More often than not, the late 1990s was a dark period for those of a Sheffield Wednesday persuasion.
However, there were occasions when the Italian pairing of Paolo Di Canio and Benito Carbone were able to illuminate the bleak situation.
One of those matches was played out 17 years ago today when Everton made the trip to Hillsborough. Both sides went into the clash in poor form, with the loser knowing that a defeat in Yorkshire would see them drop into the relegation zone.
As such, it was a cagey encounter, with very few chances being carved out during a goalless opening 45 minutes. After the restart, though, the visiting Toffees started to dominate proceedings, but both Danny Cadamarteri and Nick Barmby squandered decent openings.
Everton's failure to turn pressure into goals was then duly punished during what was a goal-laden final 12 minutes. Carbone broke the deadlock when he nipped in to head beyond the reach of Paul Gerrard, before the visiting goalkeeper brought down Di Canio inside the area, with Carbone stepping up to convert the resultant penalty.
The deficit was soon halved by the in-form Cadamarteri, who scored his fourth goal in five outings, but the match was put out of Everton's reach in the 89th minute. Di Canio was released by a through-ball from David Hirst and then retained his composure to beat Gerrard, securing all three points for his side in the process.
After the final whistle, Everton boss Howard Kendall gave a damning assessment of his side's performance: "We don't deserve anything if we play like that. We gave our travelling supporters nothing to shout about and that is very disappointing.
"Sometimes players make a mockery of your team selection and they did that today. We started in second gear and never got out of it."
Meanwhile, victorious manager David Pleat added: "I am very pleased with the win because this club has suffered right from the start but this is just one win, not even a swallow. If you play in fear you're dead and we still have to get it right behind the Italians. But it was a much-needed victory and I'm very, very pleased."
SHEFF WED: Pressman; Nicol (Briscoe), Stefanovic, Walker, Nolan; Magilton (Poric), Pembridge (Hirst), Collins, Whittingham; Di Canio, Carbone
EVERTON: Gerrard; Hinchcliffe, Thomas (Short), Bilic, Watson, Ball (Barmby); Speed, Oster, Stuart, Williamson; Cadamarteri
Liam Apicella
