AND you thought 2014 was a good year...

Cherries made eight changes, were denied a perfectly good goal and conceded a deflected opener yet still etched a new chapter in the record books.

A four-goal blitz in 14 second-half minutes paved the way for the club’s biggest away win in the FA Cup against Football League opposition and their largest winning margin in the third round and beyond.

Boss Eddie Howe’s decision to shuffle the pack had raised more eyebrows than interest in the world’s oldest cup competition but his support cast kicked off the new year with a bang and fired a timely reminder of their presence to club’s Championship mainstays.

Understandably, Cherries lacked cohesion during a stop-start first half in which Rotherham set a brisk tempo but the visitors never looked back having found their feet and an equaliser just before the interval.

From there, another sizzling team display ripped apart Rotherham at will, while the likes of Adam Smith, Shaun MacDonald and Junior Stanislas did everything in their power to turn Howe’s recent selection headache into a migraine.

Eight minutes had passed when Ryan Fraser was sent sprawling having tried to instigate the visitors’ first meaningful attack and it was from the resulting set-piece that Cherries were robbed of an early breakthrough.

Ian Harte’s venomous free-kick from the edge of the box crashed off the underside of the bar, clearly landing over the line before bouncing back out.

The sheer pace of the effort combined with the assistant referee being positioned in line with Rotherham’s last defender contrived to deny their veteran full-back a stunning goal.

Replays proved beyond doubt that Harte had been wronged in spectacular fashion and his unfortunate hand in United’s opener a little over 30 seconds later only served to compound his state of disbelief.

Jordan Bowery laid off for returning full-back Richard Brindley to hit a swinging shot which nicked off Harte and skipped inside the far post beyond Lee Camp’s despairing dive.

The nervy encounter became increasingly scrappy as the hosts applied sporadic pressure but it was Cherries who squandered the perfect chance to level on 27 minutes.

MacDonald won a crunching tackle with Kari Arnason with the ball breaking kindly for Yann Kermorgant to slip through Stanislas.

One-on-one with Millers keeper Adam Collin, the former West Ham youngster seemed set for a tap-in but skewed horribly wide with the goal at his mercy.

There was a hairy moment when Bowery pounced on Eunan O’Kane’s hesitancy, only to hit the side netting but Cherries slowly-but-surely rediscovered their flow.

United became penned in by pass after pass and when Kermorgant found a pocket of space, he played a perfectly-weighted pass into the path of MacDonald to apply a cool finish past Collin a minute before half-time.

The goal changed the complexion of the game and after a steady start to the second period, Cherries began to ratchet up the pressure.

Smith flew forward to pick up a pass on the edge of the box and released a dipping, swerving shot that Collin did well to swat from under his crossbar.

But no sooner had Rotherham congratulated the custodian, Cherries had taken the lead.

Kermorgant flicked into the path of Dan Gosling to slide in Stanislas who made no mistake second time, jinking round the grounded Collin before finding the empty net.

Having huffed and puffed at times, Cherries had blown down the house.

Six minutes later, a dinked ball from the back broke kindly for Kermorgant to guide a beautiful reverse pass to release the rapid Fraser to confidently stroke number three round Collin in the blink of an eye.

Home boss Steve Evans tried to shake things up with a double change but substitute Joe Skarz was caught cold as Stanislas galloped away and cut back for Kermorgant to survive a heavy touch and finish past the overworked Collin.

Eddie Howe, who had kept faith with teenage defender Baily Cargill for Cherries’ cup quest, then thrust 19-year-old winger Harry Cornick into the limelight.

It marked Cornick’s first professional start following loan spells with Conference clubs Welling United and Aldershot Town and came less than two years after his last match for Wessex League Christchurch in April 2013.

But the inclusion of another protégé was no signal of sentiment.

Skipper for the day Steve Cook, who had coped admirably with the barrage of early pressure, had a point-blank header from Harte’s delivery pushed away by Collin but Kermorgant picked up the pieces for his second of a productive afternoon.

The already-sparse smattering of Millers supporters made for the exits as the eerily quiet atmosphere became buoyed by a pocket of 556 jubilant Cherries fans.

There was still time for Reece James and Matt Derbyshire to sky sitters for United late on, while Cornick and fellow substitute Matt Ritchie threatened to add gloss to the scoreline with some trickery at the death.

MATCH FACTS AND STATS

Cherries: Camp 7.5, Smith 8.5, Cargill 7.5, Cook 8, Harte 8.5, Stanislas 8 (Cornick, 71), O’Kane 7, Gosling 7.5, MacDonald 8.5 (Pitman, 82), Fraser 8 (Ritchie, 88), Kermorgant 9.

Unused subs: Francis, Surman, Wilson, Flahavan (g/k).

Booked: Smith.

Millers: Collin, Brindley, Morgan, Arnason, James, Green, Frecklington, Smallwood, Pringle (Skarz, 62), Bowery, Clarke-Harris (Derbyshire, 62).

Unused subs: Wood, Richardson, Newton, Yates, Loach (g/k).

Booked: Pringle, Frecklington, Smallwood.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire).

Attendance: 5,875 (including 556 away supporters).

STAR MAN – YANN KERMORGANT

WITH Callum Wilson sat on the bench, the French master produced a shining example for the watching apprentice.

Kermorgant channelled the frustration of a first half in which he had found himself largely isolated in the lone striker’s role.

A hand in all five goals tells its own story with Kermorgant’s range of skill and flair proving he is much more than a target man.

Shaun MacDonald was the driving force in midfield, particularly when Cherries needed a presence in the first half. Adam Smith and Junior Stanislas also caught the eye.