Deadbat
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The Blades got back to winning
ways as they saw off AFC Wimbledon with an emphatic victory at Bramall Lane. An early lead given to them via the opportunistic Billy Sharp was doubled up from debutant James Hanson. Second half goals late in the day came from the excellent John Fleck and substitute Caolan Lavery to give the home side the deserved victory in a dominant display.
United dominated the game from start to finish and controlled possession and territory all game. And all the outstanding players were wearing red and white. Wimbledon were poor in comparison and were never really in with a chance after the early Sharp goal. For the Blades it was a return to form as they showed some of the play that had taken them to the summit of League One.
Manager Chris Wilder made tweaks the line up from the defeat at home to Fleetwood with Jake Wright in for Chris Basham and James Hanson replacing Marc McNulty; who was not even in the 16. On the bench were January newcomers O’Shea, Caruthers and Riley, joining Long, Done and Basham.
AFC Wimbledon featured former Blades Lyle Taylor and Dominic Poleon in their match day squad on their first official visit to the Lane in their new guise.
The game began with an opening goal inside 2 minutes. Hanson won an early header and this led to a spell of possession. United attacked down the right and won a free kick as Barcham pulled down Freeman. The free kick came in from Fleck and seemed too close to keeper Shea but the goalkeeper could not hold and his parry rebounded inadvertently off SHARP and rolled into the net. It was a fortuitous goal in some ways but a bad mistake from the keeper.
Buoyed by this early boost United dominated the ball with the midfield axis of Coutts, Duffy and Fleck to the fore with the latter spraying balls around the park making Wimbledon cover a lot of ground to try and defend gaps. Wimbledon had a rare opening when Reeves shot at Moore from distance but it was comfortable and United came again with Duffy coming inside to test Shea after neat footwork saw him gain space for a curling effort.
Some nice football saw Freeman, Coutts and Duffy involved with Hanson also linking well but the ball was blocked. Another neat move saw Hanson hold it up and play in Fleck but the ball was cleared. Hanson then headed just over after good work from Freeman saw the cross come over from the right.
Soon after the second goal came. Duffy was the architect with a run and ball inside the full back to the racing Freeman who drove into the box and then cut back a precise ball to the waiting HANSON who smashed the ball home despite the defenders attempts to clear on the line.
United continued to dominate possession with Wimbledon’s main threat coming from the muscular Elliott who was proving a handful when the ball was pumped forward.
Kelly brought down Freeman leading to a free kick which was a routine that had been worked on with Duffy playing back to Sharp but the ball was blocked. Soon after the half time whistle came.
At the break the home side were forced into a change as Ebanks Landell had to go off after picking up a knock and he was replaced by Basham. United had started the second half poorly in recent weeks and this trend continued with a slow start as Wimbledon had a decent spell. However, they failed to really test Moore despite seeing at least some of the ball in the United final third. Despite this improvement, the home side had two great chances to extend the lead. Sharp prodded wide after good work from Lafferty saw an inviting cross come over that culminated a lovely move. The United striker then really ought to have sealed the game when put clear by Duffy. One on One he opted for the chip but keeper Shea read it and he did not get enough elevation on the effort and was saved quite easily.
United had more chances as Lafferty headed wide when he should have scored and then Duffy’s free kick was just wide.
The best Wimbledon chance came when Moore made a poor choice to come off his line and did not get too the long punt forward and ex Blade Taylor flicked header went just wide. It was a let off for the keeper in a game where he had not had much to do. Fleck continued to the key man as he was driving forward with the ball and making United tick with Coutts doing the steady job just behind him and Duffy always looking a threat. Hanson was proving a real handful and had barely lost a header all game but was also linking well with others.
Wimbledon made a double change just over the hour mark with Francomb and Poleon coming on for Bulman and Barcham. However, it was United again who looked the more likely with Shea saving a powerful drive from Duffy. Lavery came on for Sharp and with just over 10 minutes to go; the third goal came.
The substitute Lavery was involved winning the ball from Charles before FLECK interchanged passes with Hanson and then delightfully dragged it past the defender before sweeping the ball home under the body of Shea who may have felt he could have done better.
Carruthers came on for his home debut replacing Duffy in the 83rd minute. Taylor had a ow shot that Moore saved well before as the game entered stoppage time, a fourth goal came. Fleck and Carruthers linked well and played the ball into LAVERY who cleverly stepped inside his defender and hit a delightful shot right into the far corner at the Kop end. The final few minutes saw United play a spell of keep ball before the final whistle came to signify a welcome victory for the majority of those inside Bramall Lane.
United – It was much more like it after some recent disappointments in performances and results. Today we were back at it.
We looked more solid at the back with Wright making a difference with his cleaver reading of the game and steady defending. The wing backs got up and down and Freeman especially was a real threat all game. The midfield were also able to get back to standards of before with Coutts keeping the ball well and playing more forward, Duffy getting in those little areas and always looking a threat with several good balls and efforts on goal. Fleck was outstanding and the man of the match as he ran the game with his energy, tenacity, strong running and passing. Today he topped it off with a great goal.
Up top Sharp actually scored one but should have had three but was a menace as always and played well off Hanson. They did link well with some nice interchange and I felt the big lad had a really good debut. He won the ball in the air all game and was nice and sensible with link up play. Took his goal really well and worked hard all game. It was a big difference between him and Clarke who did not offer the physical threat that we expected when we signed him. I am certain that likes of Done, Lavery, McNulty and Clarke will be mostly used as impact subs now and that we will go with the front two who played today. At this level it should be a very good partnership. As I thought Hanson contributed as much when not even touching/winning the ball. He chased, harried and challenged for everything and this meant more space for others and helped tire defenders out. His play saw Sharp and Duffy get much more space.
The early goal really helped us and made sure the crowd and indeed players could relax. After this we dominated the ball and did not make any huge mistakes (Moore nearly made one second half) and this meant we always looked likely winners. The second goal basically sealed it. After this despite Wimbledon giving it a bit more of a go second half, they never really looked like getting back into it. United continued to create chances and it could have been a lot more than 4-0. We did squander a fair few chances. We got back into the pressing/harrying we had shown and moved the ball much quicker. Having Hanson gave us another outlet in that we could get it up the field quicker and then gain territory from throws ins we won or knock downs we got onto.
Wimbledon were poor but credit to United. A really good, solid performance with some good goals and some nice football throughout. We looked an assured side today and did the nasty stuff as well. I said last game we did not win the battles and do the tackling, running and effort we have been doing and today first and foremost we did that and that allowed the midfield three to control the game.
Great we now have some strength in depth with players to come on. Good to see a glimpse of Carruthers and Lavery now knows he had to play well when he gets time with the extra competition. Be good to see O’Shea and Riley in the coming weeks too hopefully if they are needed. Players now know they have to play well or they will lose their place and the bench looked very strong today.
We now have two very tough away games before that big double header at home. I think Peterborough on their day are right there as one of the better sides in the league but are very inconsistent. I think like at Southend we will have to be right at the top of our game next week to get a win. We then have a long difficult midweek trip to Bristol. Rovers have lost their main striker which may help but make no mistake it will a real challenge to get maximum return from the next two. I would take being undefeated in any way and that sets us for those big home games. Bolton and Scunthorpe have easier games coming up on paper than we do. If we could maintain or even extend the current cushion then we have a great incentive. We don’t want to go into those games only a few points ahead of Bolton or a few behind Scunny.
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Wimbledon – They were really poor. They have done well this season with some great results and have beaten some of the better teams also. However today they were never at the races really and were well beaten. They conceded a sloppy first goal and then after this they never got a foothold in the game. United dominated the ball but also won much of the loose/50-50 stuff too. I felt we were won most battles all over the field. Wimbledon never really kept the ball for more than a few passes and their main tactic seemed to the lumped ball forward to Elliott and Taylor. Nothing wrong with that as United have been exposed to this kind of ball recently but today they only had scraps to work on. They had a decent chance at 2-0 when Taylor nodded wide but cannot remember many clear chances they had all game save for Moore stopping a Taylor shot late on.
They are a big physical side who work hard but today the life sapped out of them after the early goal and they did not really offer much of note all game. They looked very lacklustre and United football wise were considerably better than them in touch, control and passing. We had better movement on and off the ball.
Budget wide they of course are probably nowhere near ours and did brilliantly to get up and to get to a position of relative safety already. They should have enough to stay up. The key will be on small crowds and limited resources if they can come again next season and will need some shrewd recruitment to avoid being in a struggle next season. I think they are a bit off being able to compete for promotion at this level yet despite showing glimpses of making a playoff push this season.
Opponent man of the match : I thought the lad Elliott worked really hard and put a shift in up top winning a few headers and chasing lost causes. Outside of this I cannot recall too many players who could say they had good games. Soares on debut tried hard but struggled with the play of United’s midfield.
Opponent Weak link : The lads at the back struggled all game with Robinson and Charles never really getting to grips with the United front two. The full backs also did not really stop constant runs from Freeman and Lafferty. I have to say though I felt that the former United player Lyle Taylor was awful. He looked exactly the game ineffective, physically weak player I remembered. Completely lacks awareness of where to run and how to link with players and as a I say so weak; not sure he could outmuscle a plastic bag. He may have scored a few goals at level below (not as many this year) but saw nothing to suggest that he had improved that much since Weir had brought him to the Lane.
ways as they saw off AFC Wimbledon with an emphatic victory at Bramall Lane. An early lead given to them via the opportunistic Billy Sharp was doubled up from debutant James Hanson. Second half goals late in the day came from the excellent John Fleck and substitute Caolan Lavery to give the home side the deserved victory in a dominant display.United dominated the game from start to finish and controlled possession and territory all game. And all the outstanding players were wearing red and white. Wimbledon were poor in comparison and were never really in with a chance after the early Sharp goal. For the Blades it was a return to form as they showed some of the play that had taken them to the summit of League One.
Manager Chris Wilder made tweaks the line up from the defeat at home to Fleetwood with Jake Wright in for Chris Basham and James Hanson replacing Marc McNulty; who was not even in the 16. On the bench were January newcomers O’Shea, Caruthers and Riley, joining Long, Done and Basham.
AFC Wimbledon featured former Blades Lyle Taylor and Dominic Poleon in their match day squad on their first official visit to the Lane in their new guise.
The game began with an opening goal inside 2 minutes. Hanson won an early header and this led to a spell of possession. United attacked down the right and won a free kick as Barcham pulled down Freeman. The free kick came in from Fleck and seemed too close to keeper Shea but the goalkeeper could not hold and his parry rebounded inadvertently off SHARP and rolled into the net. It was a fortuitous goal in some ways but a bad mistake from the keeper.
Buoyed by this early boost United dominated the ball with the midfield axis of Coutts, Duffy and Fleck to the fore with the latter spraying balls around the park making
Wimbledon cover a lot of ground to try and defend gaps. Wimbledon had a rare opening when Reeves shot at Moore from distance but it was comfortable and United came again with Duffy coming inside to test Shea after neat footwork saw him gain space for a curling effort.Some nice football
saw Freeman, Coutts and Duffy involved with Hanson also linking well but the ball was blocked. Another neat move saw Hanson hold it up and play in Fleck but the ball was cleared. Hanson then headed just over after good work from Freeman saw the cross come over from the right.Soon after the second goal came. Duffy was the architect with a run and ball inside the full back to the racing Freeman who drove into the box and then cut back a precise ball to the waiting HANSON who smashed the ball home despite the defenders attempts to clear on the line.
United continued to dominate possession with Wimbledon’s main threat coming from the muscular Elliott who was proving a handful when the ball was pumped forward.
Kelly brought down Freeman leading to a free kick which was a routine that
had been worked on with Duffy playing back to Sharp but the ball was blocked. Soon after the half time whistle came.At the break the home side were forced into a change as Ebanks Landell had to go off after picking up a knock and he was replaced by Basham. United had started the second half poorly in recent weeks and this trend continued with a slow start as Wimbledon had a decent spell. However, they failed to really test Moore despite seeing at least some of the ball in the United final third. Despite this improvement, the home side had two great chances to extend the lead. Sharp prodded wide after good work from Lafferty saw an inviting cross come over that culminated a lovely move. The United striker then really ought to have sealed the game when put clear by Duffy. One on One he opted for the chip but keeper Shea read it and he did not get enough elevation on the effort and was saved quite easily.
United had more chances as Lafferty headed wide when he should have scored and then Duffy’s free kick was just wide.
The best Wimbledon chance came when Moore made a poor choice to come off his line and did not get too the long punt forward and ex Blade Taylor flicked header went just wide. It was a let off for the keeper in a game where he had not had much to do. Fleck continued to the key man as he was driving forward with the ball and making
United tick with Coutts doing the steady job just behind him and Duffy always looking a threat. Hanson was proving a real handful and had barely lost a header all game but was also linking well with others.Wimbledon made a double change just over the hour mark with Francomb and Poleon coming on for Bulman and Barcham. However, it was United again who looked the more likely with Shea saving a powerful drive from Duffy. Lavery came on for Sharp and with just over 10 minutes to go; the third goal came.
The substitute Lavery was involved winning
the ball from Charles before FLECK interchanged passes with Hanson and then delightfully dragged it past the defender before sweeping the ball home under the body of Shea who may have felt he could have done better.Carruthers came on for his home debut replacing Duffy in the 83rd minute. Taylor had a ow shot that Moore saved well before as the game entered stoppage time, a fourth goal came. Fleck and Carruthers linked well and played the ball into LAVERY who cleverly stepped inside his defender and hit a delightful shot right into the far corner at the Kop end. The final few minutes saw United play a spell of keep ball before the final whistle came to signify a welcome victory for the majority of those inside Bramall Lane.
United – It was much more like it after some recent disappointments in performances and results. Today we were back at it.
We looked more solid at the back with Wright making a difference with his cleaver reading of the game and steady defending. The wing backs got up and down and Freeman especially was a real threat all game. The midfield were also able to get back to standards of before with Coutts keeping the ball well and playing more forward, Duffy getting in those little areas and always looking a threat with several good balls and efforts on goal. Fleck was outstanding and the man of the match as he ran the game with his energy, tenacity, strong running and passing. Today he topped it off with a great goal.
Up top Sharp actually scored one but should have had three but was a menace as always and played well off Hanson. They did link well with some nice interchange and I felt the big lad had a really good debut. He won the ball in the air all game and was nice and sensible with link up play. Took his goal really well and worked hard all game. It was a big difference between him and Clarke who did not offer the physical threat that we expected when we signed him. I am certain that likes of Done, Lavery, McNulty and Clarke will be mostly used as impact subs now and that we will go with the front two who played today. At this level it should be a very good partnership. As I thought Hanson contributed as much when not even touching/winning the ball. He chased, harried and challenged for everything and this meant more space for others and helped tire defenders out. His play saw Sharp and Duffy get much more space.
The early goal really helped us and made sure the crowd and indeed players could relax. After this we dominated the ball and did not make any huge mistakes (Moore nearly made one second half) and this meant we always looked likely winners. The second goal basically sealed it. After this despite Wimbledon giving it a bit more of a go second half, they never really looked like getting back into it. United continued to create chances and it could have been a lot more than 4-0. We did squander a fair few chances. We got back into the pressing/harrying we had shown and moved the ball much quicker. Having Hanson gave us another outlet in that we could get it up the field quicker and then gain territory from throws ins we won or knock downs we got onto.
Wimbledon were poor but credit to United. A really good, solid performance with some good goals and some nice football throughout. We looked an assured side today and did the nasty stuff as well. I said last game we did not win the battles and do the tackling, running and effort we have been doing and today first and foremost we did that and that allowed the midfield three to control the game.
Great we now have some strength in depth with players to come on. Good to see a glimpse of Carruthers and Lavery now knows he had to play well when he gets time with the extra competition. Be good to see O’Shea and Riley in the coming weeks too hopefully if they are needed. Players now know they have to play well or they will lose their place and the bench looked very strong today.
We now have two very tough away games before that big double header at home. I think Peterborough on their day are right there as one of the better sides in the league but are very inconsistent. I think like at Southend we will have to be right at the top of our game next week to get a win. We then have a long difficult midweek trip to Bristol. Rovers have lost their main striker which may help but make no mistake it will a real challenge to get maximum return from the next two. I would take being undefeated in any way and that sets us for those big home games. Bolton and Scunthorpe have easier games coming up on paper than we do. If we could maintain or even extend the current cushion then we have a great incentive. We don’t want to go into those games only a few points ahead of Bolton or a few behind Scunny.
–
Wimbledon – They were really poor. They have done well this season with some great results and have beaten some of the better teams also. However today they were never at the races really and were well beaten. They conceded a sloppy first goal and then after this they never got a foothold in the game. United dominated the ball but also won much of the loose/50-50 stuff too. I felt we were won most battles all over the field. Wimbledon never really kept the ball for more than a few passes and their main tactic seemed to the lumped ball forward to Elliott and Taylor. Nothing wrong with that as United have been exposed to this kind of ball recently but today they only had scraps to work on. They had a decent chance at 2-0 when Taylor nodded wide but cannot remember many clear chances they had all game save for Moore stopping a Taylor shot late on.
They are a big physical side who work hard but today the life sapped out of them after the early goal and they did not really offer much of note all game. They looked very lacklustre and United football wise were considerably better than them in touch, control and passing. We had better movement on and off the ball.
Budget wide they of course are probably nowhere near ours and did brilliantly to get up and to get to a position of relative safety already. They should have enough to stay up. The key will be on small crowds and limited resources if they can come again next season and will need some shrewd recruitment to avoid being in a struggle next season. I think they are a bit off being able to compete for promotion at this level yet despite showing glimpses of making a playoff push this season.
Opponent man of the match : I thought the lad Elliott worked really hard and put a shift in up top winning a few headers and chasing lost causes. Outside of this I cannot recall too many players who could say they had good games. Soares on debut tried hard but struggled with the play of United’s midfield.
Opponent Weak link : The lads at the back struggled all game with Robinson and Charles never really getting to grips with the United front two. The full backs also did not really stop constant runs from Freeman and Lafferty. I have to say though I felt that the former United player Lyle Taylor was awful. He looked exactly the game ineffective, physically weak player I remembered. Completely lacks awareness of where to run and how to link with players and as a I say so weak; not sure he could outmuscle a plastic bag. He may have scored a few goals at level below (not as many this year) but saw nothing to suggest that he had improved that much since Weir had brought him to the Lane.
