THE Accrington Stanley website spoke of a new dawn on the morning of this season opener, yet the Reds were left with a depressingly familiar feeling by 5pm.

Despite the turbulent events of the summer, and indeed the previous 24 hours, there was genuine optimism about the season ahead as Stanley prepared for Saturday’s fixture at Sheffield’s Don Valley Stadium.

Maybe there still should be.

But what could have been the perfect way for the club to put the past behind them and signal their intent to take on the best in League Two this season, instead proved an unfortunate trip down memory lane.

Make no mistake, Stanley should have beaten Rotherham.

The same Rotherham that were second only to Sven Goran Eriksson’s Notts County as favourites to go up.

Stanley themselves had been installed as favourites to go down, but on this evidence that will only happen if they shoot themselves in the foot in each of their 46 games. Sadly, they have some history of doing so.

Reds fans know the script by now. Dominate the game, miss chances, then fall for the sucker punch.

As much as they had tried to shake it off, Stanley had gone into the opening day of the season with a cloud still hanging over their heads.

While Bobby Grant and Ian Dunbavin can now get on with their careers after being given suspended jail sentences for affray on Friday morning, the club lost Peter Cavanagh to an eight-month ban from football less than 24 hours before the game.

Last year’s club captain would probably have started the match but, even though Stanley had been left in the dark because of a lack of an official announcement from the FA, it emerged late on Friday night that the right back had been found guilty of betting offences after a hearing earlier in the day.

The protest banner unveiled by a group of Stanley fans last season, declaring ‘pride in the shirt, not £££s in the wallet’, lay in the away section at Don Valley as a reminder of a situation the Reds would rather forget.

With new captain Andy Procter serving a one-match ban, John Miles was given the armband on his 200th league appearance.

Leam Richardson missed out as a precaution because of the pelvic injury that continues to cause him pain during matches, but boss John Coleman fielded five new signings – Alan Martin, Dean Winnard, Darran Kempson, Luke Joyce and Billy Kee.

Stanley’s dominance in the first half was such that the hosts were booed off at the interval.

With Miles and Grant running the show on the flanks, Stanley continually tested Andy Warrington. The keeper kept out Jimmy Ryan’s free kick and an effort from Mullin before Kee headed just over the bar.

The keeper then made his best save of the half from Grant’s curling 25-yarder.

But Stanley’s best chance came at the start of the second half, when Ryan put pressure on the backtracking Mills, who ran into team-mate Ian Sharps and lost the ball inside his own area.

Ryan seized upon it but could only lash his shot against the advancing Warrington, when a little composure was needed.

From there, Rotherham grew stronger and Joyce had to nod Nick Fenton’s header off the line.

Martin was called upon to make saves from substitute Paul Warne and Tom Pope before Rotherham broke the deadlock so cruelly in the 89th minute.

Sharps crashed a volley against the underside of the bar and seconds later – after the sort of ‘to me, to you’ scramble that even watching Millers fan Barry Chuckle would have regarded as chaotic – the defender poked another effort across the face of goal for the unmarked Warne to convert from eight yards.

“If you need three points to stay up or make the play-offs on the last day of the season, why not get them on the first day of the season?” Coleman had pondered last week.

Stanley must hope that such a missed opportunity will not prove costly in the end.

Stanley (4-4-2): Alan Martin; Dean Winnard, Phil Edwards, Darran Kempson, Chris King (Sean McConville 90); Bobby Grant (Chris Turner 84), Luke Joyce, Jimmy Ryan, John Miles; Billy Kee (Michael Symes 84), Paul Mullin. Subs not used: Ian Dunbavin, Peter Murphy, John Mullin, Gary King.

Rotherham (4-3-3): Andy Warrington; Ian Sharps, Nick Fenton, Jamie Green; Pablo Mills, Jason Taylor (Danny Harrison 86), Nicky Law; Ryan Taylor (Paul Warne 46), Tom Pope, Kevin Ellison (Andy Liddell 71). Subs not used: Jamie Annerson, Marc Joseph, Micky Cummins, Andy Nicholas.

Referee: Danny McDermid (Middlesex).

Attendance: 3,254.