IN THE end, there was a grim inevitability to a result which condemned Sheffield United to relegation and an instant return to the Championship.

When these teams met at Bramall Lane in September, The Blades were on the wrong end of an 8-0 rout. In the 28 games since they’d lost 19, winning just three. The 92 goals they’d conceded in the league during the season was an unwanted record. With three games still to play that tally will almost certainly reach a century.

So, when Anel Ahmedhodzic stole in to beat Martin Dubrvka with a close-range header after just five minutes, no-one seemed to know quite what had happened, or what to do. This wasn’t in “the script.”