Derby day: Pressure-cooker Yorkshire battles from down the years

Derbies come with their own glossary, let’s face it. Earning the right, form doesn’t matter - check. Good football goes out of the window, securing the bragging rights - check. And so it goes on.

But some are most definitely bigger than others with the pressure ahead of the Tigers’ meeting with the Owls having cranked up a fair few notches of late.

It’s not just your run-of-the-mill derby and you sense that Sky twigged onto that when designating it for TV coverage.

A home win - and Steve Bruce will tuck into the bacon and eggs on Saturday night and see his Hull side on an eye-catching 65 points. A nice way to start the weekend.

Carlos Carvalhal will have other ideas, with the Owls seeking their most high-profile Championship scalp of the season after pushing the likes of Middlesbrough, Burnley and Derby close, but not getting over the line with victory.

So the pot is bubbling nicely.

As an entrée, here’s ten previous Yorkshire derbies where the promotion stakes - or relegation - have been high.

1. Huddersfield Town 2 Barnsley 2, May 4, 2013.

Only one place to start, really. Survival Saturday when a love-in ensued between Town and Reds fans amid joyous scenes at the final whistle as both staved off the Championship drop amid hearty cries of ‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire.’

Pity poor Peterborough United mind with both sides effectively downing tools at the end - mindful of Posh losing at Crystal Palace - amid scenes that harked back to the famous Germany versus Austria ‘Anschluss’ game in the 1982 World Cup.

Chris O’Grady’s low shot had put Barnsley in front, only for Jermaine Beckford to equalise for the hosts.

Jason Scotland restored Barnsley’s lead but James Vaughan had the final word with an equaliser eight minutes from time.

2. Barnsley 2 Hull City 0, April 27, 2013.

A week earlier, goals from Jacob Mellis and Chris O’Grady put Hull’s promotion party on hold as the Oakwell outfit secured a 2-0 success - one of the most memorable moments of the club’s Great Escape under David Flitcroft.

While there was joy for the Reds, who maintained their hopes of Championship survival, there was despair for the big Tigers following, who saw their side spurn the chance of automatic promotion.

Until the following week, that is...

3. Leeds United v Doncaster Rovers, May 25, 2008.

Isle of Wight-born James Hayter earned himself a place in Rovers folklore after sending the club back to the second tier for the first time since 1957 at the expense of Gary McAllister’s Leeds in the League One play-off final derby.

Hayter headed in Brian Stock’s corner shortly after the interval in front of a crowd of 75,132 at Wembley - the vast majority of whom went home disappointed as Rovers - five years after being in the Conference - joyously elevated themselves into the second tier.

4. Huddersfield Town 1 Barnsley 3, May 15, 2006.

Andy Ritchie’s Barnsley booked their place in the League One play-off final against Swansea City at the Millennium Stadium after earning a dramatic 3-2 aggregate victory, thanks to an unlikely 3-1 win.

Town led 1-0 from the first leg, but Paul Hayes levelled the tie for the Tykes from the penalty spot after Danny Schofield fouled him in the area.

Current Reds caretaker boss Paul Heckingbottom’s own goal restored the Terriers’ aggregate advantage, but Paul Reid’s header made it 2-2.

With 12 minutes left, Paul Rachubka spilled Brian Howard’s shot and Daniel Nardiello grabbed Barnsley’s winner.

5. Rotherham United 1 Leeds United 0, November 29, 2004.

Ronnie Moore’s Rotherham United secured their first Championship win of a teak-tough 2004-05 campaign with a 1-0 win over Leeds on a thoroughly bizarre night at Millmoor.

Clarke Carlisle hit the woodwork on three occasions in the first eight minutes as Leeds battered the Millers, with the defender then completing an eventful cameo by succumbing to injury 13 minutes in.

Try as they might, Leeds - somehow - couldn’t find the back of the net, with the beleaguered Millers netting a late winner when fit-again captain Martin McIntosh poked home from close range after Leeds failed to clear a Paul McLaren free-kick - prompting visiting manager Kevin Blackwell, now assistant to Neil Warnock at Rotherham, to refer to the result as a ‘mugging.’

6. Sheffield United 2 Leeds United 3, April 26, 1992.

No Leeds fan worth their salt will ever forget this windswept derby win on a Spring Sunday lunchtime at Bramall Lane.

The final act of a madcap game saw a Brian Gayle own goal seal a 3-2 win for Leeds, who were toasting an oh-so-sweet Division One title success hours later when Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 to send top-flight silverware to West Yorkshire for the first time in 18 years.

Veteran striker Alan Cork put Dave Bassett’s Blades 1-0 up just before the half-hour mark against nervy Leeds, but a freak leveller restored parity just before the break when a clearance struck Gary Speed and bounced off Rod Wallace and into the net.

Blades’ goalkeeper Mel Rees was injured in the mayhem and spent the whole of the second half in some discomfort, with Sheffield-born Jon Newsome powering in a header from a Gary McAllister sixty-fifth minute free kick from the left to put the visitors in front.

But United soon equalised with another strange strike when Lee Chapman, turned a cross-shot from John Pemberton, who was later to join Leeds, into his own net.

That was not the end of the mayhem with a miscued header from Gayle sailing into his own net in front of an ecstatic Whites following as the visitors claimed a huge derby win.

7. Leeds United 4 Sheffield United 0, April 16, 1990.

An Easter Monday clash of the utmost importance at the top end of the old second division saw Leeds trounce the Blades 4-0 in a powerhouse Elland Road performance lapped up by most of the crowd.

After losing two and drawing two of their previous four games, the Whites got back on message with a resounding performance, with Gordon Strachan (2), Lee Chapman and Gary Speed finding the net in an irresistible home performance.

8. Leeds United 2 Bradford City 0, January 1, 1988.

Leeds secured a famous festive home double just days after a 2-0 New Year’s Day victory over promotion-chasing Middlesbrough by beating West Yorkshire neighbours City by the same margin.

The dual wins gave Billy Bremner’s Whites just a faint whiff of propelling themselves into the promotion mix themselves following their , but it proved illusionary and unfortunately didn’t last.

But there was optimism among a huge crowd of 36,004 after goals from Glyn Snodin and Gary Williams secured three derby points for United against Terry Dolan’s City.

9. Rotherham United 2 Barnsley 4, November 14, 1981.

Yorkshire TV cameras descended on Millmoor and were treated to a derby on the highest order between these South Yorkshire rivals - who had some famous meetings during their rise to prominence in the early eighties.

Centre stage belonged to Mexborough born midfielder Ian Banks, who fired a treble in the Reds’ 4-2 success, with a brace from Millers icon Moore in vain for Emlyn Hughes’s side, who had hammered Chelsea 6-0 in their previous home fixture.

The win moved Norman Hunter’s Barnsley up to the giddy heights of fourth place in the old second tier.

10. Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United, December 26, 1979.

A game which became known as the “Boxing Day Massacre” in front of a third-tier record gate of 49,309 proved emphatically one-sided as Christmas was made perfect for Wednesdayites, who received the present they all craved at the expense of their arch-rivals from the red side of the Steel City.

Harry Haslam’s United came into the game as favourites, with the Owls in contrast being six points adrift with two wins in seven games.

A 25-yarder from Ian Mellor five minutes before the break which flew past Blades stand-in keeper Derek Richardson gave the Owls the lead.

Despite the visitors soon coming close to a leveller when they hit the bar through Jeff Bourne, a turbo-charged second half saw Jack Charlton’s side run away with proceedings with the exit due to injury of visiting captain Mick Speight providing a big blow for the Blades.

A Terry Curran header following Andy McCullough’s cross doubled the hosts’ lead and he then set up Jeff King for a third, but the cult winger played a big part in the Owls’ fourth which applied considerable gloss.

Curran was brought down in the box and Mark Smith netted the resultant penalty.

The win proved a momentum turner as the Owls eventually earned promotion and the Blades fell away into mid-table.