Aston Villa vs. Rotherham United: Instant reaction to Villa's second-round win

Aston Villa rewarded Paul Lambert's decision to start a nearly full-strength squad with a coast to victory over League One side Rotherham United in the second round of the Capital One League Cup. Goals from Andi Weimann, Christian Benteke, and Fabian Delph were all that Villa needed, as they kept a clean sheet for the first time since a 0-0 draw on December 8, 2012 against Stoke.

After a brisk start, things seemed to settle a little bit in front of an estimated crowd of approximately 22,000. Oddly, the loudest fans were those who made the trip to support Rotherham. Around the 10-minute mark, Rotherham started pressing more than they should have been able to get away with. They took advantage of some poor play on the Villa wings to run the ball up into the final third and then swing it in.

But then, in the 19th minute, Aston Villa decided to score on the counter again. Andi Weimann got the ball and tried a strong pass that hit a defender and rebounded right back to him. Still outside the box, Andi decided to have a go from the right side of the pitch and curled it into the upper-left corner of the net to give Villa the 1-0 lead. The goal wasn't enough to wreck The Millers spirit, though, as they kept pressing with vigor. They couldn't stop another Villa counter though as an errant Rotherham pass led to Gabby Agbonlahor sending a beautiful cross to a leaping Christian Benteke who buried it home to make it 2-0 in the 40th minute, which is how the half would end.

The second half began with no changes for either squad, as Villa tried to push their advantage. In the 53rd minute, Christian Benteke lobbed a cheeky little pass to Fabian Delph, who corralled it with a superb left foot over to his right and struck for the third goal of the match. A few minutes later, Delph - playing with a yellow - was subbed off for Yacouba Sylla. Just a bit later, Gabby and Benteke were taken off to give Nicklas Helenius and Aleksandar Tonev some time on the pitch. After that the match got pretty boring as Villa settled in for some possession-based football. All things considered, I won't complain, because it always means good things. The match finished a comfortable 3-0 in Villa's favor.

The draw for the third round will be happening soon, and we'll have that for you. And be sure to check back tomorrow, as we'll have gifs of all the memorable moments collected in one place for you.