Steel City derby


The Steel City Derby is a local derby that takes place between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, the two professional football league teams based in the city of Sheffield, England. It is widely considered to be one of the biggest derby matches in English football.
Sheffield United and Wednesday have one of the most fierce football rivalries in football history, the teams have met competitively a total of 131 times, with United leading the meetings by 46 wins to Wednesday's 42 wins a difference of 4 wins. The latest Steel City Derby was played on 4 March 2019, which ended in a goalless draw at Hillsborough.

History

The teams first met on 15 December 1890 at Wednesday's old Olive Grove ground, with The Wednesday playing a friendly match against the newly formed Sheffield United that the home team won 2–1.
The first competitive Steel City Derby fixture took place on 16 October 1893 during the 1893–94 English Division 1 season, it ended 1–1.
Most Steel City derbies have taken place in the top two tiers of English football, with only two seasons in the third tier.
Alan Quinn became the first player to have scored a goal for both clubs in a Steel City derby match. He scored for Sheffield Wednesday in their 3-1 defeat to United at Bramall Lane in February 2003. He signed to United from Wednesday in 2004 and scored the winning goal for Sheffield United in a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Bramall Lane on 4 December 2005.

Games played since 2007

2007–08 Championship

The first of the two league games for the 2007–08 Championship season was at Hillsborough on 19 January 2008 in front of a crowd of 30,486; Wednesday won 2–0 with goals from Akpo Sodje and Marcus Tudgay. The second match of the season was at Bramall Lane on 8 April 2008 and saw United battle back from 2–0 down, to snatch a 2–2 draw in front of 31,760 fans.

2008–09 Championship

The first meeting of the two matches for the following season, the 2008–09 Championship was held on 19 October 2008, at Hillsborough with a crowd of 30,441. Wednesday won 1–0 with a 35th minute volley from Steve Watson. This game also had a missed penalty by Deon Burton, and two red cards, Matthew Kilgallon got sent off for United before the goal and Jermaine Johnson got sent off for Wednesday midway through the second half after being substituted. The return game at Bramall Lane was on 7 February 2009, with Wednesday winning 2–1 thanks to goals from Tommy Spurr and Marcus Tudgay. This victory was Wednesday's first at Bramall Lane since 1967 and their first double victory over their city rivals for 95 years.

2009–10 Championship

On 18 September 2009 Sheffield United took a 3–0 lead against Sheffield Wednesday into half time, but two Owls goals in the second half allowed Wednesday back in. But the score finished 3–2 to United and earned Kevin Blackwell his first win against Sheffield Wednesday since joining the club. The 125th Steel City Derby played on 18 April at Hillsborough was drawn 1–1. Wednesday took the lead late in the first half from a Darren Potter volley, United equalized on the hour mark through a Lee Williamson shot.

2011–12 League One

On the first derby game of the season on 16 October 2011 United gained a 2–0 lead, but with six minutes remaining, Wednesday came back to draw 2–2 with a goal from Chris O'Grady and an injury time equaliser from strike partner Gary Madine at Bramall Lane. The second game on 26 February 2012, at Hillsborough was important for both teams, since both sides were competing for promotion to the Championship. Wednesday took the full three points with a 1–0 win after a goal from Chris O'Grady. The goal turned out to be crucial, since Wednesday eventually finished second in the table and gained promotion with 93 points, while United finished third with 90 points. United eventually failed to gain promotion after losing the Play-off final at Wembley to Huddersfield Town in a penalty shootout. After a six-year exile, United finally achieved promotion to the Championship in May 2017.

2017–18 Championship

The first 2017-18 Steel City Derby was played at Hillsborough on Sunday 24 September 2017, which ended in a 4-2 victory for United in front of a crowd of 32,839. Goals for United came from John Fleck in the 3rd minute, Mark Duffy in the 67th minute, and two from Leon Clarke against his former side, with Gary Hooper in the 47th minute and Lucas Joao scoring for Wednesday. This game was nicknamed the 'Bouncing Day Massacre' by the United fans, due to a chant by the Wednesday fans following Joao's goal that ended abruptly as a result of Mark Duffy's goal shortly afterwards.
The return fixture at Bramall Lane took place on Friday 12 January 2018 and ended in a goalless draw, the first since January 2002.

2018-19 Championship

The first of the two derbies was hosted by Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Friday 9 November 2018, kicking off at 7:45 pm after completing a minute of silence in remembrance of soldiers who gave their lives in conflict. Sky UK, who televised the match, were later criticised and branded disrespectful for playing canned crowd noise over the performance of the Last Post, when the crowd were, in fact, silent. Just 14 minutes into the game, Sheffield United's Mark Duffy was fouled by Sheffield Wednesday's Morgan Fox and was awarded a penalty, taken by David McGoldrick and saved by Cameron Dawson. The night ended with a goalless draw.
The second derby of the season hosted by Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough was played on 4 March 2019. This match also ended in a goalless draw.

Summary of all competitive matches

Eligible competitions – Football League, Premier League, F.A. Cup, Football League Cup, Full Members Cup
As of 1 February 2018
CompetitionGames
played		United
wins		Drawn
games		Wednesday
wins		United
goals		Wednesday
goals
League118433936161149
FA Cup93331413
League Cup301225
Full Members Cup100123
Total131464342179170

Statistics obtained from *except for the Full Members Cup result
This table excludes pre-season games, regional war-time leagues, friendlies and testimonials

Matches played

SeasonDivisionRoundDateVenueScoreAtten.
1899–1900FA Cup2nd Round17 February 1900Bramall Lane1 – 128,374
1899–1900FA Cup2nd Round Replay19 February 1900Hillsborough0– 223,000
1924–25FA Cup2nd Round31 January 1925Bramall Lane3 – 240,256
1927–28FA Cup5th Round18 February 1928Hillsborough1 – 157,076
1927–28FA Cup5th Round Replay22 February 1928Bramall Lane4 – 159,447
1953–54FA Cup3rd Round9 January 1954Hillsborough1 – 161,250
1953–54FA Cup3rd Round Replay13 January 1954Bramall Lane1 – 340,847
1959–60FA Cup6th Round12 March 1960Bramall Lane0 – 261,180
1980–81League Cup1st Round first leg12 August 1980Bramall Lane1 – 125,588
1980–81League Cup1st Round second leg9 August 1980Hillsborough2 – 023,989
1989–90Full Members Cup2nd Round21 November 1989Hillsborough3 – 230,464
1992–93FA CupSemi-final3 April 1993Wembley Stadium2 – 175,364
2000–01League Cup3rd Round1 November 2000Hillsborough2 – 132,283

Non-competitive matches

VenueDateAttendanceCompetitionWinnerScoreNotes
Olive Grove15 December 189010,000FriendlyWednesday2–1First ever meeting between the two sides
Bramall Lane12 January 189115,000FriendlyUnited3–2First United win
Olive Grove23 April 18913,250Wharncliffe Charity CupWednesday2–1Tournament went uncompleted
Olive Grove17 October 18921,500FriendlyDrawn1–1First drawn game
Hillsborough9 August 199413,724Steel City Challenge TrophyUnited2-3Inaugural match for the trophy
Bramall Lane5 August 199513,254Steel City Challenge TrophyWednesday1–3Last meeting between the sides under Dave Bassett's time at United
Bramall Lane27 August 19967,271Steel City Challenge TrophyUnited4–1Last non-competitive match

Famous matches

The most famous match at Bramall Lane was on 8 September 1951, an encounter United won 7–3 in front of a crowd of 51,075. Wednesday scored after just ninety seconds through Thomas, but goals from Derek Hawksworth and Harold Brook gave United a 2–1 interval lead which would have been greater if McIntosh in the Wednesday goal had not saved a Fred Furniss penalty. Dennis Woodhead equalised for Wednesday after sixty minutes, but in rapid succession, Alf Ringstead, Hawksworth and Ringstead again, and Fred Smith scored for United, Woodhead pulled one back for Wednesday before Brook made the score 7–3 in a match that ultimately did not bring promotion or relegation for either side but is never to be forgotten by United fans.
The Boxing Day Massacre, was a match played on 26 December 1979. It was famous for being the biggest win in recent times for Wednesday, winning 4–0, with goals from Ian Mellor, Terry Curran, Mark Smith and Jeff King. The United side at the time were top of the league, while Wednesday were 4th in the table. The victory for Wednesday propelled them onto promotion and is widely believed to have shaped the next 20 years fortunes for Wednesday while United languished in the 3rd division before being relegated to the 4th division, which is the only time one of the Sheffield clubs has been in the bottom tier of the football league. The match was watched by a record Third Division crowd of 49,309 spectators and is still celebrated by Owls fans today.
The Bouncing Day Massacre, was a match played on 24 September 2017 at Hillsborough. United, who were promoted as champions of League One the previous season, were back in the Championship after a 6 year absence. Managed by Chris Wilder, a former United player, born in Sheffield and a life long Blades fan. They were playing a Wednesday team that had finished 4th in the Championship the season prior, but ultimately failed to gain promotion via the play-offs. United won the match 2-4, a record for the most goals United have scored against Wednesday at Hillsborough and also the biggest defeat of Carlos Carvalhal's reign as manager of Wednesday. The match is known as the "Bouncing Day Massacre" because Wednesday equalised to make it 2-2 in the 65th minute. Lucas João getting the goal with a thunder bolt strike at the kop end. The Sheffield Wednesday fans across the stadium were exuberantly bouncing up and down on the spot celebrating. Less than 2 minutes after João's equaliser, with the home fans still bouncing. United kick a long ball over the top, Mark Duffy receives the ball and drives deep into the Wednesday penalty area. He then executed a double dummy against the Wednesday defender Joost van Aken and shot from a very difficult angle and put the ball past goalkeeper Keiren Westwood into the net to make it 2-3 to United. The bouncing from the home fans immediately stopped replaced with cheers and mocking from the away fans who started singing "your not bouncing anymore!". To make matters worse for the home side, former Wednesday striker Leon Clarke got his 2nd goal of the game and United's 4th. The "Bouncing Day Massacre" tagline spread through social media and on internet video clips. It was then used in local newspaper headlines and even a website URL. Unofficial merchandise appeared at stalls in Sheffield markets and outside Bramall Lane on match days from tea cups to t-shirts with phrases like "Bouncing Day Massacre - A Day Not 2-4get" printed on them. United finished that season 10th, Wednesday finished 15th, 12 points behind United. This game remains United's last victory against Wednesday in all competitions to date. The 3 derbies that have followed since have all finished 0-0.
On 3 April 1993, the two teams met in the FA Cup semi-finals. The game was scheduled to be played at Elland Road while the other semi between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur was to be played at Wembley. However The Football Association was forced to move the fixture to Wembley due to extreme pressure from the fans of both teams. The match itself proved to be a classic, with Wednesday winning 2–1 after extra-time. Chris Waddle and Mark Bright scoring for Wednesday, and Alan Cork scoring for United. The match was watched by 75,364 spectators.

Resurgence in the Steel City Derby

After Sheffield Wednesday's relegation from the FA Premier League after the 1999–2000 season both teams frequented the same league for seven of the next ten years. This caused the local rivalry between the two teams to increase and to cause an emergence of crowd trouble in 2003 2008 and 2019
Before the 2000–01 season both teams were only in the same league for six seasons between 1970–71 and 1999–00, although this period did see one FA Cup semi-final meeting in 1993 and a Zenith Data Cup meeting in 1989.

Off-pitch relationship

Supporters of the two Sheffield clubs have a fierce but healthy relationship. This goes right back to 1889 after Sheffield Wednesday, formed in 1867, had vacated Bramall Lane due to a dispute over rent. To compensate for the loss in revenue, the Cricket committee took the decision to form another football club, thus Sheffield United were established and Bramall Lane subsequently became their home.
The Clubs themselves do appear to have an amicable relationship, and on 15 July 2011 both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday held a joint conference called "Supporting Sheffield" in which they announced a joint shirt sponsorship deal with two local Sheffield based companies for the 2011-12 League One season. The two local sponsors were Westfield Health, who were the home kit sponsor for the Blades and the away kit sponsor for the Owls, and the Gilder Group, who were the away kit sponsor for the Blades and the home kit sponsor for the Owls. United and Wednesday both made a six figure sum from the sponsorship deal. The deal was the first of its kind in English football with The Telegraph likening the deal to Glasgow rivals and neighbours Celtic and Rangers who have frequently shared shirt sponsors in the past.

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