Battle of Bramall Lane

The Battle of Bramall Lane is the informal name given to an English First Division football match between Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion at United's Bramall Lane ground on 16 March, 2002. The match was unusual in that it was abandoned due to Sheffield United having only six players left on the pitch.

Background

With eight league matches of the 2001–2002 season remaining, [Both Albion and United had played 38 games, although some other teams in the division had played 35 or 39.] Albion lay in third place in the First Division on 67 points, 11 points behind rivals Wolves, who occupied the second automatic promotion spot. United meanwhile were in 15th position on 50 points, safe from relegation but not threatening the playoff places. [cite news
title=Football League Division 1 table - Updated 15/03/2002
url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/LeagueTable/0,,10366~20020315,00.html
publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.
date=2002-03-15
accessdate=2007-09-26]

Match summary

Nine minutes in, United's keeper, Simon Tracey, was sent off for handling the ball outside the penalty area. Sheffield manager Neil Warnock sent on a new keeper, Wilko de Vogt, taking off Peter Ndlovu. The visiting WBA scored a first-half goal through Scott Dobie against the 10-man United, and added a second goal in the 62nd minute — a cracking 20-yard drive from Derek McInnes.

The match turned truly ugly in the 65th minute, when Georges Santos, whom United had just brought on seconds earlier, was sent off for a high and poorly timed two-footed lunging tackle on Andy Johnson. With hindsight, one could have anticipated fireworks between the two; when Johnson was playing for Nottingham Forest the previous season, he had fractured Santos' cheekbone and seriously damaged his eye socket with a swinging elbow. The two teams then scuffled on the pitch; in the melee, another United substitute, Patrick Suffo, was sent off for head-butting Derek McInnes. This reduced United to eight men, with no more substitutions left. Soon after, United captain Keith Curle was fortunate to avoid a sending off after appearing to throw punches at McInnes.

In the 77th minute, WBA added a third goal, Scott Dobie tapping in from short range. Two minutes later, Michael Brown limped off for United, and Robert Ullathorne went off injured in the 82nd minute, reducing them to six men. The referee, Eddie Wolstenholme, then abandoned the game with West Brom leading 3–0. The referee would have been aware of the IFA board guideline to law 3 which states "the minimum number of players in a team is left to the discretion of member associations. The Board is of the opinion, however, that a match should not continue if there are fewer than seven players in either team." Both Brown and Ullathorne were ruled out for the rest of the season due to the injuries sustained during this match, despite the allegations that the injuries were faked to get the game abandoned.

Match details

footballbox
date = 16 March, 2002
15:00 GMT
team1 = Sheffield United flagicon|ENG
score = 0–3
(Match abandoned
after 82 minutes)
report= [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/1872847.stm (Report)]
team2 = flagicon|ENG West Bromwich Albion
goals1 =
goals2 = Dobie goal|18goal|77
McInnes goal|63
stadium = Bramall Lane, Sheffield
attendance = 17,653
referee = Eddie Wolstenholme flagicon|ENG

Aftermath

Albion manager Gary Megson stated after the match:

After the match, The FA launched an investigation; they could have chosen to let the result stand, or order a replay. Eventually, The FA fined United £10,000. The Football League, following The FA's recommendation, let the match result stand. Warnock escaped punishment, as no evidence was mentioned in Wolstenholme's match report. Santos and Suffo were immediately transfer listed and never played for United again.

Gary Megson also escaped punishment for his comments made to the press accusing Warnock of faking injuries to end the game.

West Bromwich Albion went on to clinch automatic promotion on the final day of the season with a 2–0 win over Crystal Palace. Sheffield United finished in 13th place.

References

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/1872847.stm Battle of Bramall Lane] - BBC News, 2002-03-16
* [http://www.sufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10418~15732,00.html Match report] from Sheffield United F.C. official site
* [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=357755 Match statistics] at Soccerbase