th minute and he cleared off his own goalline.

It was another outing against non-league opposition - the fifth in six friendless - and another lovely setting. It wasn't quite Matlock Town, but it was still very pleasant.

As the name, Blackwell Meadows, suggests, the stadium is surrounded by fields and trees, and it boasts an attractive, modern clubhouse complete with balcony and clocktower.

At the opposite end, a break by Brandon Cover should have resulted in an effort on goal but his pass to Marvin Kaleta wasn't a good one and the move came to nothing.

The home team are from National League North, two levels below League Two Rotherham, and are managed by former Newcastle United defender Steve Watson.

They weren't a match for the Millers and the only win of a Darlington persuasion was for the supporter who landed £140 in the club's 50:50 draw.

"We've done a lot of work on certain things and the lads are picking it up," Bruce said. "There have been a lot of clips on loops for the lads to see the things that we've worked on in training. They can see them whilst they're on the TVs around the building. They've been put together with the help of the analysts.

"We're building on-field relationships. That comes with time. A lot of these players haven't played together much. The trialists who've come in have adapted quite well."

In the second half, Spence and new boy Jamie Jellis were paired together, and the midfield duo appear to have developed an immediate understanding which bodes well for the forthcoming season.

As the light began to fade, Buyabu continued to look bright and had a shot saved before Jellis tried his luck with an overhead kick that hit the target but didn't unduly trouble the goalkeeper.

The Millers had pretty much controlled proceedings throughout the evening.

"Every game we've played, I'm seeing more and more," Bruce said. "There are things we've worked on, and I was pleased tonight. We showed some good bits. We started the game very well."

At the end, the clocktower showed 9.20pm.

Time now for one final summer test, against Derby County next week, before the action begins for real.

Rotherham (4-3-3): Ted Cann; Denzel Hall, Lenny Agbaire, Ewan Otoo (trialist), Brandon Williams (trialist); Brandon Cover, Kian Spence Ossama Ashley; Ar'Jany Martha, Bruce Anderson (trialist), Marvin Kaleta. Subs: Jake Turner (trialist), Fabio Tavares, Jili Buyabu, Dean Gardner, Aaron Nemane, Jamie Jellis, Cohen Lee, Emmanuel Adegboyega, Joe Rafferty, Jez Davies (trialist), Kyle McAdam (trialist), Sonny Aljofree (trialist).

Half-time: Off: Cann, Williams, Ashley, Kaleta. On: Turner, Buyabu, Aljofree, Jellis

63 minutes: Off: Hall, Martha, Anderson. On: Rafferty, Nemane, Tavares

75 minutes: Off: Agbaire, Otoo, Spence, Cover. On: Adegboyega, Agbaire, McAdam, Lee

Goals: Anderson 3, Spence 5 (Rotherham)

Attendance: 515