I scored for Sheffield Wednesday against Sheffield United – and it was like an out-of-body experience

Running towards it, Spurr watched the ball closely, watched as it sat up just perfectly, and smashed it towards the Sheffield United goal. Paddy Kenny? never stood a chance, and the home crowd erupted.

The full back, who was still in the infancy of his career having come through the ranks at Wednesday’s academy, wheeled away in celebration, but didn’t really know what to do with himself. Scoring goals wasn’t something he was known for then – or afterwards, in fact. But that one got the ball rolling on a fantastic afternoon over in S2, it was a huge moment as the Owls went on to complete a double over their bitter rivals. And it’s one that, almost two decades later, still means so much to the former Wednesday number two.

But what was going through his head as it hit the back of the net?

“Honestly, I don’t know!” he told The Star with a chuckle. “You’ve seen my reaction! I still don’t know, even looking back. I try to get my kids interested in football a bit and show them me scoring such a big goal - and they just look at me a bit like I’m a crazed lunatic. Which is actually a bit like how it felt at the time!

“Without being cliché, it really is something that you dream of - scoring in a Sheffield derby when you’ve come through the club and love the club. I would’ve stayed there my whole career, and obviously to have been involved in so many derbies - and to score in one - was amazing. I didn’t score many anyway, but I could have not scored again after that - to have that goal in the derby meant the absolute world. And you can see that adrenaline and emotion when I did score.

An out-of-body experience

“In a way it felt better being at Bramall Lane, having that away day with all the fans behind the goal. you can’t describe what goes through you at that point, it’s like an out-of-body experience and you don’t know what you’re going to do. Especially when you’re not used to scoring!

“It’s one of those feelings that you just wish you could bottle up, even more so now I’ve finished playing, because you look back and things stick out - you just wish you could carry it with you forever.”

Spurr’s was a lovely strike, struck clean and true, and in any other Steel City derby would be lauded for its quality. But, unluckily for him, there was another that took the headlines that day.

Marcus Tudgay, bearing down on the Blades goal, saw a gap. It wasn’t a big gap, but a gap nonetheless. So he pulled back his right boot, and behind the net they dared him to have a crack. And boy did he have a crack!

“It wasn’t a bad goal was it?!” Spurr exclaimed. “I think it’s one of those that’ll be remembered forever and spoken about forever. At the time I just remember him being so far out, and I bet a lot of people were just thinking, ‘What are you shooting from there for?’

“But to be fair, he did it a couple of times that year where he scored worldies from nowhere. but yeah, what can you say about that one? It’s probably one of the best Sheffield derby goals ever.”

Check out the video at the top of the page for a clip of Tommy Spurr on this week’s show, and you can find this week’s ‘All Wednesday’ by clicking this link right here. Meanwhile, for all of the previous episodes you can head over to our page on ShotsTV: All Wednesday with Joe Crann