Andreas Weimann scored his first goal for Aston Villa this season in style as his blockbuster long-range strike inspired the Villans to a 3-0 Capital One Cup win over Rotherham United at Villa Park.
Paul Lambert's side were keen to move on from last season's woes when their Capital One Cup campaign went from bad to worse with an aggregate defeat to League Two side Bradford City at the semi-final stage of the competiton.
And the fact that Villa had no game at the weekend, meant that Lambert picked a strong side, particularly with his dangerous front three of Christian Benteke, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and Weimann.
But for all Villa's pace and potency up front, the Millers settled well and repelled the hosts' attacks well in the opening exchanges and stepped up a gear by delivering a series of dangerous balls into the Villa box.
However, Villa's brilliance on the break was always going to pose problems for the visitors and so it proved when Weimann gave Villa the lead with an opportunistic 19th-minute effort.
Kári Árnason's misplaced pass was pounced upon by Weimann, who advanced menacingly towards the edge of the box.
Breaking down the right, the 22-year-old attempted a cross which was blocked outside the penalty area as Árnason backtracked.
Unfortunately for Árnason, the ball came back to Weimann and the Austrian marksman took the rebound and whipped a stunning finish over Scott Shearer and into the top left corner.
Benteke added to the advantage with a far-post header just before the interval and Fabian Delph made sure of victory soon after the break.
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| Andreas Weimann shoots to score Aston Villa's first goal against Rotherham Photo: Aston Villa FC |
Paul Lambert's side were keen to move on from last season's woes when their Capital One Cup campaign went from bad to worse with an aggregate defeat to League Two side Bradford City at the semi-final stage of the competiton.
And the fact that Villa had no game at the weekend, meant that Lambert picked a strong side, particularly with his dangerous front three of Christian Benteke, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and Weimann.
But for all Villa's pace and potency up front, the Millers settled well and repelled the hosts' attacks well in the opening exchanges and stepped up a gear by delivering a series of dangerous balls into the Villa box.
However, Villa's brilliance on the break was always going to pose problems for the visitors and so it proved when Weimann gave Villa the lead with an opportunistic 19th-minute effort.
Kári Árnason's misplaced pass was pounced upon by Weimann, who advanced menacingly towards the edge of the box.
Breaking down the right, the 22-year-old attempted a cross which was blocked outside the penalty area as Árnason backtracked.
Unfortunately for Árnason, the ball came back to Weimann and the Austrian marksman took the rebound and whipped a stunning finish over Scott Shearer and into the top left corner.
Benteke added to the advantage with a far-post header just before the interval and Fabian Delph made sure of victory soon after the break.
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