Robbie Hemfrey, Rotherham United's goalkeeping hero, on his 45-minute chance and sacrifice for the team's goal

Robbie Hemfrey, pictured, came off the bench at half-time of Rotherham’s daunting Championship assignment against champions-elect Burnley on Tuesday night and played a key part in the Millers earning a vital point.

The 20-year-old former Scotland youth international was making his professional football debut, and managed to repel everything a free-flowing Burnley threw at him until Manuel Benson curled a left-foot shot past him eight minutes from time.

“I was actually a bit surprised they didn’t hit more shots at me, you’d have thought with a sub keeper coming on they’d test him and hit some shots,” said Hemfrey, who replaced Josh Vickers – who was already deputising for Viktor Johansson – at the break.

“In the circumstances you don’t want to see anything happen to Josh, but all the staff and the players helped me through it and said play with a smile on your face and do what you can.

“When I saw Josh feeling his groin that’s when I switched on and thought ‘right there’s a chance here’. The closer it was getting to half-time, the more people were saying it looks like you’re going to be going on.

“I had to get in the mindset that you’ve been training and practising for this so let’s go. I didn’t have time to think or get nervous, I just had to go on and do the job.”

Only his kicking let him down, which is something he knows he needs to address once he returns to training. With Johansson and Vickers both injured, manager Matt Taylor confirmed after the 2-2 draw that the club will be going into the emergency loan market before Saturday’s trip to Bristol City.

Hemfrey said: “I could probably have guessed, that’s what clubs do. It’s such a vital time of the season, it’s a big risk to drop someone in that’s not played many games.

“But for me to take that 45 minutes and do alright is pleasing.

“It was an experience from which you don’t know what it’s going to bring, so hopefully it can only help me.”