Sheffield United legend Billy Sharp temporarily came out of retirement on Saturday afternoon to rejoin his former side, AFC Rushden & Diamonds, to play in their FA Cup first-round clash against Burton Albion.

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The Diamonds supporters were in full voice as the players warmed up and throughout the match in hopes of acting as the 12th man for their beloved side. The fans sold out their 2000-seat allocation and created nothing short of an electric atmosphere for the duration of the 90 minutes as the side celebrated every defensive contribution their team made, along with every save their goalkeeper produced.

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The Brewers failed to match the racket that the visitors created, though, even when their side went ahead early on. The Burton fans rarely made attempts to make noise, and their only volume of support came from the beat of a drum for most of the game. Questions from the visitors of “Is this a library?” echoed around the stadium.

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Undoubtedly, the visitors were in attendance to witness their side play in their first FA Cup round one clash, but those at the Pirelli were fortunate to see Sheffield United legend put on the shirt for the final time after the striker scored nine goals for the Diamonds in 16 appearances in 2005 while on loan during his first stint for the Blades.

​The game was an opportunity for the United legend to hit the 300 career goal landmark, but it wasn’t meant to be for the 40-year-old.

There were times when the crowd struggled to see the action on the pitch, though, as the fog clouded the vision of everyone in attendance, which only added to the special FA Cup feel around the fixture.

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It begged the question as to whether Charlie Woods, Rushden goalkeeper, could even make out the figure of Sharp up top.

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Sharp played the full 90 minutes, and the visiting supporters let their support be known to him. However, his teammates struggled to supply the ball to the centre forward and barely touched the ball in the opening half.

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The Brewers took the lead in the 22nd minute after a well-worked move saw midfielder Will Collar burst down the right flank with the ball at pace, nutmegging a Diamonds defender, and crossed the ball that flew past every body in the box. Albion recycled the ball and created a chance for Collar from close range, despite cries from the visiting supporters that the ball had gone out of play.

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They extended their lead just over 10 minutes later after an attempted clearance fell to the feet of Raphael Borges Rodrigues, who rifled the ball into the roof of the net.

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The shouts of “If Billy scores, we’re on the pitch” bellowed from the away end.

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At the beginning of the second half, the visiting supporters unveiled a banner that stated ‘Clubs may die, passion never will’; a reference to the financial difficulties the club found themselves in when they entered administration in 2011.

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The Championship joint all-time leading goalscorer had two scoring opportunities in quick succession just before the hour mark after a header from a corner was saved by Burton’s goalkeeper and a shot from close range also forced the keeper into action.

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The chances prompted a spell on the ball for Rushden, which saw the ball fall kindly for Sharp, who met it cleanly with his head, and it was certainly goal bound if it wasn’t for the Brewers defender who threw his body in front of the shot.

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The threat shown by the Diamonds was short-lived though, as they found themselves under the cosh until Burton eventually went 3-0 up after a howler from Charlie Woods between the sticks who looked like he stopped the shot from range, before the ball managed to loop back over his head and into the goal, to everyone’s surprise. He claimed the ball hadn’t crossed the line, but the linesmen waved his flag to indicate otherwise.

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Sharp had his best chance in the final minutes of the match, which saw him through on goal. His eyes lit up as he unleashed a low, driven shot that beat the keeper, but went just wide.

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The Brewers added a fourth in the dying moments, which proved to be the final play of the tie.

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Despite the defeat and exit from the FA Cup, Rushden can be proud of the determination and effort shown on the pitch, along with their relentless support for their players. At times, it begged the question as to whether the fans wanted Sharp to score more than Billy himself. Sadly, it wasn’t too bad for the Blades legend, who will be hanging up his boots (again), still on 299 professional goals.