Honest Steve Bruce accepted the blame for Manchester United’s exit from the FA Cup after he missed a penalty kick six minutes from time and at a time when Sheffield were 2-1 ahead in the match. United players were left enraged as they complained to the referee that Sheffield’s skipper Brian Gayle had encroached into the box when the penalty was being taken.
Steve Bruce had also missed a crucial penalty earlier that season that resulted in Manchester United crashing out of the UEFA cup via a penalty shootout against Spartak Moscow. Alex Ferguson refused to comment on the matter but Sheffield Boss Dave Bassett did not forget to add salt into the wounds.
Dave Bassett said “It was a classic case of Man United wanting to have their cake and eat it too. I wonder if they would have wanted a retake had the ball gone in.”