Rotherham United: Clark Robertson delighted with unexpected hero turn - despite dad missing out

The centre-back, whose father travels from Aberdeen every week to see his son in action, has been out of the side recently and was initially named on the bench at Bloomfield Road.

But when Joe Mattock suffered an injury in the warm-up the Scot got the call and he had an afternoon to remember at his former club.

He helped set up Michael Smith's opening goal and then put the Millers further ahead with a brilliant strike of his own, sweetly volleying home from a corner.

It was the first time Robertson senior has missed his son in action for the Millers and it is unlikely to happen again.

"There might be one or two tears in Aberdeen tonight!" Clark said after the game.

“I've already had a message from him in the family group chat. I didn't think I was playing so I told him to stay at home.

"I think he's been watching the Sky Sports goals show so he's seen a video of my goal already.

“He would have loved to have been here. He'd been to every one of my Rotherham matches until this one."

Robertson had a successful time as a Blackpool player, but left to join the Millers last summer.

He believes his match-winning return to the Fylde Coast was written in the stars.

"I'd been kicking the ball around on the pitch as if I wasn't starting and then when I walked back down the tunnel the gaffer said, 'Joe's not fit. Get yourself ready'.I was thrown in.

“It's almost as if it was meant to be, me coming back here and scoring the winner.

“I'm delighted. I was pretty relaxed about playing here. I didn't have time to think about it.

I just went out and tried to play myself into the game. I thought I did well."

The defender is not used to goalscoring – it was just his 10th in over 200 games – so it was not hard to rank this one.

"It's probably the best goal I've scored so far in my career," he said. "It sat up and I hit it sweetly. As soon as I did, I knew it was going in. It was a great feeling."

"As soon as it went in ... it was just the emotion of scoring a goal. You do get carried away. I had three great years here and played some of my best football here.

"I didn't have time to think about what I was doing. All our fans were going mental. I just thought I'd go and celebrate with them.”