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Alan Smith had put United ahead with a first half finish, but it was Miller that drove United towards dominance by the final whistle.
He timed his run to perfection in the 57th minute to get on the end of David Bellion’s precise pass and provided the finish to match to beat Ben Williams in the Alex goal.
United went further ahead two minutes later, and again Miller was at the focal point of the move, picking a brilliant pass for left winger Kieron Richardson whose cross was turned into his own net by Stephen Foster.
Moments later, Miller robbed Steve Jones in midfield and sent a powerful dipping volley towards the top corner which Williams did well to divert for a corner kick.
John O'Shea staked his claim for a first team berth with a comfortable performance alongside captain Wes Brown at the heart of United's defence.
Miller's Republic Of Ireland foe for the right midfield slot Steve Finnan (below) made a substitute appearence for Liverpool and helped his side solidify their place in the 4th round by beating Millwall 3-0. But it was Ireland Under-Age international Darren Potter making only his 3rd appearence for Liverpool that was votes the Carling Man of the Match. The young playmaker was influential throughout and is being tipped to start his first Premiership match on Saturday. Former Irish Under 21 goalkeeper Graham Stack was in the Millwall lineup.
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Cardiff duo Alan Lee and Graham Kavanagh were the only Irish players to be involved in a penalty shoot out and the Luck of the Irish was with them all the way. Former Rotherham hitman Alan Lee grabbed Cardiff's 24th minute equaliser as the game went through a scintillating extra time period to finish 3-3. In the tense finale, Lee stepped up to help Cardiff to a 5-4 shootout win.
Republic of Ireland under-19 captain Patrick Cregg received his first exposure to senior team activity with a place on the Arsenal bench as Arsene Wenger’s youthful side ousted Manchester City in the Carling Cup third round on Wednesday night.
Cregg was an unused substitute in the 2-1 victory at the City of Manchester Stadium.
One Irish youngster who did make the field at Eastlands was City’s under-21 star Willo Flood, who came into Kevin Keegan’s starting line-up on the right side of midfield after recent substitute appearances in the Premiership against Arsenal and Newcastle United.
Flood (below) enjoyed plenty of promising moments down the flank, where he combined well with former England international full back Danny Mills and current England squad member Shaun Wright-Phillips.
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Elsewhere in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night, Irish senior stars Damien Duff and Robbie Keane were reduced to substitute roles as Chelsea and Spurs edged through to the last 16 with narrow wins over West Ham and Bolton respectively, Spurs exacting revenge for Saturday’s Premiership defeat with a 4-3 extra-time triumph at the Reebok Stadium.
Kenny Cunningham was replaced late on as Birmingham City fell to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Fulham, Matt Holland and Dean Kiely were unable to prevent Charlton Athletic falling to a 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace while Shay Given, Stephen Carr and Andy O’Brien were among a host of first-team players rested as Newcastle overcame Gary Doherty’s Norwich City on a 2-1 scoreline at St James’s Park.