A look back at previous encounters against the Blades…
AS THE Potters prepare to take on Sheffield United this weekend, Club Historian Colin Burgess takes a look back in time at five previous encounters against the team from South Yorkshire.
Saturday 16th December 1893
Football League Division One
Stoke 5 Sheffield United 0
Victoria Ground (Attendance 5,000)
Stoke’s very first meeting with Sheffield United would turn out to be a very good one. The Potters romped home to the tune of five goals without reply against the Blades, nine days after being beaten by four goals to one against the other side from Sheffield, ‘The Wednesday’. The Potters home form this season was outstanding with 13 wins and a draw coming from the 15 matches played at the Victoria Ground. However, only 11th place was secured after a dismal away record of only two draws throughout the whole campaign. Indeed, between 1st April 1893 to 17th March 1895 not one away victory was forthcoming.
The match started well for the home side and they were in front after 10 minutes, William Naughton forcing the ball into the Sheffield net after a Davy Brodie cross was not cleared by the Blades defence. The Potters extended their lead after a well-taken corner by Joe Schofield (below) found Jimmie Robertson who rose to head home unchallenged. Tom Cain was having a blinder in the Stoke goal, and was thwarting chance after chance from the Sheffield forwards.
After the break the hosts turned the screw with further goals from Schofield, Bill Sawers and Naughton bagging his brace, with Cain pulling off further fine saves to blunt the Blades attack. The Stoke goalkeeper would leave the field to fantastic applause and the Staffordshire Sentinel would describe his play as “undoubtedly the hero of the match and it is impossible to speak too highly of his performance. He had to deal with shots innumerable – shots high, low, fast and slow – and he tackled all with a master hand. It would in fact be almost safe to say a better performance between the posts has not been seen on the Stoke ground for a long time”.
Saturday 19th January 1901
Football League Division One
Sheffield United 0 Stoke 4
Bramall Lane (Attendance 4,000)
Stoke became known as the ‘Houdini’ team during the first few years of the 20th century, after they continually avoided relegation from the top flight right at the death. The Potters would finish one place above the relegation zone in 1901, 1902 and again in 1904, before finally succumbing to the drop by finishing bottom of the League in 1907.
Once again this season would be a poor one and only two points would be collected from their first eight matches, and Stoke would be involved in a relegation dogfight until the final day of the season.
But Stoke would have glimmers of success along the way with the Potters finally winning at Bramall Lane at their eighth attempt. Not only would this be the Potters’ first win in South Yorkshire, it would also remain as their biggest victory away at United to this day.
Goals from Freddie Johnson, Marty Watkins and a brace from Willie Maxwell (below) would seal the record win for the Potters. Unfortunately, talented striker Maxwell would leave at the end of the season, joining Third Lanark in a £250 transfer deal after scoring 85 goals in 173 games for the Potters and would be sadly missed.
Saturday 14th June 1947
Football League Division One
Sheffield United 2 Stoke City 1
Bramall Lane (Attendance 30,000)
This was the first full season to take place after the Second World War, and the crowds flocked back to football grounds up and down the country to see their heroes in action. Over 40 million people saw League action that season, and Stoke set their own Club record with their average gate for the season over the 30,000 mark for the first time (30,863). This marker would only be beaten again once, the following season, when 31,590 was the average.
The Potters started slowly and picked up only one point from the first eight available. Gradually the results improved, the side gelled together and thanks to two unbeaten runs, a challenge was made for the title. One of the worst winters in history gripped Britain in 1947 and consequently the football season was extended into June and in the middle of that month, the season came to a climax when Stoke visited Sheffield United. A victory at Bramall Lane would secure the Potters a first League championship, anything less would hand the title to Liverpool.
The build up to the match was not without incident. Stanley Matthews had been sold to Blackpool just weeks before this crucial match, and utility player Frank Mountford caused a stir in the camp when he asked to be placed on the transfer list, as he could not gain a regular place in the side due to the excellent form of Johnny Sellars. Stoke also announced they would play in a new change strip of white shirts and black shorts as against their usual one of blue and white stripes.
An exodus of an estimated 10,000 Stoke fans headed from the Potteries to South Yorkshire, to swell the crowd to the region of 30,000 at Bramall Lane. On a heavy pitch after recent downpours, the attack-minded Blades struck the first blow. The unmarked John Pickering scored from close range in only the third minute of the match. The Potters responded immediately and within another two minutes had drawn level. From a George Mountford cross, Freddie Steele headed down for Alec Ormston to net from close range. The match was perfectly poised at half-time, but four minutes after the break the Blades were level again. John McCue slipped attempting to clear which allowed Walter Rickett in to score easily.
Stoke battled to grab another equaliser but could not breach the stubborn United defence and the match, and ultimately the title, was lost. The Potters finished fourth, two points behind champions Liverpool, and one behind both Manchester United and Wolves.
Saturday 27th December 1986
Football League Division Two
Stoke City 5 Sheffield United 2
Victoria Ground (Attendance 17,320)
The Potters were on a decent run as 1986 was drawing to a close, and they came into this match unbeaten in six with an impressive five wins and a draw to their name. An above average crowd; Stoke’s biggest gate since they were last in the top flight, turned up to see whether reports of this running, shooting, all-action side were true and saw it for themselves. 17,320 were present at the Victoria Ground hoping for another goal fest as the previous home game provided nine goals to enjoy, with the Potters demolishing Leeds United 7-2, with a hat trick from Nicky Morgan and further assisted by goals from Carl Saunders, Lee Dixon, Tony Kelly and Tony Ford.
Manager Mick Mills warned Second Division rivals “Anyone who plays the offside game against us does so at their risk”. The Blades pushed their defenders up to the halfway line but were destroyed by the vision of Tony Kelly and the explosive pace of the revitalised Carl Saunders (below) who produced three crackers for his first hat-trick at League level.
Stoke were ahead after five minutes, Steve Bould ramming home his first goal of the season after a curling free-kick from Kelly was headed down to him by George Berry. The second came from another delightful through ball by Kelly, with Saunders holding off Paul Stancliffe before slotting his shot past John Burridge in the Sheffield goal.
The Potters made it 3-0 ten minutes into the second-half, another piercing pass from Kelly with Saunders again firing past Burridge with a neat left-foot shot. The Blades reduced the arrears with 20 minutes to go, Colin Morris converting a penalty that he had won after being fouled by Berry.
Stoke wrapped up the match with two quick-fire goals towards the end, firstly through a Morgan header from another Kelly free-kick, then Saunders completing his hat-trick with a powerful header from a Dixon cross. Sheffield managed a second three minutes from time; Morris again netting from close range, but it was the Potters who took the applause from an ecstatic Victoria Ground once again.
Tuesday 4th December 2007
Championship
Sheffield United 0 Stoke City 3
Bramall Lane (Attendance 23,378)
The Potters got this match off to a flying start; just 100 seconds had elapsed before they took the lead. A long ball forward evaded the United defence, and Liam Lawrence drilled the ball across the box which Richard Cresswell (below) simply tapped home for his seventh of the season.
Five minutes later things got even better. Lawrence whipped in a dangerous free kick, Leon Cort flicked the ball on and it deflected off Blades striker James Beattie before nestling in the bottom left hand corner of Paddy Kenny’s net.
Tony Pulis’ side were rampant, and with the home supporters becoming increasingly frustrated, Cort’s header from Lawrence’s corner was initially cleared off the line but only as far as Ryan Shawcross who calmly placed the ball past the United keeper and it was 3-0.
Bryan Robson’s side returned from the half-time interval refreshed and while they looked busy, they rarely threatened City’s backline. Long-range shots from Beattie and Michael Tonge kept Steve Simonsen’s hands warm, while Ricardo Fuller twice went close for the Potters.
The Blades kept pushing forward in the final stages of the game, but Pulis’ side held on for an impressive victory.