Sheffield United first season back as a Division One club was somewhat of a struggle and faced certain relegation. But a victory against tonight’s opponents on 23rd February 1991 went a long way to secure a place with a 2-1 victory at Everton, which put them in good stead for safety from relegation.
The Blades had been relegated from the old First Division in 1976, and following a 14-year absence (sound familiar?), had slowly made their way back into England’s elite club, but found their first season back in the First Division challenging to say the least Dave Bassett’s side had to wait for 17 league games until they registered their first victory, this was against Nottingham Forest on 22nd December, and the Blades celebrated the win as though they had won the European Cup!
During that winless run, they had recorded a goalless draw with Everton at Bramall Lane. After the new year, following a victory over Derby on 26th January, the Blades went on an impressive 9 match unbeaten run which saw United propel themselves out of the relegation zone in what was a great escape. Bassett’s side saw them register just one defeat in their last five matches to cement a thirteenth placed finish against the odds.
Three games into that run, United travelled to Goodison Park. It looked set to be ‘one of those days, which wasn’t to be,’ when Tony Cottee put the Toffees ahead after just 75 seconds, however, a Blades revival saw on-loan midfielder Glyn Hodges provide the finishing touch to level the scores, and score in his third successive game for United. The score remained 1-1 until a minute from time as Brian Marwood, who was chairman of the Players Football Association (PFA), drove home to secure the winner after Brian Deane’s effort was blocked by Dave Watson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VbHlSeIXcE