Not a vintage match but Newcastle’s Bananas in Pyjamas did just enough to beat the injury-hit Blades at Bramall Lane, thanks to a Chris Morgan own goal in the second half. As new Newcastle boss said after the match, “it was an ugly win”. And that – as Alan Hansen always tells us – is the key to winning league titles.
So Newcastle go back to the top of the pile, two points ahead of West Brom, three ahead of Cardiff and Leicester. For the Blades, this was their seventh straight league game without a win, and they have slipped down the table to 15th. Winning the Sheffield derby in September – the Blades’ most recent victory – did the red-and-white half of the city no good at all.
