Player ratings and match stats from Exeter City 0 Rotherham United 4
Paul Davis gives his verdict on a great day when the Millers went to St James Park and took down an in-form team that had won its last five home matches and had racked up four victories and two draws in its previous six League One clashes.
Millers (4-3-3)
Cameron Dawson: 7
Made the two saves he needed to, made the catches he had to and played the ball out well from his box. Very solid. Would have been an 8 had he had more to do.
Joe Rafferty: 8
Defended well, got forward well and capped his display with a brilliantly-taken goal. That finish was more difficult than it looked.
Jamal Baptiste: 9
What a player he's going to be, what a player he is now. Fierce and faultless at the back and a real danger in the opposition penalty area.
Deserved that first goal of his career. Combines pace with physicality and agility. That's not a bad combination!
Zak Jules: 8
Strong. Unruffled. Committed. The best version of Zak Jules.
Reece James: 8
Back in a more familiar role at left-back as Rotherham started with four men in defence and barely put a foot wrong.
Kian Spence: 8
Quietly went about doing everything well. Quick across the ground, accurate in his passing and always ready to nick the ball off an opponent.
Dan Gore: 7
Looked sharp until injury ended his afternoon early.
Shaun McWilliams: 9
His most impressive display in a Rotherham shirt. Popped up everywhere, had an influence on everything. Scored and also set up Harry Gray to work Harry Gray magic. Immense.
Harry Gray: 8
What a beautiful goal – a striker's instincts, a striker's poise. Everything about it as the 17-year-old ran in from the left and found the bottom corner was perfect. You can't teach it.
Sam Nombe: 9
Ran his old club to distraction. Got to nearly every ball and nearly always did something good with it. Two assists and one very tired, flustered Grecians backline by the end. All that was missing was a goal. He had several chances to score. Even with the 'blank', it was a towering performance.
Joe Powell: 8
I might be being harsh in not giving him a 9 here. Back to his very best. Great deliveries, touch and work rate. Sublime cross to give Baptiste his big moment.
The subs
Emmanuel Adegboyega (for Gore 40): 7
A few very ragged touches from the new boy soon after coming in, but he grew into the game and became a physical, commanding, assured figure as the contest wore on.
Dru Yearwood (for Spence): 73 NA
Fitted in without fuss when he came on to save Spence's legs.
Ar'Jany Martha (for Nombe 77): NA
Not on the pitch for long, but this was more like the Martha we all want to see more of. He posed a real threat with his trickery. A rash tackle of his caused some ‘handbags’ in the players' tunnel afterwards.
Not used: Ted Cann, Lenny Agbaire, Hamish Douglas, Jack Holmes.
Exeter (3-4-2-1): Joe Whitworth 6; Pierce Sweeney 6 (Sonny Cox 74), Jack Fitzwater 6, Luca Woodhouse 6; Ilmari Niskanen 6, Ethan Brierley 5, Jake Doyle-Hayes 6, Liam Oakes 5 (Akeel Higgins 57); Reece Cole 6 (Jack Aitchison 57), Carlos Mendez Gomes 7 (Timur Tutierov 57, 5); Jayden Wareham 5 (Josh Magennis 74). Subs not used: Jack Bycroft, Ed Turns.
Goals: Baptiste 28, Rafferty 71, Gray 73, McWilliams 76 (Rotherham)
Referee: Paul Howard (London)
Opposition view
“There are no easy games in this league. Last week against Port Vale (3-1 away win)we rode our luck in the first 20 minutes and we managed to get through that.
“If you drop the standards for any length of time at this level you will get punished, and today we weren't good enough.
“Rotherham were by far the better team. We have to accept that and we have to react in a really positive way next week at Mansfield Town.
“We were on a brilliant run. We're still in a great position, everything is in our hands, everything is there for us.
“We have to learn from this. You have to dust yourself down. You have to look yourself in the mirror and say: ‘What can I do better? How am I going to come back stronger from this experience?’
“I'm sure we'll come back stronger because we've done it before.”
- Grecians boss Gary Caldwell
The stats
Possession: Exeter 65 per cent, Millers 35
Goal attempts: Exeter 13, Millers 11
On target: Exeter 2, Millers 7
Touches in opposition box: Exeter 17, Millers 17
Corners: Exeter 4, Millers 5
Fouls committed: Exeter 16, Millers 6
Final word
A near-500-mile round trip. Worth every one of those miles to be there.