Pearson made just the one enforced change bringing back Darren Powell for loan signing Chris Lucketti who was understandably unwilling to play against his own club with so much at stake.
It meant yet another defensive reshuffle with no real course of redress with Pearson throwing caution to the wind and not selecting a defender on the bench. Although Jermaine Wright has grown into a solid full back, it left two midfielders at full back, one injury-prone central defender in his first game in weeks and a loan signing in front of a loan keeper.
Fortunately, that keeper was Richard Wright who showed why he earned a move to Arsenal and two England caps with a world-class performance, summed up by an incredible point blank save at one down that effectively kept Saints in the Championship.
If Saints can perform a minor miracle and make his a permanent move, then he would be a worthy successor to club legend, Antti Niemi.
The defence certainly had its dodgy moments conceding two cheap goals through poor marking and looking vulnerable as ever at set pieces.
In front of the defence Pearson went for Viafara's energy out wide as a balance to the ageing Idiakez's lack of mobility in the middle. It left the side unbalanced and struggling to get on top of a well organised Sheffield United side.
After a nervous start, Safri and Idiakez finally got Saints' passing game going and started to unlock the Sheffield defence with Surman proving the extra man to put in a series of crosses, expertly defended by the impressive Kilgallon.
Up front Saganowski and John repaid their manager's faith by scoring the three goals and could have had more with Saganowski wasteful in front of goal missing two gilt-edged chances when clean through. Fortunately, Stern brought his shooting boots with him with two clinical finishes all the more impressive given the occasion.
Verdict
This ranked as one of the great afternoon's at St Mary's with a pulsating, eventful game comparable to the equally memorable 4-3 win over Norwich. That win came to nothing in the end, but this was a vital afternoon's work with results meaning that Saints needed to win and did. Just.
You could see why Sheffield United have been doing so well of late. They were well organised in midfield and at the back, with a solid base, a threat up front, supplied by lively wingers with Quinn particularly impressive on the left flank.
They may well feel that they deserved something from the game, but although Sheffield had the better of much of the posession it was Saints that had the more threatening opportunities with cross after cross from Euell and Surman being repelled.
The game put the long suffering fans through the full range of emotions with memories of the tame surrender to Man Utd on the last day of the relegation season still relatively fresh in the mind.
It was a terrible blow to see Saints going behind after finally getting a foothold in the game, but the crowd deserve huge credit for roaring the team back to the centre circle and showing that they hadn't lost the faith.
Stern John's two goals were the stuff of comic book heroes coming when it seemed all was lost with Leicester holding out against Premiership bound Stoke who only needed a point to go up.
The final whistle was met with a spontaneous pitch invasion as all of the frustration from this terrible season turned into a wonderful moment of relief, reminiscent of some of Saints' great escapes from Premierships of old.
Yes, it was just the silver lining to a cloud of a season, but what a way to end it with a game of pure drama that will live long in the memory.
The sell-out crowd was a reminder of the huge potential of the Saints catchment area once matters off the pitch can be sorted out. Of course the rollercoaster hasn't quite come to a stop with the return of Lowe and Wilde and doubts over Nigel Pearson's future.
That though is for another day. Let's just enjoy the moment.
Come On You Reds!