Rotherham beat Morecambe on penalties to avoid Carabao Cup shock

Rotherham finally beat Morecambe in the Carabao Cup after seeing off the League Two outfit 4-2 on penalties.

The Shrimps won in South Yorkshire in 2016 and then again 12 months ago and another upset was in the offing when Michael Mellon put them in front.

Josh Kayode’s first home goal for the club levelled before the break, meaning the game had to be decided by penalties and Dillon Phillips saved two on his debut to earn a place in the second round.

Morecambe enjoy coming to Rotherham in the League Cup so it was no surprise to see them start well.

JJ McKiernan should have put them ahead inside the first five minutes when he was teed up by Mellon, but he shot straight at goalkeeper Phillips’ legs.

Mellon did open the scoring midway through the first half when he raced on to a through ball from Yann Songo’o and converted in style, with a low shot across goal.

The Millers, thrashed on the opening day at Stoke, were not looking much better as they struggled for any fluency against their fourth-tier opponents.

But they found themselves level eight minutes before the break when Kayode poked home a loose ball after Farrend Rawson had failed to clear Cohen Bramall’s cross.

Rotherham were the better team in the second half and came close to going in front as Georgie Kelly had a header well saved by Simon Moore.

But it had to be decided by penalties and Phillips kept out efforts from Charlie Brown and Jake Taylor as the Millers progressed.