Sheffield Wednesday came from a goal down to beat Rotherham 3-1 in the Carling Cup first round at Millmoor on Thursday night.
A long-range strike from Glenn Whelan pulled the Owls level on the eve of half time before Deon Burton put the visitors ahead against his former club. Wade Small added a spectacular third.
Burton returned to the Owls starting line-up after recovering from a knee complaint, facing the side he left for Wednesday two seasons ago. He partnered Marcus Tudgay up front with Francis Jeffers rested ahead of the weekend clash with Wolves.
Brian Laws made four changes in total from the 4-1 defeat at Ipswich on Saturday. Tommy Spurr and Steve Watson came into the back four at the expense of Lee Bullen and Peter Gilbert. Wade Small started on the left with Chris Brunt having departed to West Brom.
Burton started the match wearing the captain's armband in the absence of Bullen and soon tested the Millers defence working himself free in the box in the second minute to fire off a snap shot which was deflected.
It was a lively opening in the South Yorkshire derby at Millmoor with both sides looking to punish their opponents from the off. Both sets of supporters showed plenty of passion and it was a tightly contested affair on the pitch with neither side willing to give an inch.
Former Owl, Graham Coughlan, was in the thick of the action from the off, grounding Burton in the first five minutes before Glenn Whelan was booked for a foul on his fellow Irishman. On 12 minutes the central defender had an effort on goal easily held by Lee Grant but the Wednesday team were certainly giving their former team mate plenty to think about at the back.
The Owls were soon up the other end and Tudgay's effort looked from most quarters of the ground to be heading over the line. The Wednesday fans behind the goal watched as his the shot bounced off the far post with the former Derby man simply ending in a heap for his efforts.
In the 19th minute the Millers produced the best chance of the game so far as Chris O'Grady jinked in from the left and unleashed a wicked dipping strike which looped over Grant and crashed off the crossbar. Just a couple of minutes later Kenny Lunt did well to deflect a testing Dale Tonge cross into the hands of the Owls keeper.
Wednesday came close in the 28th minute when Small intercepted in enemy territory and pushed forward a cute through-ball for Burton to strike low first time, which Andy Warrington did well to save in the Rotherham goal.
Soon it was time for goalkeeping heroics at the other end though as Grant did superbly to get down and push Stephen Brogan's drive wide of his left-hand post.
The keeper had little chance when the home side made the breakthrough in the 33rd minute though. Johnson brought down Peter Holmes as the Millers pushed forward and from the resulting free kick Danny Harrison was left free to fire through Grant's legs from close range.
Grant could be thanked for keeping the deficit down though as he made a fantastic reaction save on 41 minutes as Todd looked to turn the ball in on the edge of the six-yard box.
The Owls looked like they may have missed the chance to level before half time when Steve Watson cleared the crossbar from close range at a corner but moments later the Owls pulled it back to 1-1.
Johnson teased the Millers' defence with his close control before laying off to Glenn Whelan, who thumped home a low drive from outside the box in first half stoppage time.
It did not take long for the Owls to stake their claim on the second half as Burton put one past his former employers. Johnson unleashed a powerful low shot which Warrington could only parry and last season's top scorer made no mistake with the follow-up.
The hosts hardly had chance to take stock before Wednesday extended their lead and the visitors did so in some style.
Small cut in from the left and unleashed a wicked curling, dipping effort into the top corner of the net from distance.
Wednesday seemed to be growing in strength and the back four certainly appeared much more robust than on the first day of the season in Suffolk.
In the mean time, the Millers' back line had their work cut out. Johnson darted into the box, wrong-footing defenders in his wake but eventually seeing his shot well saved by Warrington, who then tipped over as Burton tried a delicate chip.
Watson went close with a header from a corner for the visitors on 70 minutes as the quality between the Championship and League Two side became more and more apparent.
Richard Wood breathed a sigh of relief in the 78th minute when he slipped on the Millmoor turf to allow substitute Marc Newsham in but Grant came to the rescue again and held on to his low shot.
But Wednesday by now were in control and could have added more, particularly when Leon Clarke raced through in the dying stages onl9y to see his effort saved.
The result should prove a welcome boost for Laws' men ahead of Sunday's fixture with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Hillsborough.
SWFC: Grant; Simek, Watson, Wood, Spurr; Johnson, Whelan, Lunt, Small; Burton, Tudgay (Clarke 43).
Subs not used: Burch, Bullen, Hinds, Gilbert.
Booked: Whelan (8 foul), Watson (87 foul)
Rotherham: Warrington, Tonge, O'Grady, Coughlan, Peter Holmes, Harrison, Derek Holmes (Newsham 74), Brogan (Joseph 48), Sharps, Todd (Duncum 58), Hurst.
Subs not used: Cann, Bean.
Referee: John Moss
Attendance: 6,416
