Millers defeated by Ainley and Alex

CREWE boss David Artell hailed his side’s versatile display as they produced a fighting second-half comeback to dump Rotherham out of the FA Cup.

Will Vaulks curled Rotherham into a firsthalf lead, though a key event came when Kieffer Moore’s header from a corner was disallowed by referee Scott Oldham after a foul in the buildup.

Crewe levelled through Brad Walker immediately after the break before Callum Ainley won it for the League Two outfit on 89 minutes to send them into the hat for the second round on a crisp afternoon in Cheshire.

Artell said: “As off it as we were in the first-half, there was only one team in it in the second-half.

“I think there was a bit of fear against playing against a team from the league above but I thought we matched their efforts and I’m delighted with the two goals we scored.

“We had 11 lads out there that believed we were going to win. In the second-half, we got in their faces and stopped them playing. We deserved it and it is the Crewe everyone wants to see.”

The visitors led on 21 minutes courtesy of Vaulks, who found himself in acres of space on the left to elegantly curl past keeper Dave Richards into the topright corner.

Rotherham thought they had a second in first-half injury time, though Moore’s header from Joe Newell’s corner was ruled out by Oldham.

Following the restart, the Railwaymen steamed into action and equalised on 47 minutes when Walker looped a header over keeper Richard O’Donnell from George Cooper’s freekick.

As the tie entered its closing stages, Perry Ng and Cooper went close for Crewe before Richards superbly kept out Moore’s header.

Midfielder Ainley clinched it late on, racing onto a pin-point through ball to beat his man and squeeze past O’Donnell.

Rotherham boss Paul Warne was frustrated with United’s performance and the disallowed goal decision.

He said: “I felt we played really well in the first-half, we looked comfortable, our keeper didn’t have a save to make.

“There was a big turning point before half-time. If we score the second goal, then that would probably be game over but after the crowd made a bit of a hoo-haa and the referee pulled it back, he said there was a foul before the ball came in. They came out. It gave them a boost and it completely changed.”