Five goals but it was all about one man ... the story of Rotherham United 5 Cardiff City 2

Maybe Viktor Johansson felt like drowning his sorrows in a few of the 600 beers he'd bought for fans in the nearby Cutlers Arms before kick-off in gratitude for the way in which they've carried him in their hearts for the last four seasons.

Each pint came with a card bearing the same message in Swedish and English: ‘This isn't a goodbye, it's a thank you.’

The goalkeeper's farewell game wasn't supposed to happen like this. He's a Viking, a warrior, he needed to be in the thick of the battle one last time.

Happily his teammates - revived and energised by the late arrival in a relegation season of the man who'd named him among the substitutes - lifted his spirits by romping to a victory as startling as it was unexpected.

The Millers had won only four times in a wretched Championship campaign before mid-table Cardiff City came calling at New York on Saturday.

The Bluebirds could have finished in the top ten had they won. Instead, they were cut down by a side finding their swash and buckle in manager Steve Evans' third match in charge.

And Viktor's moment would come …

The new boss had named a trio of centre-forwards in his line-up and they all scored, a Millers team hit five goals in the second tier for the first time since the managerial days of Ronnie Moore, only the woodwork prevented the margin of victory being even greater.

New York responded rousingly in kind. This is how it should feel to be a Rotherham supporter, how it hasn't felt for too long.

“In the last five or six days we've spoken only of positivity,” said Evans, back for a second spell in charge with number two Paul Raynor.

“When we talked through the team with the players I think they were surprised that there were going to be three strikers on the pitch. We'd identified that as a way we could get at Cardiff.

“A lot of the boys gave big performances today in a different style, a different way, to the two previous games. There's not a right way or a wrong way, you just have to find a winning way. It's pretty ruthless in the Championship.”

For a while, little happened. There was stalemate, parity, an end-of-season sensibility flattening an end-of-season contest.

“It's gonna rain in a minute,” chorused the fancy-dressed away contingent as they recalled events last term when a Biblical deluge saw the game abandoned.

And rain it suddenly did. Goals, that is.

Cameron Humphreys found Cohen Bramall and in a blur of speeding red and white the left-back delivered a low cross that Jordan Hugill directed past keeper Ethan Horvath.

The Millers had scored in only one of their previous 11 matches and even the scoreboard was taken by surprise by this novel turn of events. ‘1-0 Cardiff,’ it proclaimed.

City equalised through Nat Phillips, who shrugged off Tom Eaves at the back post from a free-kick, and Rotherham were back in front just before the interval when Eaves made amends with sharp movement and an even sharper touch from another Bramall set-up.

Evans had selected Dillon Phillips in place of Johansson, saying he needed to see the Swede's understudy in competitive action in preparation for next year.

On his home league debut, Phillips was playing well, but the cheers were all for his friend and rival when a familiar bearded figure was spotted standing by the dugout.

“Oh, Viktor Johansson,” the crowd chanted in raucous unison.

By now it was 2-2, the visitors having levelled just 98 seconds into the second half through Ollie Tanner's clinical shot.

“Cardiff equalised and that's when I said to Paul ‘We'll see now whether we've got inside the players in the last two weeks’,” Evans said.

“We've spoken to them long and hard since we came in about having some pride in individual performances. That then takes care of itself collectively.

“We wanted to go out and play in what I would term ‘the Rotherham United way’ - with qualities the fans are all about, like passion and commitment.”

Hakeem Odoffin was felled in the area, Eaves won the argument with Hugill and scored adeptly from the spot. Sam Nombe turned beautifully and found the top corner in front of the North Stand from 20 yards out. Eaves headed on, Phillips messed up the back-pass and Hugill took advantage.

All this within 13 minutes and with a squad so plagued by injury that the bench was four men short. “We're taking the p*ss,” crowed Rotherham fans almost disbelievingly.

Five subs, five goals. And, gloriously, one of those subs came on in added time.

The hug Johansson was given by Phillips was a warm personal embrace, the communal one he received from the masses who'd turned up to honour him was far more intense and significant.

It was the most touching moment of the season.

He was the lead act in the lap of appreciation at the final whistle, being named Player of the Year and the Players' Player and also receiving the sponsors' Man-of-the-Match gong despite having never touched the ball.

“You took me under your wing," Johansson told fellow Millers over microphone. “I will always appreciate that.”

He will always be part of Rotherham and Rotherham will always be part of him.

Long, long after the lap was over, he was still posing for pictures and signing autographs. Later in the day, he would head to the Cutlers to mix with fans drinking to his name.

At last, with the stadium virtually deserted, headed back inside, still in his all-black kit.

As he left the New York turf for the final time, he spotted me in the press box as I was packing away and gave me a big Viking wave.

“Oh, Viktor Johansson,” I sang back at him.

It was my way of saying thank you, not a goodbye.

Rotherham (4-4-2): Dillon Phillips (Viktor Johansson 90+1); Seb Revan (Shane Ferguson 90+1), Lee Peltier (Grant Hall 76), Cameron Humphreys, Cohen Bramall; Sam Nombe (Ben Hatton 90+2), Ollie Rathbone, Hakeem Odoffin, Arvin Appiah (Femi Seriki 76); Jordan Hugill, Tom Eaves.

Cardiff (4-4-2): Ethan Horvath; Mahlon Romeo (Raheem Conte 58), Dimi Goutas, Nat Phillips (Mark McGuinness 89), Ollie Tanner (Callum O'Dowda 76); Josh Bowler, Manolis Siopis, Ryan Wintle, Cian Ashford; David Turnbull (Rubin Colwill 76), Famara Diedhiou. Subs not used: Matt Turner, Romaine Sawyers, Joel Colwill, Cameron Antwi, Dakarai Mafico.

Goals: Hugill 25, 70, Eaves 45+2, 57 pen, Nombe 64 (Rotherham); Phillips 38, Tanner 47 (Cardiff).

Referee: Andy Davies (Hampshire).

Attendance: 10,547 (1,541).