DAVE Artell praised his players for showing resilience and versatility at the New York Stadium as Chris Porter's stoppage-time penalty secured a share of the spoils.

The Alex boss matched up with Rotherham's formation by changing to three at the back with Luke Offord and Billy Sass-Davies drafted in alongside Donervon Daniels.

But it still proved a tough afternoon for the Railwaymen against Paul Warne's dominant side and they fell behind in the 54th minute when Ollie Rathbone charged down a clearance from Daniels and fired past Will Jaaskelainen.

The introduction of Porter off the bench for the final half an hour stirred Crewe as an attacking force, although Rotherham sub Freddie Lapado wasted an opportunity to seal the win for the hosts.

But when Wes Harding hauled back Porter in the box for a clear penalty, the veteran stepped up to finish from 12 yards (90+2) with Harding dismissed having previously been booked.

"I thought we stuck to our task. We asked the players to play in a different way, which in the current circumstances and where we are is always going to be a challenge," said Artell.

"But I thought they were magnificent in their application and desire to stay in the game.

"This is a tough place to come as Rotherham are a physical side who ask questions of you. I just wish the game had gone on another 10 minutes."

Miller boss Warne said his side had 20 attempts on goal compared to Crewe's three.

"While it's 1-0 they were still in the game. It feels like a defeat because it was one-way traffic," he said. "Teams are going to come here, frustrate us and slow the game down - these games are banana skins for us."