Six of the best: By a whisker! The greatest last-gasp winners ever…
1) 1994/95 Premier League title
Shearer guides Blackburn to victory!
It was the year Cantona kung-fu kicked a Crystal Palace fan and riffed about the infamous 'seagulls', Klinsmann arrived at Spurs, Dennis Wise assaulted a taxi driver and Paul Merson admitted to gambling away £100,000. As if that wasn't enough drama, the title went down to the final match of the season. Kenny Dalglish's Blackburn lost 2-1 to Liverpool, but Manchester United could only manage a draw with West Ham - and that meant Blackburn took it by a point.
2) 2006 MotoGP Rider's Championship
Rossi slips up and gifts Hayden the title
The tightest MotoGP title tussle ever went right down to the final race. Valentino Rossi, champion for the previous four years, constantly chipped away at Nicky Hayden's early lead during an intense year dogged by rifts between team-mates and petty arguments over the rules. Then, in the final race in Valencia, Rossi made an uncharacteristic error and crashed out. He fought his way back into the race but could only finish second to last; Hayden finished third and grabbed his first and only title so far, sneaking it by just five points.
3) 1988/89 First Division League title
The Gunners pip Liverpool to the league!
Arsenal needed to win by two goals to nil to take the title from Liverpool. The scousers already had an FA cup under their belt and, in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster, the support of football fans around the world. Arsenal, had Michael Thomas. Just when it looked like an impossible task for the Gunners, Thomas popped up with a 91st minute winner that left the Arsenal fans in raptures. Heart-thumping stuff.
4) 1994 F1 Drivers' Championship
Sly Schumacher wrecks Damon Hill's title dream
By the time the F1 circus arrived in Adelaide for the final race of the season, the sport had been rocked by two fatal crashes. Austrian Roland Ratzenberger died during qualifying at the San Marino Grand Prix, while Brazilian Aryton Senna was killed during the race. Title contenders Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher both got a clean start in Australia before the German shamelessly ploughed into the side of Hill's car. Both cars retired, which was rather convenient for old Shoe-maker, who won the Driver's Championship by one point. Incidently, the German word for cheat is
betrugen.
5) 1983 Embassy World Darts Final
'Deller Checkout' destroys Bristow's dominance
Keith Deller's victory over Eric Bristow is considered to be the greatest piece of oche action ever. Unseeded Deller battled top players throughout the tournament beating world number 2 Jocky Wilson and number 3 John Lowe on his way to a showdown with the Crafty Cockney. Towards the end of the match, Bristow passed on the chance of a bulleye, gambling that Dellar didn’t have the bottle to go for it. Bristow thought wrong. Deller nailed it and snatched the title 6-5. He won £8,000 for the win, but is still remembered for his treble 20, treble 18, double 12 finish, which is still known as a ‘Dellar’ checkout today.
6) 1985 Snooker World Championship final
Steve Davis beats Dennis Taylor on the final black
The Nugget took on Dennis Taylor (and his looned potting goggles) in a thrilling world championship final that kept 18.5million TV viewers up way past their bed time. The match went into the early hours of a Monday morning and still holds the record of longest 35 frame match ever - just under 15 hours of play! Throughout, Taylor lagged behind Davis before potting the final black and shaking his cue with both hands. A famous sporting comeback if ever there was one..