With their first away game selected for television coverage, Sheffield United get their 2022-23 season under way two days later than the most of the rest of the EFL Championship, beginning their campaign at Vicarage Road on 1st August.
Relegated from the Premier League last season, Watford are high amongst the bookies favourites for promotion and should be a tough test for the Blades.
The last time the sides met each other was at Bramall Lane on Boxing Day 2019, when an Oli Norwood penalty earned the Blades a draw, cancelling out Gerard Deulofeu’s opener. Smashing his spot kick into the bottom left corner, the midfielder was the S24SU Forum Man Of The Match.
Ben Foster had a good game for the visitors, whilst United weren’t at their best, he made a few quality saves – denying McBurnie early doors – with a great reaction save keeping out what looked to be a winner from Fleck.
“We were not at our best, and Watford were quick on the break. Foster is a great goal keeper and will have no end of suitors, should Watford go down (which I don’t think they will), but for me, the most annoying part, yet again, is a great free kick from Norwood, in front of the kop, near the end of the game. He curls the ball round their defenders and it runs a straight-ish line along the goal line (from where I was watching), and it just needs a Blades player, any one of them, to stick a foot forward and tap the ball into the net, but all of them just seemed to watch it roll past.Frustrating that we couldn’t find a winner, but a point is better than none.”
Grappler – S24SU Forum Member
Whilst every point in what turned out to be a great Premier League season for United was valuable, Unitedites left the game frustrated with it feeling like a missed opportunity before two difficult away trips – Man City and Liverpool.
Oli Norwood was the winner of the S24SU Player Ratings Man of The Match with a rating of 7.43/10 (average from votes of all participating supporters).
Sheffield United:
Dean Henderson – 5.76
George Baldock – 7.23
Chris Basham – 7.41
John Egan – 6.27
Jack O’Connell – 6.58
Enda Stevens – 6.45
Oliver Norwood – 7.43 MOTM
John Fleck – 6.76
John Lundstram – 5.79
David McGoldrick – 5.74
Oli McBurnie – 6.48, replaced by Lys Mousset – 7.10 on 63 mins
Unused: Verrips, Jagielka, L Freeman, Besic, Sharp, C Robinson.
Watford: Foster, Mariappa, Cathcart, Kiko, Kabasele, Chalobah (Dawson 89), Hughes, Capoue, Deulofeu, Deeney (Gray 80), Sarr (Pereyra 45).
Unused: Gomes, Quina, Dele-Bashiru, Success.
Attendance: 30,222
That was a fine display. At the end of the day we were lucky to get a point, Sheff United were a well worked machine with so much discipline
Anonymous – Watford Supporter
The sides meet again for an 20:00 kick off on 1st August 2022, televised live on Sky Sports Football.
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