'I single-handedly denied Man Utd the title – I’ll never get bored of talking about it' - The Mirror

Ludek Miklosko was in inspired form for West Ham on the final day of the 1994/95 Premier League season, as the Hammers held Man Utd to a 1-1 draw to deny the Red Devils a third consecutive title

Ludek Miklosko says that he'll never get tired talking about when he put a halt to Manchester United's title dreams on the final day of the 1994/95 season.

Under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils had already bagged the first-ever Premier League trophy in the 1992/93 season and followed it up with another win the next year. Fans were eagerly anticipating a hat-trick of league titles from the Old Trafford giants, but the 1994/95 season didn't go according to plan for the Mancunians.

That's because Blackburn Rovers emerged as the surprise winners of the Premier League that season, edging out Manchester United by just one point. The final day of the season was a nail-biter, with Rovers squaring off against Liverpool while United faced West Ham at Upton Park.

United, already two points behind, were given a glimmer of hope when Liverpool beat Blackburn 2-1 - Alan Shearer netted the first goal for Rovers, but John Barnes and Jamie Redknapp turned the tables on them. A win for United would have meant a third straight title, but West Ham's goalie Miklosko had different ideas for the footballing titans of the north-west.

Michael Hughes fired West Ham into the lead with a goal at 31 minutes, but Brian McClair's strike early in the second half gave Manchester United a flicker of hope. Despite this, a stellar performance from Miklosko, who thwarted attempts by Lee Sharpe, Mark Hughes, and Andy Cole, ensured the game ended 1-1 - leaving United a point short of Premier League glory, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Reflecting on that iconic match 25 years later in 2020, Miklosko told West Ham's official website: "I have been asked about the 1-1 draw with Manchester United at the Boleyn Ground in May 1995 so many times, but I will never get tired of talking about it. In fact, I was at United's training ground recently with some young goalkeepers - I am now a player representative - and there were staff members there who remembered that game.

"Some of them came up to me and talked about the game and a few of them said, 'I was there and remember that game and I hated you'. We had a good laugh about it. It was one of those games when everything went for me but it was also a good team performance, too."

The Czech Republic international began his football journey with RH Cheb in 1980, before transferring to Banik Ostrava two years later. He remained with the Czech team for eight years before making a move to West Ham in 1990 - where he managed to keep a clean sheet in 58 out of 219 matches.

In 1998, he made a definitive switch to QPR before retiring from the game in 2001. Although United missed out on triumph in the 1994/95 season, they took their lessons from that year's missteps - bouncing back to victory in the 1995/96 season.

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