A Steel City Derby Goal: The Tide Turner | OneFootball

Legend is a word banded about in football too much these days. The phrase ‘legend is a word banded about in football too much these days’ is also banded about too much these days. But before I head down a linguistic spiral no-one came here for. The point of this article isn’t about legends. It’s about Steel City Derby goal scorers. It’s about inspiring another Blades player to write themselves into folklore. It is proving how career defining and cult hero status awarding a Steel City Derby goal can be. It can turn the tide on their whole Blades career.

So let’s head down memory lane and look at four recent derby goals key to reinvigorating a Blade’s career.

Rhian Brewster

I know. I know. His goal in the derby came just five months before he was announced as a Derby County player. But it deserves an honourable mention at least.

After years of misfortune with injuries and a price tag the player never agreed to. Rhian Brewster showed up in the 64th minute on 16 March last year to win the derby. Side note, the word derby may become oversaturated in this section I can only apologise. Onwards.

The new Derby County man’s goal led to some outlandish if not slightly jovial reactions on social media and down the pub. With many United supporters suddenly proclaiming that the money was well spent. I was also guilty of this but I just wanted him to see him do well.

On the pitch, Brewster followed up his derby heroics with a goal in the next game against Coventry coming in the 62nd minute. Everything was looking much better for Rhian.

Whilst the goals dried up from there, he consistently stayed fit until the end of the season appearing in all stages of the playoffs. It’s safe to say thoughts on him will always be mixed but his five goals in 22 at Derby County show a genuine shift in his career. Even if United don’t reap the benefits of it.

Tom Cannon

As if he’d studied Brewster’s goal last season. Tom Cannon, another Blades striker plagued by his transfer fee, fired home at Hillsborough. Only his second Blades goal, Cannon began to get his mojo back. Two games later he came back to haunt his former side Leicester City so eager to score with his newfound shooting boots that he opened the scoring in the 2nd minute.

From there, Cannon has now been on a crusade to score against all his former employers. Either side of New Year, he bagged the winner against Stoke City and the second goal of the game against the Foxes.

The Cannon began to fire at Hillsborough and with that goal has come a more confident Tom in front of goal. Not fully there but closer to the player United were after when they signed him.

Leon Clarke

Possibly the strongest rejuvenation on the list. Leon Clarke formerly of you know who. Had the season of his life at Bramall Lane after his double in the derby at Hillsborough in September 2017.

Nineteen league goals and five assists from 39 league games saw him triple his output in the league compared to his eight goal contributions in League One. The step up came with no difficulty for Leon.

Those two goals in the derby were the catalyst with Leon going goalless in the first eight games of the Blades return to the second tier. Going on to become the club’s top goal scorer that season.

Once an Owl, now officially a Blade. Without Leon’s performance in September 2017 there is no Bounce Slayer.

Mark Duffy

Duffy was good before his bounce-defying goal at Hillsborough in 2017. His 15 goal contributions in League One had played a huge part in United’s promotion.

But his goal was something else. A cult hero moment immortalised. Duffy may not have turned the tide with his goal for his career. Rather solidified his cult status. But he turned the tide in the stadium that day. A ripple that has seen United unbeaten in derbies since despite being underdogs going into the fixture.

Thank you Bounce Slayer.

Takeaways

The crux is that a goal in the derby means more than any other. For the fans in the ground it’s a sigh of relief mixed with a nervous just don’t mess this up feeling.

It can lead to unscripted moments that see an entire home end just fall silent from such optimism. A goal in the derby isn’t just any goal. It can change the trajectory of a player’s career at either Sheffield club. But most importantly and why it gives the scorer cult status is the freedom to stroll into the office on Monday. Knowing the red-and-white won the day and Rhian Brewster put the ball in the Wednesday net.

Who will it be next?