On-the-whistle report: Rotherham United 1 Accrington Stanley 2

The Millers had hauled themselves back into the tie with a Kieran Sadlier wonder-strike after falling behind in the first half and were pushing for a winner when they were hit by an 86th-minute sucker punch.

Manager Paul Warne had made a raft of changes, including handing first starts to four new signings, following the opening-day 2-0 league triumph over Plymouth Argyle.

Ollie Rathbone, Hakeem Odoffin, Shane Ferguson and Rarmani Hudson-Green all had their moments but it turned out to be a frustrating night at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

A low-key start saw both teams fail to impose themselves and the first quarter of an hour passed without an effort on goal.

All four new boys had begun well and Edmonds-Green kept the score goalless in the 17th minute as he hooked Cameron Burgess's header from a corner off the line.

The Millers responded three minutes later with a low Sadlier effort easily gathered by Toby Savin as the small crowd waited for the contest to catch fire.

But it was the visitors who were now dominating possession and they came closest to breaking the deadlock when Joe Pritchard intercepted a loose pass only to miss the target with the goal gaping.

With little to cheer on the pitch, by far the most exciting part of the evening at this stage from a Rotherham point of view had been the announcement of new boy Tolaji Bola's arrival which came just before kick-off.

The Millers paid the price for their lethargy in the 38th minute when Dion Charles was allowed to get on the ball by Joe Mattock and whipped a smart finish beyond Viktor Johansson into the bottom corner of the net.

Sadlier tried his luck again on 41 minutes and got more power into his shot but it was too close to Savin to really trouble the Accy goalkeeper.

Bola stepped on to the pitch at the break to be introduced to supporters and must have been glad to be missing the dressing-down his new teammates were no doubt getting in the changing room.

Rotherham were immediately better after the break and Ladapo came close to a 47th-minute equaliser, forcing a fingertip save from Savin.

However, Accrington had another clear sight of goal soon afterwards, Pritchard rushing his shot when Charles' supply had left him with time and space to do much better.

Parts of New York were closed because Rotherham knew the attendance would be low attendance and the 137 Stanley fans gathered in the East Stand were enjoying themselves far more than the home faithful.

Sadlier tried and failed for the third time in the game, this time from distance, as the Millers, following the half-time introduction of Chiedozie Ogbene, finally started to consistently stretch the visitors.

The home team were peppering Accrington with crosses and attempts on goal and it needed desperate defending kept them at bay until all the pressure at last paid off.

No kind of defending, desperate or otherwise, could have denied Sadlier as he stepped up in the 76th minute and made light of his earlier misses with a stunning 25-yard free-kick curled over the wall and beyond Savin.

Josh Kayode missed a golden chance to put Rotherham in front as he failed to connect with Ogbene's cross five minutes from time when any sort of contact would have resulted in a goal.

The Millers were the only team looking like winning the contest but it was Stanley who sealed their passage into the next round a minute later as Colby Bishop headed into the net after Johansson's parry from a Pritchard shot had fallen into his path.

Rotherham (3-5-2): Viktor Johansson; Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Michael Ihiekwe, Joe Mattock; Kieran Sadlier, Dan Barlaser (Chiedozie Ogbene H-T), Hakeem Odoffin (Ben Wiles 68), Ollie Rathbone, Shane Ferguson; Freddie Ladapo (Michael Smith 60), Josh Kayode. Subs not used: Josh Chapman, Wes Harding, Mickel Miller, Jamie Lindsay.

Accrington (3-5-2): Toby Savin; Michael Nottingham, Cameron Burgess, Ross Sykes; Harvey Rodgers, Harry Pell (Sean McConville 78), David Morgan, Matt Butcher, Joe Pritchard; Dion Charles, Colby Bishop. Subs not used: James Trafford, Joel Mumbongo, Archie Procter, Tommy Leigh, Harry Perritt, Jack Nolan.

Goals: Sadlier 76 (Rotherham); Charles 38, Colby 86 (Accrington).

Referee: Will Finnie (Bedfordshire).

Attendance: 3,131 (137).