Pesky Puts Blades On Glory Trail !

PAUL "Pesky" Peschisolido rose from the substitute bench to score a key goal to set Sheffield United on the road to glory in a pulsating 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest in front of a capacity 30,250-strong crowd last night (thursday May 15).

The match was the second leg of the Division One football play-offs and will now see Sheffield United - nicknamed the Blades because of Sheffield's cutlery making heritage - face Wolverhampton Wanderers in a televised game on Monday May 26.

The winning team from that match will secure promotion to the English Premier League to face opponents next season like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Pesky -a firm favourite with fans at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane ground - was on the bench as the game went into extra time. Sheffield United had already come back from being 2-0 down to make the scoreline 2-2 before the 30-minute extra time period began.

Manager Neil Warnock told Pesky "go out and get me the winner" - and while the final scoreline was 4-3, it was Pesky's goal to give United the vital 3-2 scoreline to raise the spirits of the tired players.

Pesky, capped 45 times for the Canadian national team, said: "I can't really remember much about the goal except I had a feeling I would score."

But for the fans who witnessed it, the goal was a moment to remember for all-time as Pesky got onto the end of a pass from United's skipper Rob Page, then twisted and turned his way through a maze of frantic Forest players to boot the ball into the back of the net.

And then the 32-year-old from Scraborough, Ontario, whipped off his shirt to run in celebration towards the massed ranks of cheering Blades fans. Manager Warnock said "Paul's goal was vital and certainly the best one he's scored for us."

The night was capped by Forest skipper Des Walker scoring an own-goal to make the score 4-3...but it was Pesky's goal that delighted the headline makers. For a player profile on Pesky, see www.canadasoccer.com