Sheffield United favourites remember 6-0 Tottenham Hotspur “battering”, 30 years ago

When Sheffield United go into battle with Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening in the fifth round of the FA Cup, Blades fans of a certain generation may take a minute to remember a vintage Bramall Lane clash between the two sides almost 30 years ago.

It was March 1993 and the hype and euphoria of Brian Deane scoring the first-ever Premier League goal, to help beat Manchester United on the opening day, had largely died away.

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With 12 games remaining, Dave ‘Harry’ Bassett’s men were third bottom of the table and only three points clear of bottom side Oldham. Spurs, meanwhile, were eighth and only two points behind fourth-placed Wednesday.

United were four goals up inside half an hour and went on to win 6-0.

“They had all these players, like Teddy Sheringham and Gary Mabbutt and Darren Anderton... a lot of internationals, and we took them apart,” remembered Alan Kelly, who played in goal for United that day.

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“It was like ‘surely we can’t get five? Can we get six? It was like rolling thunder that day. They were flying into the back of the Spurs net and late on, Sheringham smashed one at goal in front of the Kop. I flashed a hand out and the ball went over the crossbar.

“Sometimes you get those days, when the gods are with you. I remember Sheringham looking at me and just going: ‘How the hell did you save that?’

“They got one chance and the ‘keeper makes what looked like a worldie of a save. They must have looked each other and said: ‘Let’s just pack up and go home’.”

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Franz Carr put the Blades ahead after 13 minutes, before an Andy Gray own goal made it 2-0. Two goals in two minutes from Ian ‘Jock’ Bryson made it 4-0 after 29 minutes, before Brian Deane got a fifth with 17 minutes left.

Paul Rogers, who had been playing in non-league the previous season while working as a trader in the City, put the gloss on the result with a sixth goal late on.

“Harry built a team full of characters that never said die and never give up,” Kelly added. “Confidence and character, put together, can be dangerous and I think we showed that under Harry.

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“We took the game to teams and made it uncomfortable for them, but we also had the quality to get the goals when we needed them. In a way, there was a degree of freedom as well. Harry had his ways but I think, ultimately, the lads respected him.

“He had good hunches about players and without the biggest budget, it enabled us to compete with teams like Spurs. The 6-0 game was one of mine, and one of Harry’s, and one of Sheffield United’s most complete performances in that era.

“Put simply, we battered them.”

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Kevin Gage played at right-back for the Blades that day and will always remember the game. “For all the wrong reasons,” he admitted. “My dad missed the game, because he had been run over.

“My parents still lived in Surrey and didn’t come up to Sheffield for many games, but my dad and one of his mates came up for the Spurs game. They got to Trowell services to get something to eat or whatever, and a car doing a U-turn knocked my dad down and then run over his leg, going about 10 or 15 miles an hour.

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“I didn’t have a mobile or anything and after the game, I looked for him in the players’ bar. But he wasn’t there, and I didn’t think too much of it. Then, when I got home, I got a phone call, saying: ‘Your dad’s in hospital... he got run over at Trowell services.’

“It turned out that he was taken in an ambulance to the nearest hospital in Nottingham, and had crushed his knee and broke his leg. He still walks with a limp now. So, it’s weird... I will always remember that game, for the game itself and all the wrong reasons as well.”

Sheffield United: Alan Kelly, John Pemberton, Kevin Gage, Charlie Hartfield, David Barnes (Paul Rogers 70), Franz Carr, Ian Bryson (Alan Cork 80), Brian Gayle, Glyn Hodges, Brian Deane, Jamie Hoyland.

Tottenham Hotspur: Erik Thorstvedt, Dean Austin, Gary Mabbutt, Pat Van den Hauwe, Jason Cundy, Andy Gray (Steve Sedgley 64), Paul Allen, Vinny Samways, Darren Anderton, Nayim (John Hendry 64), Teddy Sheringham.

Referee: Joe Worrall, Attendance: 16,654.