SHEFFIELD balloon maker Barry Hatch has been left feeling a little flat - after an inflatable helped to knock his team out of the FA Cup.
Barry, you see, is the man responsible for the balloon which has become the talk of the football world.
You know the one - it's being credited with helping Sheffield United beat Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup clash at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
And what makes things worse is that, although Barry lives in Totley, he's a true blue Man City fan.
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He took 1,500 sky blue balloons, each with a picture of his favourite player Elano and the words 'It's just like watching Brazil', to Bramall Lane.
He handed them to the massed ranks of the City fans who blew them up and let them go as the teams ran out to take the field.
And, as balloons do, they floated onto the pitch and lay scattered in the City penalty area.
When United's Lee Martin's low cross bobbled into the box it struck a balloon and City defender Michael Ball swung at thin air. Then Luton Shelton, standing six metres out, tapped it into the net to send Championship side Sheffield United into a 1-0 lead after 12 minutes.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart then began a furious round of balloon-popping as Barry, who designs the balloons at Zoo Digital Publishing in Arundel Street, looked on in horror.
Barry, aged 51, told The Star today: "I'm not just deflated, I'm gutted.
"My fellow City fans have given me some right stick."
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