United 2 Gillingham 2 - report

[Deadbat]

The Blades wasted a golden opportunity to put some real distance between themselves and the chasing pack in League One as Bramall Lane bogey side Gillingham prevented United from beating them again. After a set back last week at Walsall; United were anxious to get back to winning ways and after Billy Sharps’s first half goal they seemed on course. However, good keeping and missed chances saw the lead remain narrow and two poor pieces of defending saw Josh Wright score twice to stun the home fans. Kieron Freeman scored again to get United level but more good goalkeeping denied them another goal. Indeed at the death Bradley Dack nearly won it for the Gills.


United opted to name an unchanged side despite the defeat last week although newcomer Joe Riley was on the bench. Gillingham had struggled in recent times but have enjoyed a good record at the Lane in recent years.


United began on top with Duffy and Coutts influential in spells of keep ball. Lavery was fouled on the right and from free kick, Fleck eventually returned it but his deflected shot was parried by Nelson. Fleck then made space down the left and put over a cross that saw Sharp get to the ball first but his header flashed wide.


Gillingham were very much in defensive mode. Coutts switched it to Freeman whose effort was blocked before Lavery nearly got in on goal. A corner was scrambled clear before another good move led to Freeman’s cross being flicked just wide at the near post by Lavery.


Lavery then nearly got in after a clever reverse ball from Sharp but Nelson got in first claiming he had got injured in the challenge but he was fit to play on. His delaying tactics were to become a feature of the game.


United were able to get the lead after a lovely piece of football that involved Coutts, Fleck and Lavery and eventually the ball was played onto SHARP who was able to hit a shot low and hard into the far corner giving Nelson no chance and the vital lead was United’s.


Coutts then volleyed wide from a corner and it was one way traffic. Freeman galloped down the right and his low pull back found Sharp who tried a clever played finish but it lacked power to beat Nelson who pushed away.


Sharp nearly scored again after a move that was similar to the one that led to his first. More clever build up involving Lavery, Fleck and then Duffy saw Sharp in and his low shot was turned round the post by Nelson.


United were good value for the lead and indeed but for the goalkeeper may have been out of sight as the first half came to an end.

Gillingham made a change with Osadebe on for Herd and they came out with much life. They won two tackles in midfield and seemed to be employing a front three as they managed to at least make advances into the second half. Jackson fired wide after running through but it was not long before from their first meaningful effort on goal they scored.


Dack found WRIGHT who somehow managed to get past a couple of defenders and found himself in on the angle and cleverly lifted the ball over Moore and into the far corner.


United tried to come back but Sharp was deemed offside when heading home from Freeman’s cross. O’Connell then headed wide when well placed from Duffy’s free kick.


However, Gillingham stunned United again on the hour.


They were getting forward more and were now using the long throw from Jackson at every opportunit. Another delivery was not cleared properly as Ehmer won the first header and as the ball dropped WRIGHT reacted first and stabbed the ball home. United were stunned. Gillingham had plundered two chances and scored from both of them!


United had the ball in the net again with Duffy’s cross headed in by O’Connell but he too was deemed to have gone too soon and the flag went up again.


United did get back level as Basham and Freeman combined to cross the ball and Lavery’s shot was saved but FREEMAN pounced to score another goal lashing it high into the net. United ran back to the centre circle as this thrilling game took another twist.


United came again and Freeman was now a real threat down the right and his cross seemed perfect for Lavery but he headed into the side netting. Another really good chance wasted.


McNulty came on for Lavery and soon after had a good chance. Duffy played him in but the striker’s shot was too close to Nelson who saved with his legs.


United were not having it all their own way and Ehmer headed wide from another long throw before Moore punched away but not fully clear. United then had their turn again with two corners leading to chances. McNulty had an overhead kick palmed away after a scramble and then Sharp’s point blank header was somehow saved by Nelson who may not have known much about it.


Scougall replaced Done and United went to a more orthodox 4-4-2 and tried to up the ante again but Gillingham’s delaying tactics and dithering were frustrating the crowd. Nelson in particular as well as he had played was taking an age over every goal kick.


The referee deemed there would be an additional 5 minutes of stoppage time.


Ebanks Landell ended up as an emergency striker but it was Gillingham who finished the game stronger and had the final chances. Moore was nearly caught out after a poor clearance but the resultant shot was off target. Soon after after another long throw was not cleared properly, Dack’s long range shot as the ball dropped missed by a whisker with Moore well beaten. United failed to create another chance in a frustrating final few moments as the game came to an end.


United – Played really well first half. We were patient and got chances in the end. Scored a really good goal and could have had more. It was all going really well. We played some lovely balls and knocked it about well. The goal was a joy and we had another that nearly went in that was very similar. There was lot of neat interchange and we moved well off the ball. We closed down when they had the ball and kept coming at them. We did not create loads but enough to score more goals and the keeper had played well. It was all quite straight forward.


Then the away side decided to have go at us. That was all it took with our porous defence and we fell apart in 10 minutes from a position of control to chasing the game. We got level and then after this had more chances but the final 10-15 minutes kind of drifted away with fewer chances. In the end either team could have won it. It was a really poor second half where we lost our shape, organisation and basically switched on. Worrying that this was the second week running this has happened. Too many players started to lose their battles and started to lose tackles and 50/50 balls. Once we got back level we started to regain control but we were too slow to move it and they just put men behind the ball and did what they had to slow it down. We did not look like scoring in the final stages and were trying to play perfect balls instead of just getting it wide and getting the ball in the box. Our crossing was really poor and we rarely beat the first man. People will say we need more up top but when you do not get the ball into the box or beat the first man not sure it matters who is up top. I felt Done and Coutts started to overplay and we got harried off it at times. Shame as first half we had complete control and then we are chasing things and becoming desperate with time running out. This was the same in other recent home games. We have to put teams to the sword and go on and get the second/third goals.


I find it Interesting that many in the crowd bemoan teams defending and not having a go and keep saying it is annoying to watch but I will be honest I would much rather teams just come and sit and do nothing like they did first half. When teams have done this, we have eventually in most cases (bar Walsall) broke them down and the weight of possession and chances has led to goals. When teams have a go like Walsall and Gillingham did for a spell second half we look nowhere near as good as our slow midfield gets caught out and our defensive limitations are exposed. So, I simply do not get fans wanting away teams to come and have a go. I think some think this will lead to big gaps and more chances for us but the reality proved second half it will just end up being like a basketball game. I felt we looked like getting chances but so did they second half. It became rather kamikaze and we lost our shape/control of midfield.


Teams have worked out we effectively do not have full backs and play it down these areas and get us turned or the centre backs out of positon. Today they did this for spell and caused real problems. They had a really good spell and won a series of free kicks and throw ins also. I did feel even with that being said we looked abysmal on the set plays and we have three big dominant centre backs and a big keeper but we struggled and they had a few other half chances too. We seemed to really panic and memories of the 4-0 down there (same lad with the long throw was it?) came back. They did not have tons of big lads either so why we could not cope with either the first or second ball was beyond me. The last couple of weeks have shown our defence still has major issue despite everyone bemoaning the striking options alongside Sharp. Until we stop chucking way stupid goals then we will struggle to pull away at the top and we will be in a dogfight for promotion. The goals we gave away were not even Sunday League standard defending. They just walked through us and then won the first and the second balls on the second goal. There were other moments of indecision from the defence.


I think he will make changes for Tuesday. A lot will be made of Done not being wing back and he got caught out of position a lot second half but Ebanks Landell had a really poor second half as did a few others. We missed a really good chance to put some ground between us and other teams but due to the goals we give away it is making it so hard for us at the other end. We cannot get promoted if we toss away 2’s and 3’s every week. We face a tough side on Tuesday who have not lost for ages. They will come and have a go and I fear others will do this more seeing that sitting in and defending does not work. Hope the defence can actually get some level of control and the team can keep their shape when pressured the other way. That along with quicker, more decisive play in the other third will mean the excellent football (we did play some great stuff despite above concerns) gets what it deserves instead of passing it to death but not always penetrating. We did not have anyone on the bench who could change it (even Clarke offers something different and without Chapman we don’t have much to bring on really).


However, for all the above we did miss so many chances and it is not just about the strikers but Wilder’s comments says it all. He feels none of the other strikers have took their chances and he pointed them all out as missing opportunities. He confirmed the bid for Hanson (McCall says they have turned it down) and says he is determined to get another one in. I think we need to be looking at better than Hanson to be honest. He is a journeyman type without the journey! The lad at Bury Vaughan would be a better option and could be got cheap I think. He offers power and a bit of running too. Hanson is very one dimensional and I hope we do not sign him. Whoever we get he seems to suggest he has had enough of it all being down to Billy. So I expect a newcomer this week. I do not think any of Done, Clarke , Lavery or McNulty have done enough. It is just annoying that we have to score 3 or 4 to win as teams are scoring with very few attacks at the moment. 7 goals in 3 conceded is not good enough.


I just hope that bringing in squad type players in Riley, Carruthers and maybe Hanson is not a big mistake. Would have like us to have got the 1 or 2 starting type real quality players to give us best chance to go up.

 

[Deadbat]

Gillingham – First half just sat back and defended. It was quite negative as many teams have shown down here but even though frustrating it is better than them having a go at us as it means we will dominate the ball and chances. It was 1-0 and it could have been 3 or 4. They did not even look like attacking let alone scoring. It seemed like it would be a routine win for United. They looked a poor side and one that you can see is struggling.


Second half they came out and had a bit of a go and realised we are not that great at the back when you have a go at us. In essence the best form of defence was to attack. They were better doing that and got the lead with two decent goals. After this it was level instantly and then they defended again but still had some chances. They may wish they had tried to attack from the start and any teams watching today or the Walsall will be stupid if they just try and defend. They started to fight and got inspired from our deficiencies. It then became anyone game but we still looked the more likely.


Opponent man of the match: Stuart Nelson. A keeper that looms quite erratic when I have seen him previously; today he had a great game. He made 2 or 3 good saves from Sharp and then an excellent one from McNulty. He also made one from a header that I do not know how he kept out after a corner.


The lad Wright runs him a close second for two goals. The first was a good run and finish. The second was just an opportunistic striker. The lad Jackson caused problems down the right side with his long throws and these led to real problems in the United rear guard.


Opponent Weak link : They had a few particularly first half that struggled but then started to have a go second half. I thought they offered little up top and the lad McDonald was not in the game much really. I also thought Dack flattered to deceive and showed why no one has really come for him despite doing well in previous seasons. He looked to be carrying a bit of weight. However, at the back the two centre backs Ehmer and Herd were poor and I felt got turned a lot. Herd came off at half time but an injury may not have helped but he had struggled with Sharp.



SUFC Player Ratings –


Moore 6.5/10 – He had little to do first half and made one standard save from a cross. Second half he had a lot more to do. Not sure he could do much with the two goals but he did not look decisive when they started to put in long throws and crosses. Two or three times he came and half punched. Seemed to be a bit of misunderstanding at times between him and the defence. Nearly got caught out with a poor kick when they went for goal too near the end.


Freeman 7/10 – Mixed for me. First half he was one of our poorer players. He kept running it our or losing it when well placed. He had a great spell second half where he got forward and was involved in some of our better attacks and of course scored again from close range in a goal similar to the Northampton one. He got into some lovely positions and kept bombing down on the overlap but the actual crosses were mixed. One great one for Lavery that he headed wide and another that Sharp scored (but was offside) but too many times it failed to beat the first man or went to the keeper. Does offer a lot of energy and keeps running to the end and second half was one of few who got in and behind the defence.


Done 5.5/10 – Maybe the opposite to Freeman with a decent first half where he got to the ball first, won the tackles and got down the wing when he could. He kept it nice and simple and did nothing wrong defensively. He did not offer that much going forward but then second half he struggled and got caught out too far forward a few times. They broke and often went down that side to create things. There seemed to be a big gap. Wilder eventually went to a 4 and changed it with O’Connell going to left back. He is not a wing back and it was odd we have brought Riley in but did not play him. Hopefully Lafferty will be back soon anyway.


Ebanks Landell 5/10 – Thought he was poor today. He was ok first half under little pressure but did slip once and nearly let them in and then second half he just was really sloppy. The first goal the lad got beyond him (and another) too easy to score and then on the second he did not win the first header. I actually felt he did not dominate at all and the fact we looked so poor from long throws/corners/free kicks second half was a concern. He is meant to be there to stop the threats from such situations but they looked really dangerous every time they had that long throw. He looked quite cumbersome and slow and one of our weak links second half. Going the other way the threat he used to offer does not seem to be there. He fouled his man twice and then also headed miles wide when well placed. I do wonder if he would be better being on the near post for the flick on (Booker style) as most of our corners seem to be around that area anyway and too many did not beat the first man. Ended up as an emergency striker at the end. I have to say the last 3 or 4 games I have seen at home he has not convinced me at all and you can see why Wolves have not recalled him. Makes their decision to give him a three year deal a bit perplexing. I am not sure he would be anywhere neat consistent or mobile enough to play at a higher level.


O’Connell 7/10- Our best defender again although he has to be unhappy with the defence’s sloppiness from long throws and that wretched 10 minute spell after half time and not all blame can be put on EEL. For the most part he kept attacking the ball and winning the tackles/headers. Got forward when he could and had one header disallowed for offside and another low cross saved by the keeper. A player that keeps improving every week. Very determined and shows great bravery in the challenge.


Basham 6/10 – He was fine for the most part defensively but he also had a spell where he did not win the key headers as Gillingham won all the dropping balls in the box. This proved crucial as the game turned around when they had not been a threat at all. In terms of with the ball he kept it well and was able to use the ball pretty well most of the game. Did also charge forward a few times although he did frustrate as he runs 20-25 yards and then turns and goes back or plays it back where he came from slowing the impetus down and defeating the point of the run in the first place. He may get dropped as you expect Wright may come on but that would be harsh on him as Ebanks Landell has been our poorest defender recently.


Fleck 7.5/10 – Our best midfielder today in terms of ball use, retention and creativity. Showed real energy and got up and down the field. He played it short and long and showed his range off passing. Lovely touch on the ball and makes space for himself well by his excellent first touch/control. I felt that the movement in front was limited second half after being so good first half and this meant it was harder for him. The only knock against him was a few really poor corners that did not beat the first man.


Coutts 6.5/10 – Good first half where he was involved in lots of good things we did with some neat moves and bits of play. He managed to turn congested moves into opportunities by finding space or a teammate despite being under pressure. He also showed his passing ability and was able to control the midfield area along with Fleck. Second half the lad Wright ran off both our midfield runners on more than one occasion and I felt he did not do the dirty work and big gaps appeared between the defence and midfield. He still did a few nice things on the ball but was less influential and actually started to tire as the game went on. Will be good to have Carruthers giving us that extra boost in there again in a few weeks for such times when one if off the boil (like Coutts and Duffy were second half).


Duffy 6/10 – First half he showed some neat flicks and moves and was able to help us have a few chances and involved in some of our better moments of play. He showed his ability to get us out of tight spots also and was able to help us keep the ball with patience. Second half I felt he had a poorer 45 minutes. He got caught in possession twice and also tried to overplay. His passing and crossing was off and was not as influential. Still he played in McNulty for a chance and also was always involved but I just felt his final pass most of the time did not really come off. They closed him down and his fancy flicks/touches did not work and he was harried out of it.


Sharp 7/10 – Thought he worked hard all game even though not everything came off for him. He scored one good goal and had two other good efforts the keeper saved. Also, missed with a header. Had a goal disallowed and then was involved in a few other openings. He tried a few dummies or flicks that did not come off and they broke a few times from these but he did get back once to rescue his original give away. I felt him and Lavery had a decent spell when they linked well such as for the goal and one just after that. Second half after Lavery went off, I am not sure him and McNulty really linked at all and our threat dried up somewhat. Ball did not stick up top for last 20 minutes.


Lavery 6/10 – Did not start game that well and was slow to the ball and looked second when it came forward but gradually improved and started to show good strength and also decent aerial ability. He started to link with Sharp and did some neat things that led to a number of openings. Seocnd half continued to do a few decent things in the build-up and involved in the leveller with a shot. Aside from this I recall one blazed effort over before he had a good chance when well placed from a Freeman cross but headed wide. Still I felt him and Sharp did ok and we looked less of a threat after Lavery went off.


Subs


Scougall – Came on for Done and played wide left but drifted about. Helped cover down that side better where they had started to cause problems. One or two runs forward but overplayed it twice. He needed to be more forward to get in the box and get on loose balls but due to the threat they had from the right had to sit in with us switching to a 4-4-2.


McNulty – Did not really do much and looked well off the pace. Looked to have put on a few pounds also. Twice he was slow to react to through balls and barely recall ball sticking with him much. Then had one good chance when one on one put through on the angle but he shot straight at the keeper. He could have took it on a bit or lifted it over the keeper. He was brought on to take chances like that but missed it. Had one overhead saved but it was a routine save for the keeper. Not sure why he is involved. He has had so many chances and is not good enough. We need to move on from him now. He will head back to Scotland at the end of the season I am sure.


Manager – Wilder 5.5/10 – Today I have to question him for one of the first time in a while. He kept the team as it was and gave them a chance to redeem themselves but defensive weaknesses came back to haunt us again. We are not giving away many chances but when teams do come knocking they sadly seem to score at the moment and 2’s,3’s and 4’s are happening at the moment making it hard for us to win games. I was surprised Wright did not play after shipping so many goals and also with Lavery unfit felt Riley would get his bow but these things did not happen. Done looked suspect second half and then more indecision in the middle led to two incredibly sloppy goals. Even at 2-2 I felt we had the impetus to go on and win but taking Lavery off seemed to slow it down and the energy he had was not there with McNulty. He has not got much wrong but these calls did not work today. I also felt the last 20 minutes we looked a bit clueless and we had no real penetration. They ended up going closer to winning it. We have now dropped 4 points and know we face a crucial game Tuesday. Another poor result and people might start to worry even with us at the top. At the moment we are not clinical enough at either end and for all the pretty football it is not seeing us put teams away.


Ref – Thought he was weak. He got many of the bookings right with some quite cynical fouls from them (and one from us when Duffy pulled their lad down) but let cynical stuff go without saying much and just seemed to let them do what they want in terms of slowing the game down. He had a word with a lot of their players for different things but was not always decisive enough and the fact he kept speaking to players and not always doing anything was frustrating. He did not punish their blatant time wasting from minute one. How the keeper did not get booked I do not know. I also felt 5 minutes was very generous. The physio was on twice and in the second half we saw 3 goals, 4 subs and all the aforementioned time wasting. I would have pegged it 7 or 8 to be honest. Difficult to say on the two offside goals but the fact as a home fan I looked across to the assistant straight away suggested that they might have been off. The Sharp one seemed clear but the other one (O’Connell) not as certain? Anyone have a better view?


Crowd – A frustrating afternoon. Another 20,000+ crowd which was excellent considering the Gills brought maybe 2-300 tops. The crowd were quiet first half even with the lead but then came to life after the flurry of goals. They tried to will the team forward but the slow build up killed some of the momentum at times and thus reduced the influence the crowd/Kop could have had. I think United fans recognise the good football we are playing and some nice skill and patient play but at times I think we would like to see the ball in the box and more openings created quicker.

 

[cahill]

Basham missed an absolute sitter in the first half nobody seems to have seen that apart from me

 

[super_pig]

Gillingham – First half just sat back and defended. It was quite negative as many teams have shown down here but even though frustrating it is better than them having a go at us as it means we will dominate the ball and chances. It was 1-0 and it could have been 3 or 4. They did not even look like attacking let alone scoring. It seemed like it would be a routine win for United. They looked a poor side and one that you can see is struggling.


Second half they came out and had a bit of a go and realised we are not that great at the back when you have a go at us. In essence the best form of defence was to attack. They were better doing that and got the lead with two decent goals. After this it was level instantly and then they defended again but still had some chances. They may wish they had tried to attack from the start and any teams watching today or the Walsall will be stupid if they just try and defend. They started to fight and got inspired from our deficiencies. It then became anyone game but we still looked the more likely.


Opponent man of the match: Stuart Nelson. A keeper that looms quite erratic when I have seen him previously; today he had a great game. He made 2 or 3 good saves from Sharp and then an excellent one from McNulty. He also made one from a header that I do not know how he kept out after a corner.


The lad Wright runs him a close second for two goals. The first was a good run and finish. The second was just an opportunistic striker. The lad Jackson caused problems down the right side with his long throws and these led to real problems in the United rear guard.


Opponent Weak link : They had a few particularly first half that struggled but then started to have a go second half. I thought they offered little up top and the lad McDonald was not in the game much really. I also thought Dack flattered to deceive and showed why no one has really come for him despite doing well in previous seasons. He looked to be carrying a bit of weight. However, at the back the two centre backs Ehmer and Herd were poor and I felt got turned a lot. Herd came off at half time but an injury may not have helped but he had struggled with Sharp.



SUFC Player Ratings –


Moore 6.5/10 – He had little to do first half and made one standard save from a cross. Second half he had a lot more to do. Not sure he could do much with the two goals but he did not look decisive when they started to put in long throws and crosses. Two or three times he came and half punched. Seemed to be a bit of misunderstanding at times between him and the defence. Nearly got caught out with a poor kick when they went for goal too near the end.


Freeman 7/10 – Mixed for me. First half he was one of our poorer players. He kept running it our or losing it when well placed. He had a great spell second half where he got forward and was involved in some of our better attacks and of course scored again from close range in a goal similar to the Northampton one. He got into some lovely positions and kept bombing down on the overlap but the actual crosses were mixed. One great one for Lavery that he headed wide and another that Sharp scored (but was offside) but too many times it failed to beat the first man or went to the keeper. Does offer a lot of energy and keeps running to the end and second half was one of few who got in and behind the defence.


Done 5.5/10 – Maybe the opposite to Freeman with a decent first half where he got to the ball first, won the tackles and got down the wing when he could. He kept it nice and simple and did nothing wrong defensively. He did not offer that much going forward but then second half he struggled and got caught out too far forward a few times. They broke and often went down that side to create things. There seemed to be a big gap. Wilder eventually went to a 4 and changed it with O’Connell going to left back. He is not a wing back and it was odd we have brought Riley in but did not play him. Hopefully Lafferty will be back soon anyway.


Ebanks Landell 5/10 – Thought he was poor today. He was ok first half under little pressure but did slip once and nearly let them in and then second half he just was really sloppy. The first goal the lad got beyond him (and another) too easy to score and then on the second he did not win the first header. I actually felt he did not dominate at all and the fact we looked so poor from long throws/corners/free kicks second half was a concern. He is meant to be there to stop the threats from such situations but they looked really dangerous every time they had that long throw. He looked quite cumbersome and slow and one of our weak links second half. Going the other way the threat he used to offer does not seem to be there. He fouled his man twice and then also headed miles wide when well placed. I do wonder if he would be better being on the near post for the flick on (Booker style) as most of our corners seem to be around that area anyway and too many did not beat the first man. Ended up as an emergency striker at the end. I have to say the last 3 or 4 games I have seen at home he has not convinced me at all and you can see why Wolves have not recalled him. Makes their decision to give him a three year deal a bit perplexing. I am not sure he would be anywhere neat consistent or mobile enough to play at a higher level.


O’Connell 7/10- Our best defender again although he has to be unhappy with the defence’s sloppiness from long throws and that wretched 10 minute spell after half time and not all blame can be put on EEL. For the most part he kept attacking the ball and winning the tackles/headers. Got forward when he could and had one header disallowed for offside and another low cross saved by the keeper. A player that keeps improving every week. Very determined and shows great bravery in the challenge.


Basham 6/10 – He was fine for the most part defensively but he also had a spell where he did not win the key headers as Gillingham won all the dropping balls in the box. This proved crucial as the game turned around when they had not been a threat at all. In terms of with the ball he kept it well and was able to use the ball pretty well most of the game. Did also charge forward a few times although he did frustrate as he runs 20-25 yards and then turns and goes back or plays it back where he came from slowing the impetus down and defeating the point of the run in the first place. He may get dropped as you expect Wright may come on but that would be harsh on him as Ebanks Landell has been our poorest defender recently.


Fleck 7.5/10 – Our best midfielder today in terms of ball use, retention and creativity. Showed real energy and got up and down the field. He played it short and long and showed his range off passing. Lovely touch on the ball and makes space for himself well by his excellent first touch/control. I felt that the movement in front was limited second half after being so good first half and this meant it was harder for him. The only knock against him was a few really poor corners that did not beat the first man.


Coutts 6.5/10 – Good first half where he was involved in lots of good things we did with some neat moves and bits of play. He managed to turn congested moves into opportunities by finding space or a teammate despite being under pressure. He also showed his passing ability and was able to control the midfield area along with Fleck. Second half the lad Wright ran off both our midfield runners on more than one occasion and I felt he did not do the dirty work and big gaps appeared between the defence and midfield. He still did a few nice things on the ball but was less influential and actually started to tire as the game went on. Will be good to have Carruthers giving us that extra boost in there again in a few weeks for such times when one if off the boil (like Coutts and Duffy were second half).


Duffy 6/10 – First half he showed some neat flicks and moves and was able to help us have a few chances and involved in some of our better moments of play. He showed his ability to get us out of tight spots also and was able to help us keep the ball with patience. Second half I felt he had a poorer 45 minutes. He got caught in possession twice and also tried to overplay. His passing and crossing was off and was not as influential. Still he played in McNulty for a chance and also was always involved but I just felt his final pass most of the time did not really come off. They closed him down and his fancy flicks/touches did not work and he was harried out of it.


Sharp 7/10 – Thought he worked hard all game even though not everything came off for him. He scored one good goal and had two other good efforts the keeper saved. Also, missed with a header. Had a goal disallowed and then was involved in a few other openings. He tried a few dummies or flicks that did not come off and they broke a few times from these but he did get back once to rescue his original give away. I felt him and Lavery had a decent spell when they linked well such as for the goal and one just after that. Second half after Lavery went off, I am not sure him and McNulty really linked at all and our threat dried up somewhat. Ball did not stick up top for last 20 minutes.


Lavery 6/10 – Did not start game that well and was slow to the ball and looked second when it came forward but gradually improved and started to show good strength and also decent aerial ability. He started to link with Sharp and did some neat things that led to a number of openings. Seocnd half continued to do a few decent things in the build-up and involved in the leveller with a shot. Aside from this I recall one blazed effort over before he had a good chance when well placed from a Freeman cross but headed wide. Still I felt him and Sharp did ok and we looked less of a threat after Lavery went off.


Subs


Scougall – Came on for Done and played wide left but drifted about. Helped cover down that side better where they had started to cause problems. One or two runs forward but overplayed it twice. He needed to be more forward to get in the box and get on loose balls but due to the threat they had from the right had to sit in with us switching to a 4-4-2.


McNulty – Did not really do much and looked well off the pace. Looked to have put on a few pounds also. Twice he was slow to react to through balls and barely recall ball sticking with him much. Then had one good chance when one on one put through on the angle but he shot straight at the keeper. He could have took it on a bit or lifted it over the keeper. He was brought on to take chances like that but missed it. Had one overhead saved but it was a routine save for the keeper. Not sure why he is involved. He has had so many chances and is not good enough. We need to move on from him now. He will head back to Scotland at the end of the season I am sure.


Manager – Wilder 5.5/10 – Today I have to question him for one of the first time in a while. He kept the team as it was and gave them a chance to redeem themselves but defensive weaknesses came back to haunt us again. We are not giving away many chances but when teams do come knocking they sadly seem to score at the moment and 2’s,3’s and 4’s are happening at the moment making it hard for us to win games. I was surprised Wright did not play after shipping so many goals and also with Lavery unfit felt Riley would get his bow but these things did not happen. Done looked suspect second half and then more indecision in the middle led to two incredibly sloppy goals. Even at 2-2 I felt we had the impetus to go on and win but taking Lavery off seemed to slow it down and the energy he had was not there with McNulty. He has not got much wrong but these calls did not work today. I also felt the last 20 minutes we looked a bit clueless and we had no real penetration. They ended up going closer to winning it. We have now dropped 4 points and know we face a crucial game Tuesday. Another poor result and people might start to worry even with us at the top. At the moment we are not clinical enough at either end and for all the pretty football it is not seeing us put teams away.


Ref – Thought he was weak. He got many of the bookings right with some quite cynical fouls from them (and one from us when Duffy pulled their lad down) but let cynical stuff go without saying much and just seemed to let them do what they want in terms of slowing the game down. He had a word with a lot of their players for different things but was not always decisive enough and the fact he kept speaking to players and not always doing anything was frustrating. He did not punish their blatant time wasting from minute one. How the keeper did not get booked I do not know. I also felt 5 minutes was very generous. The physio was on twice and in the second half we saw 3 goals, 4 subs and all the aforementioned time wasting. I would have pegged it 7 or 8 to be honest. Difficult to say on the two offside goals but the fact as a home fan I looked across to the assistant straight away suggested that they might have been off. The Sharp one seemed clear but the other one (O’Connell) not as certain? Anyone have a better view?


Crowd – A frustrating afternoon. Another 20,000+ crowd which was excellent considering the Gills brought maybe 2-300 tops. The crowd were quiet first half even with the lead but then came to life after the flurry of goals. They tried to will the team forward but the slow build up killed some of the momentum at times and thus reduced the influence the crowd/Kop could have had. I think United fans recognise the good football we are playing and some nice skill and patient play but at times I think we would like to see the ball in the box and more openings created quicker.

we are a different team when wright plays he has to play on tuesday.. taking lavery off was like going down to 10

 

[Bergen Blade]

Brief highlights:

 

[Karaoke Blade]

Spot on DB. I'm glad it's not only me that thinks EEL has been the weak link in the last two games . Think Wright will be in on Tuesday, possibly with Riley coming in at LWB.

 

[cahill]

Done seemed largely anonymous.

Thanks for the write up. A labour of "love", no doubt

 

[South Bucks]

Deadbat, many thanks for your detailed reports, I didn't go today but your words are entirely consistent with what I saw at Walsall and to a lesser extent at Southend and other games. Teams have sussed our slow midfield and defensive set up and frailties and have learned how to take advantage.

Its concening how the opposition don't have many efforts on goal but seem to score a high percentage of them whereas we have loads of efforts but score a much fewer percentage of them and seem to get caught offside quite often. If we'd played Riley today the opposition might well have sh*t themselves and backed off.

Any draw is not much better than a defeat for a team with top two ambitions but having heard we're after Hanson it seems clear to me our owners are just trying to tough it out and scrape through on the cheap as usual instead of going for more quality which might give us a better chance of going up and to be of some use in the Championship.

Looks like it will go the wire again this season as always and there will be lots of gnashing of finger nails when we play the better teams in weeks to come. All so unnecessary with a more positive and offensive approach but its the united way.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Regarding the goals conceded - for the first, when it comes to the challenge that EEL makes, I think those are Jake Wright's strength, timing a challenge to perfection, so maybe he wouldn't be beaten as easily. Having conceded 6 in the last two Wilder must seriously consider recalling him.

For the second I think Freeman needs to block the path of the goalscorer. O'Connell loses the first header, but Freeman, although zonal defending, has to deal with whoever comes into his zone. As it happens he watches the ball too much, where he could have just put his body in the way of Wright's path and prevented him from getting his toe on the ball.

 

[Deadbat]

Not sure who missed the header for the second. O''Connell and Freeman lost Wright - so two mistakes that they I did not mention in the report. Thought it was EEL who missed it. As a defensive unit we were not good enough and the soft touch we saw last season.

Coutts also was poor on the first after EEL missed the tackle he just sort of jogged back (same as last week on 2 goals and as good as he has been, you need one of your midfielders to do the effort the other way aswell)

 

[SB_90]

Very Annoying result today, I'll give it that yes yet another Goalkeeper had his best game at lane Again, also had 2 goals disallowed I though Duffys should have been allowed

We all know that at some point we would have a blip at some point & its how we react to that, But today its certainly 2pts dropped makes fleetwood must win, fully agree with wilder about not being ruthless enough because we shouldve been 3 up by half time, then you cant switch off in 1st 15 mins of the 2nd half like we did & with the sloppy defending from long throw for gills 2nd not get expect to get punished

Ref was either very naive or lenient because he made some strange decisions like allowing Gillingham Goalkeeper blatantly time waste for 20 mins +

 

[stringjunior]

First half I don't think I saw JOC put a foot wrong. Their number 10 didn't get a sniff. He was very good. Harder to tell second half as we were south stand gangway B and didn't really have the best view of the defensive action.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Thought we played well today and it was a very entertaining game.
On a totally different planet to the football we saw under Clough and Adkins.

Midfield is still fantastic, attack is still good (impressed with Lavery)
BUT the defence seem very sloppy, probably because they not having much to do.

It does seem that we have 20 attacks, have 10 shots and score 2 goals
Where as the oppostion have 5 attacks, have 3 shots and always seem to score a goal or 2.
EEL's form has suffered and the goalie doesn't look as convincing.

I'm still feeling optimistic and confident.
We were far superior to Gillingham today, 2 points dropped so now we must win on Tuesday.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

The ref was like a fucking public school headmaster having gone out on a nice coach day trip to do something exciting.
Problem was he was never sure what these exciting things were.
Indecisive, pedantic, three times round the fountain, unsssertive twat.
Would make a good participant in Monty Python's Upper class twit of the year sketch .

 

[Dnblade]

Bad defending cost us ...Don't know what EEL was thinking for the first,if he stays with the player then no goal..he just leaves a big hole and Coutts is the wrong side to retrieve the situation.
Second goal reminded me of the Charlton equaliser where we miss the first header..O'Connell needs to win the first and Freeman let the lad get half a yard...Maybe time for Wright to step back in for the Fleetwood game.

 

[Dkc]

Looked to me like Moore could have done better for their 2nd

 

[sitwell]

Two other points ,we miss Lafferty big time ,for shape and helping JOC as much as anything.
Dack is wank.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Two other points ,we miss Lafferty big time ,for shape and helping JOC as much as anything.
Dack is wank.

Apart from the volley in the last minute, Dack spent the whole game in Coutts' shadow.

 

[Finn Keane o' Balmaqueen]

If you miss this thread the first time.

You can always read it in Monday's Sheffield Star... as written by Jimmy Greenshield.

Thank You as always Mr Deadbat

x

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

Dack is wank.

Tubbier, second-rate Jose Baxter.

Thank the footballing gods the days have gone when people said we lacked ambition because we hadn't chased rubbish like Dack.

 

[S64 Blade]

For Tuesday, stick Wright in, Riley for Done (if Lafferty is not back) and bin McNulty off.

Much has been made about them missed chances, but the defensive errors are a concern and with Wright at the back, we look solid.

 

[grafikhaus]

The ref was like a fucking public school headmaster having gone out on a nice coach day trip to do something exciting.
Problem was he was never sure what these exciting things were.
Indecisive, pedantic, three times round the fountain, unsssertive twat.
Would make a good participant in Monty Python's Upper class twit of the year sketch .

As I've said elsewhere, the ref. (Ben Toner) is a 25-year old teacher who, the refs. assessor told me, would be bullied by wiser, older players and 'needs to toughen up'.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Many thanks as usual for the excellent report Deadbat . My post highlight of the week. I'm always disappointed when there isn't one for some of the away games which I'm assuming means you can't get to all the games.

 

[Lane Ender]

we are a different team when wright plays he has to play on tuesday.. taking lavery off was like going down to 10

Puzzled me that one

 

[sitwell]

Puzzled me that one

Agree .About the ref , I thought he was OK but let down by his linesman. Many would have booked Sharp for that petulant trip in the first half but he let it go and did the same with the Gillingham guy. I thought he let the game flow was consistent and did well.

 

[gillsfan]

Cant make any specific comments on the game as i couldnt attend but it seems to me we did what we needed to do to make sure we got something from a game that the previous manager would have lost convincingly, whilst it is obviously dissappointing for you to not win a home game against a team having a rubbish season if you had taken 4 points by drawing at ours then winning yesterday most fans would be happy with that, think this is your year to go back up but nobody wins every game

 

[Deadbat]

Many thanks as usual for the excellent report Deadbat . My post highlight of the week. I'm always disappointed when there isn't one for some of the away games which I'm assuming means you can't get to all the games.

Yes, sadly having a family, cost and other commitments means i am restricted to 2 or 3 away games a season now. Hoping to get to a few in the run in. Planning to go to Peterboro and Rochdale if I can.

 

[true99blade]

Without wishing to state the obvious, we are missing Lafferty and Wright. Organisation more than anything. We've seen what tinkering with defences achieves; inconsistency. Why was Wright dropped in he first place? He was player of the season until he was omissed from the team. Can't slag Wilder for what's been achieved position-wise but it's a bit concerning this little run we're on. EEL and JOC need Wright. We don't need Basham. Can't wait for Carruthers to be back also.

 

[GrayBlade]

I don't think I've ever seen a team try to influence the Ref as much at this level.

It was almost non-stop moaning from the off. It was like it was choreographed, one player would take it to the point where the Ref had had enough, and then another took over.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Credit to Gillingham who for a long time looked a rag bag outfit more intent on 'working the ref ' than seriously competing with us.

First 20 minutes of the first half I thought we were complacent and far too slow in our build up. There was one spell when we must have had 30 slow sideways and backwards passes in possession until we finally achieved a throw in . About 50 fans I could hear actually clapped that spell of completely wasted time for us but great for the Gills as the longer it went without conceding the more comfortable they would be; let us play across the face of their two lines at half pace and they were laughing. I must say that I have a new obsession watching Coutts demand the ball time and time again and often demanding a backwards pass to him only for him to play a nothing ball sideways or backwards. Once Fleck was told to move it on quicker Coutts was by-passed and we were better for it and so was Fleck. In fairness Coutts also got more progressive but I would ask fellow fans to just watch how many times Coutts demands the ball, gets it and thereby introduces two extra passes in a move which gets nowhere further but only more slowly. It's good to have a player who always wants the ball but oh how unproductive the lad can be.

After about 25 minutes our lads must have been told to speed it up and I thought we played the remainder of the half well.

Because we didn't put them away by half time the opposition manager knew they had a chance to gamble and they did with devastating effect. I wondered who fannied around for the first and it happened to be Coutts completely the wrong side of the man when he put it away; a liability in defensive positions as always.

Wilder upset me with his starting line-up selection : Wright should have been back long ago but after the 4-1 defeat this was the right time. Done is no wing-back and I'm sorry that our manager seems to think he owes him something for being a tryer, that's all he is these days and it doesn't make up for complete unproductivity.

Since Wright got injured EEL has been half the player. Wright organises and mops up. When he doesn't play EEL has to sdopt that role and O'Connell primarily attacks the ball first, to good effect I should add but at the same time removing EEL's strong suit. All of a sudden EEL is having to think more rather than just dominate and as a result he is poor frankly. Maybe more like the player past Wolves managers saw at the higher level.

We should have won the game and it's amazing we didn't but we can be more resolute and ambitious than we were in the first 20/25 minutes. Away sides seem to regard that as the key period to get through, silence the crowd and take it from there. We played those 25 minutes at a canter.

One final point re the substitutions; Scougall doesn't deserve the manager's faith and nor does McNulty. Surelly riley would have revelled in the situation and I make no apologies for saying that Reed has the capability to look up and play a ball to feet into the opposition area - a skill otherwise only Duffy seems to possess and he had an off day yesterday.