Flashback - 2001: Leeds denied by Man Utd | Facey lifts Huddersfield | Blades move up | Italian strikes for Owls

The start of March, 2001 saw a combustive Premier League encounter between bitter rivals Leeds and Manchester United, in which Graham Barber proved the villain of the peace.

There was also a heated encounter at Reading’s Madejski Stadium where the stakes were also high in a third-tier promotion meeting between Ronnie Moore’s Millers and Alan Pardew’s Royals.

On the national sporting front, Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool secured the first part of a cup quadruple by beating Birmingham City on penalties in the League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium, with Wembley closed for refurbishment.

In the national news, a horrific train crash near Selby which killed 10 people hogged the headlines along with the onset of the foot and mouth crisis.

At Elland Road, Leeds played out a 1-1 draw with Sir Alex Ferguson’s United, fresh from a 6-1 drubbing of Arsenal. But that did not tell half of the story.

An equaliser from Mark Viduka six minutes from time cancelled out sub Luke Chadwick’s opener 20 minutes earlier, but that was not the main talking point, of which there were two.

Leeds missed a penalty just before the break from Ian Harte, but controversy reigned with home fans furious that Fabian Barthez, still on the pitch to make the save, did not receive his marching orders after flattening the Irishman, which precipitated the spot-kick award.

To rub salt into the wounds, Leeds were denied a late winner when Wes Brown converted into his own net, only for referee Barber to again incur the wrath of home fans by deeming that Viduka was marginally offside and rule out the ‘goal’.

Elsewhere, draw specialists Middlesbrough - then led by Terry Venables, complete with ‘Red Adair’ uniform - chiselled out a dire 0-0 Riverside draw with Charlton, their eighth draw in 11 matches.

Boro’s path to top-flight safety was based on defence and ultimately successful. But it was hardly the prettiest to watch at times.

In the second tier, the start of March was certainly uplifting.

Goals from Craig Armstrong and Delroy Facey gave struggling Huddersfield Town their first win in seven matches in a 2-0 home success over Norwich - all this coming after goals from ex-Town forward Wayne Allison and a future Huddersfield player in Steve Yates had given relegation rivals Tranmere a big 2-0 midweek victory over the Terriers.

A brace from Bruce Dyer, who went onto plunder a haul of seven goals in five matches, gave Barnsley a 2-0 triumph at Grimsby Town, their third straight win.

Sheffield United were also in a good place, moving up to sixth, with their fourth consecutive victory - a 3-1 verdict at QPR.

Michael Ngonge gave the R’s an interval lead, but a barnstorming rally on the restart yielded goals from Shaun Murphy and a Georges Santos brace.

City rivals Sheffield Wednesday was afforded home comforts and respite from their drop fears with a 2-1 win over Gillingham, with the winner coming from little-known Italian Michele Di Piedi.

Efan Ekoku also found the net, with a late strike from Carl Asaba to no avail for the Gills.

Rotherham were left licking their wounds after a 2-0 setback at promotion rivals Reading to end a run of five straight wins.

A heated game saw Millers players Stewart Talbot and Alan Lee receive their marching orders, with the Royals triumphing through goals from James Harper and future Rotherham player Martin Butler.

In the bottom rung, John Eyre saw red in Hull City’s 2-0 loss at high-flying Cardiff, boosted by an Andy Legg strike and a Mike Edwards own goal.

David McNiven netted a 73rd-minute leveller for York City in a 1-1 home draw with promotion-chasing Hartlepool United, while Alan Reilly scored a consolation for Halifax Town in a 2-1 loss at Shrewsbury Town, whose marksmen were Stephen Jagielka - brother of Phil - and Nigel Jemson.