After the impressive win at the EBB Stadium Rotherham United go into this play-off second-leg hoping to make home advantage count, as they look to take another step closer to a place in League One for the 2010/11 season.
The late 1-0 victory in the away fixture gave the Millers the edge in the tie and although only possessing a slender lead by avoiding defeat they will ensure a trip to Wembley where they will meet either Dagenham & Redbridge or Morecambe in the League Two Play-off final on Sunday 30th May.
Barring any injuries prior to the game Millers boss Ronnie Moore could field the same starting 11 as the one in the first-leg, that would see Ryan Taylor maintain his place up front alongside the goal hero of that game Adam Le Fondre. Tom Pope and Dale Tonge are still struggling and will again be forced to sit out.
Despite seeing his team lose consecutive matches Shots manager Kevin Dillon will not be expected to re-shuffle his pack in great detail, however he could be forced to make a least one change, in-between the sticks. Goalkeeper Jamie Young was taken off with an injury midway way through the first half of the first-leg and might not recover in time to keep his place.
Rotherham will be hoping their record in front of their own fans will play some part in what is arguably their most important home fixture of the season. The Millers finished the regular campaign having collected 39 points on home soil after 10 victories and nine draws and they will go into the game looking to build on a recent run which saw them unbeaten in the final three home games of the season. A 1-0 win against Northampton Town was followed by successive 0-0 stalemates and although they have been short of goals of late a similar result would be good enough to clinch a final date.
Aldershot arrive at Don Valley looking to over-turn the deficit with their ninth away win of the season as they chase a first ever appearance at Wembley. On the road this season the Hampshire outfit have been inconsistent in recording eight victories and five draws of their 23 league games, however they embarked on a good run on their travels towards the end of the regular season and before losing to Morecambe in their last game of the regular season, they had gone five unbeaten away from home winning three and sharing the spoils twice.
The visitors will be confident of getting the right result knowing their recent unbeaten run at Don Valley against their South Yorkshire counterparts. The Shot haven't lost to the Millers in an away fixture in the past three meetings, last season they triumphed 3-0 in an FA Cup replay before going on to record a 2-1 victory in the league four months later.
This season the Millers reduced them to just one point with a 0-0 blank back in October but with more than just points at stake this time around they will be desperate to stop the rot.
Words: Chris Ellison
