With the regular League Two season ending in defeat Rotherham United travel to take on Aldershot Town in the away leg of the play-offs looking to re-find the winning habit as they continue their search for promotion.
After 46 games the League Two table saw the Millers in fifth position, however despite dropping a place following the disappointing 3-0 loss to Hereford United they still finished above their play-off opponents, meaning they have a second-leg home advantage and with no away goal rule being enforced in this competition, a victory at the EBB Stadium would put them firmly on the road to Wembley.
Having missed the last league game of the season top talisman Adam Le Fondre and midfielder Josh Walker should return to the Millers starting line-up for the crucial trip. The pair were left out of the defeat at Edgar Street and after been given a rest are expected to be re-called by boss Ronnie Moore. While there are no fresh injury concerns Tom Pope and Dale Tonge will again be unavailable for selection.
Manager Kevin Dillon made a number of changes for the Shots' last game, however after seeing his players go down 1-0 to fellow play-off hopefuls Morecambe, he may opt to revert back to the starting 11 which recorded a 3-1 victory over Lincoln City in their last home fixture, that would mean a return for loanee and top goal scorer Dean Morgan.
The hosts are approaching the play-offs on the back of some decent form, before the defeat at Morecambe they had gone three unbeaten in the league and scored plenty of goals in the end of season run in. In their last 10 games they have hit the net 15 times on the way to five victories and three draws, a record which saw them finish the campaign one place and one point below their opponents. Like their visitors they have proved beatable in front of their own fans during the 2009/10 season with four defeats, however 43 points of their total 72 were picked up on home soil and they will be looking to add to their 12 victories in order to take a lead into the return leg at Don Valley.
Only 11 previous matches have been contested between these two and with five victories to three it is Aldershot who currently hold the bragging rights. The first ever meeting in the 1937/38 season saw the Shots record a 3-1 FA Cup triumph as they had the best of the early exchanges, in fact the Millers were made to wait until November 1987 to record their first success, a 3-1 away win in an Old Division Three game.The Shots will be hopeful of a result with the statistics very much on their side this season. The two sides have met twice in the League with the Millers failing to claim a victory, a 0-0 draw at Don Valley was followed by a 3-0 thumping in the away fixture and with that being as recent as last month they will have to be confident in their approach not to let it happen again.
Words: Chris Ellison
