Deadbat
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The Blades got back to winning ways after a dramatic victory over Preston North End at Bramall Lane meaning it has been a defeat, a draw and a victory in a week. It has been a real mixed bag of performances for United. Today; the home side improved from the really disappointing performance against Birmingham and edged in front in a largely eventless first half with a Billy Sharp’s poachers’ goal. An extremely negative Preston side offered little to nothing in reply and it was quite comfortable for United even if they did not create hatful of chances. The second half saw a superb Chris Basham flicked header from a text book Olly Norwood delivery and that seemed to be it. United looked in complete control. Two goals out of nowhere after a strange tactical change saw Preston suddenly level and it looked like a complete throwaway. Undeterred, United came again and thanks to a superb Enda Stevens run and cross, the excellent McGoldrick turned home what proved to the winner. A really exciting end to a game that should have been seen out long before the late drama but ultimately the outcome was still the same for the relieved home side.
Wilder went back to the side that started against Villa with both wing backs restored and McGoldrick and Sharp back in the side. Preston came into the game after being smashed at Leeds in the week and had experienced a really touch start to the season after an impressive season last campaign.
The traffic around Bramall Lane and the city in general due to students arriving; meant a high proportion of fans were delayed getting to the ground and some missed the kick off. Indeed, Preston only arrived with just over an hour to go before kick-off.
The home side started on top and kept the ball well with Norwood and Duffy involved and McGoldrick looking busy. The two wing backs were getting forward and the play was already at a higher tempo than in the week even if the chances were not arriving early on. Preston were playing a very negative formation and approach and often had 10 men behind the ball. Maxwell was timewasting from the start which seemed an odd approach for a side that needed a win to get away from the bottom echelons of the table.
Duffy tried to play Fleck in and then Sharp was crowded out and United tried to probe but there was little space to get in and once again the play seemed to slow down and it became a frustrating spell. One chance came when Fleck fed Basham and his cross was met by McGoldrick but Huntington nodded his effort away. Freeman then put over a deep cross which the same player met but powered wide. Preston had offered little in reply other than a few aimless long-range shots. Although Egan made a superb tackle to deny Preston after Basham had lost the ball for the second time in quick succession.
United took over possession again with Norwood looking to get on the ball and find openings although Duffy lost his footing when in a good position and then had a shot blocked not long after.
United were able to nose in front just after the half hour. Freeman played a delightful ball behind the full back and McGoldrick beat the offside trap and cut in towards goal. His chipped effort was half parried away but only into the path of the waiting SHARP and from a few yards out the prolific striker could not miss and he tucked it away easily.
Stevens then sent a cross over that McGoldrick stretched for and headed wide as the striker continued to dominate over the centre backs. Preston had a rare break and United were at full stretch and Fisher had a shot that was blocked by O’Connell and then Egan again also got a good block in. The half time whistle came not long after.
The second half and the Blades remained in the ascendancy and started to force Preston back who oddly were still not coming out even with a deficit. United won a free kick on the right-hand side and from it, Norwood hit a superb angled and hard delivery that BASHAM flicked brilliantly on its way and right into the top corner. He celebrated his first goal of the season jubilantly in front of the Kop as United doubled their advantage.
United looked to put the game to bed and good work from Duffy fed in McGoldrick but his finish was not the best and he dragged it wide on the angle with only the keeper to beat. Preston had their first effort of the half when Clarke headed goalward but it was relatively easy for Henderson. Preston had a spell but were not really creating and United were keeping a solid enough line. Johnson started to cause some problems and finally they got between the lines on a few occasions but they were wasteful with the final ball when they got into some better positions.
Wilder took off Sharp to be replaced by Johnson and saw a change to the formation. This did seem odd in a game United were controlling. Whilst Preston had started to have a spell they had not really threatened. This change actually contrived to change the game and Preston had more of the ball and were now winning midfield and finding much more space. However, they still had created little. Still, the different formation did seem to throw United out of kilter. This coupled with United sitting back and not filling holes in the middle and pockets in front of the defence saw Preston edge back into the game.
Still, the goal came rather out of the blue when too they were afforded too much time to move it to the left after run through the middle. This led to an unopposed cross came over and an unmarked Johnson fired home as Egan lost him in the middle. If they had not scored at this point and a further few minutes had ticked away; the game would have been won but this suddenly buoyed the visitors and they came again. This time down the other side as after a shot was blocked, Hughes cross with Freeman too far off his man, was turned in by sub Johnson via a deflection. Ironically, replays showed it would have gone wide if it had not hit O’Connell. Suddenly, the game was turned on its head. United were stunned. They had looked relatively comfortable but bang, bang and it was level. They were now less than 10 minutes to play and Preston now would have fancied an incredible win.
United went quickly back to a more familiar formation after the tactical tweak had not worked at all.
It was the home side that scored the 5th goal of the game. Patient play saw Johnson find Stevens and he surged forward and past a defender before coming inside and sending over a perfect cross that MCGOLDRICK could not miss. It was a much-deserved goal for the striker who had played really well all afternoon without his reward until this point. Dean Henderson’s passion was summed up as he raced to celebrate with the South Stand jumping into the fans.
There was still a couple of minutes of normal time and then 6 minutes of stoppage time which drew groans from the home crowd. Admittedly there has been a number of subs (5 and then a further for United as Stearman came on for McGoldrick after the board had gone up) and goals but it seemed excessive. Most of the time wasting from Preston had come in the first half.
Preston continued to have a go at getting something and Henderson had to show his handling twice. Preston hit a number of balls and long throws in but did not create any more clear-cut chances. Johnson saw some time out in the corner for the Blades before Henderson took one final ball as the referee finally blew for full time 7 minutes 4 seconds after the board for 6 minutes went up!
United – Phew. It was more relief than anything. Course I was delighted to win and does not matter how it happens but after throwing it away to go away without winning that one would have been tough to take. We were much better than the game against Birmingham but still not outstanding. It was a bit quicker tempo, we were more on the front foot and had more up front with McGoldrick in particular looking impressive and a threat throughout. Norwood was more at it and Duffy also looked more threatening. We did not create tons but had all of the ball against a really poor Preston side. They never even tried to attack and you could see their confidence was rock bottom as even at 1-0 they never came out. After Sharp scored, United continued to control things and whilst we were not blowing them apart and was a way from the Villa game; it was a relatively controlled performance. The only chances they had were long range although Bash errored twice first half and Egan had to get him out of the cart. 1-0 at half time was about a fair scored.
2nd half we got a great goal with a tremendous delivery from a free kick (total contrast to the other night) and a super flicked header from Basham. That seemed it and even for the next 10-15 minutes we had more of the ball and if McGoldrick scores; it is game over. Still they started to edge back into it and we started to lose midfield and give it away more. We became a bit complacent and the subs for them helped them; whilst for us it hindered us. I could see why he took Sharp off but he should have kept 2 up top and by changing the formation. It seemed to be with Duffy just up the front and an odd midfield shape and we seemed to go 4 at the back. I might be wrong and it may have been different to 4-5-1. Basham certainly came into a midfield area and Duffy was just off McGoldrick. It was just strange and we lost the control. It all got a bit confused and they find little gaps and nearly got in but were just wasteful when they had it. I actually felt despite the formation changes and sub not helping; not sure I thought they were going to score and then they score two! They ran through us too easy and like Swansea at home got unopposed crosses in and then we were all over the place in the middle and they scored two dreadful goals from our point of view. After this I thought we may go on and lose. We seemed stunned but we then with brilliant work from Stevens; got the winner. Really pleased McGoldrick got the winner as his hard work and play merited it. Still not exactly comfortable after this and they chucked men forward and the extra time did not help the comfort! We got there in the end. It ended up being an exciting end and a late goal at the Kop end to win a game for the second game this season. It should have been a straight forward win but ended up being a real relief to get those three points.
Collectively we were ok for the most part. I felt playing an awful Preston team helped as they let us have it and still at times we took too long to move it and did not create lots. The keeper did not many saves if any all game really. We had a few headers and half chances but until we scored did we create enough for the amount of play we had? After we got the 2nd you felt that would be it but it became a bit ragged. Against Villa they had more of the ball but we made them go side to side and they did not get into the last third much. In this game gradually, Preston got into little gaps and went through us in the middle more. We became more stretched but did they have any clear efforts? Then it was just two quick goals out of nowhere. It happens. You can nit pick individual mistakes; both wing backs did not get tight but even before this the midfield let players carry the ball and then when the ball came in; we were not picking men up and they got in to score from not far out. There was a touch of luck on the equaliser but after they got one you felt they could get another but maybe not as quick. The winning goal was a really well-made goal.
Overall, we definitely deserved the win. Preston were negative and unambitious throughout. You can see why they have struggled but we made a game we should have just coasted to a 2 or 3-0 win into a dramatic and exciting win at the death! Still we have to try and not concentrate solely on that spell of madness but maybe think about the majority of the game where we played quite well. Not exceptional but solid enough and a 2-0 win would have been about right. We have to ensure we do not switch off and Wilder maybe needs to stick with what is working. Not sure it needed the tactical change. We ironically seemed to switch back to our more familiar shape straight after we scored.
Individually felt the wing backs did well; Basham made some real errors but got better and better. The other two centre backs were fine too until that mad spell. I felt Norwood got back towards his more normal self. Still made a few mistakes but he showed his quality. Duffy also first half was able to get on the ball more and make more things happen but as he usually does faded. Thought Fleck for the most part was off again other than a few bits and pieces and Sharp actually did not do much other than his goal really. McGoldrick was excellent and led the line superbly. He is now clearly the number one striker on current form and Sharp and the out of sorts Clarke will have to fight it out for the other spot.
Crucial to get the win. If we had now got the win we would have been around mid-table or just above. This win keeps us right in the top 6 and 4th sees us having an excellent start. Two tough away trips with an out of sorts Millwall sure to be fired up and desperate to kick start their season at a ground that has not bee a happy hunting ground. Then Blackburn who have been doing superbly. We need to look to see if we can try and put another run together and not be that win-draw-lose sort of side we have seen this week.
Today was more of a 7/10 performance for me – it was not brilliant but was decent-good and would have been desperately disappointing to have undone all that 80 mins of play and get just a point. As I say a deserved win; if a little bizarre how we got it.
Wilder went back to the side that started against Villa with both wing backs restored and McGoldrick and Sharp back in the side. Preston came into the game after being smashed at Leeds in the week and had experienced a really touch start to the season after an impressive season last campaign.
The traffic around Bramall Lane and the city in general due to students arriving; meant a high proportion of fans were delayed getting to the ground and some missed the kick off. Indeed, Preston only arrived with just over an hour to go before kick-off.
The home side started on top and kept the ball well with Norwood and Duffy involved and McGoldrick looking busy. The two wing backs were getting forward and the play was already at a higher tempo than in the week even if the chances were not arriving early on. Preston were playing a very negative formation and approach and often had 10 men behind the ball. Maxwell was timewasting from the start which seemed an odd approach for a side that needed a win to get away from the bottom echelons of the table.
Duffy tried to play Fleck in and then Sharp was crowded out and United tried to probe but there was little space to get in and once again the play seemed to slow down and it became a frustrating spell. One chance came when Fleck fed Basham and his cross was met by McGoldrick but Huntington nodded his effort away. Freeman then put over a deep cross which the same player met but powered wide. Preston had offered little in reply other than a few aimless long-range shots. Although Egan made a superb tackle to deny Preston after Basham had lost the ball for the second time in quick succession.
United took over possession again with Norwood looking to get on the ball and find openings although Duffy lost his footing when in a good position and then had a shot blocked not long after.
United were able to nose in front just after the half hour. Freeman played a delightful ball behind the full back and McGoldrick beat the offside trap and cut in towards goal. His chipped effort was half parried away but only into the path of the waiting SHARP and from a few yards out the prolific striker could not miss and he tucked it away easily.
Stevens then sent a cross over that McGoldrick stretched for and headed wide as the striker continued to dominate over the centre backs. Preston had a rare break and United were at full stretch and Fisher had a shot that was blocked by O’Connell and then Egan again also got a good block in. The half time whistle came not long after.
The second half and the Blades remained in the ascendancy and started to force Preston back who oddly were still not coming out even with a deficit. United won a free kick on the right-hand side and from it, Norwood hit a superb angled and hard delivery that BASHAM flicked brilliantly on its way and right into the top corner. He celebrated his first goal of the season jubilantly in front of the Kop as United doubled their advantage.
United looked to put the game to bed and good work from Duffy fed in McGoldrick but his finish was not the best and he dragged it wide on the angle with only the keeper to beat. Preston had their first effort of the half when Clarke headed goalward but it was relatively easy for Henderson. Preston had a spell but were not really creating and United were keeping a solid enough line. Johnson started to cause some problems and finally they got between the lines on a few occasions but they were wasteful with the final ball when they got into some better positions.
Wilder took off Sharp to be replaced by Johnson and saw a change to the formation. This did seem odd in a game United were controlling. Whilst Preston had started to have a spell they had not really threatened. This change actually contrived to change the game and Preston had more of the ball and were now winning midfield and finding much more space. However, they still had created little. Still, the different formation did seem to throw United out of kilter. This coupled with United sitting back and not filling holes in the middle and pockets in front of the defence saw Preston edge back into the game.
Still, the goal came rather out of the blue when too they were afforded too much time to move it to the left after run through the middle. This led to an unopposed cross came over and an unmarked Johnson fired home as Egan lost him in the middle. If they had not scored at this point and a further few minutes had ticked away; the game would have been won but this suddenly buoyed the visitors and they came again. This time down the other side as after a shot was blocked, Hughes cross with Freeman too far off his man, was turned in by sub Johnson via a deflection. Ironically, replays showed it would have gone wide if it had not hit O’Connell. Suddenly, the game was turned on its head. United were stunned. They had looked relatively comfortable but bang, bang and it was level. They were now less than 10 minutes to play and Preston now would have fancied an incredible win.
United went quickly back to a more familiar formation after the tactical tweak had not worked at all.
It was the home side that scored the 5th goal of the game. Patient play saw Johnson find Stevens and he surged forward and past a defender before coming inside and sending over a perfect cross that MCGOLDRICK could not miss. It was a much-deserved goal for the striker who had played really well all afternoon without his reward until this point. Dean Henderson’s passion was summed up as he raced to celebrate with the South Stand jumping into the fans.
There was still a couple of minutes of normal time and then 6 minutes of stoppage time which drew groans from the home crowd. Admittedly there has been a number of subs (5 and then a further for United as Stearman came on for McGoldrick after the board had gone up) and goals but it seemed excessive. Most of the time wasting from Preston had come in the first half.
Preston continued to have a go at getting something and Henderson had to show his handling twice. Preston hit a number of balls and long throws in but did not create any more clear-cut chances. Johnson saw some time out in the corner for the Blades before Henderson took one final ball as the referee finally blew for full time 7 minutes 4 seconds after the board for 6 minutes went up!
United – Phew. It was more relief than anything. Course I was delighted to win and does not matter how it happens but after throwing it away to go away without winning that one would have been tough to take. We were much better than the game against Birmingham but still not outstanding. It was a bit quicker tempo, we were more on the front foot and had more up front with McGoldrick in particular looking impressive and a threat throughout. Norwood was more at it and Duffy also looked more threatening. We did not create tons but had all of the ball against a really poor Preston side. They never even tried to attack and you could see their confidence was rock bottom as even at 1-0 they never came out. After Sharp scored, United continued to control things and whilst we were not blowing them apart and was a way from the Villa game; it was a relatively controlled performance. The only chances they had were long range although Bash errored twice first half and Egan had to get him out of the cart. 1-0 at half time was about a fair scored.
2nd half we got a great goal with a tremendous delivery from a free kick (total contrast to the other night) and a super flicked header from Basham. That seemed it and even for the next 10-15 minutes we had more of the ball and if McGoldrick scores; it is game over. Still they started to edge back into it and we started to lose midfield and give it away more. We became a bit complacent and the subs for them helped them; whilst for us it hindered us. I could see why he took Sharp off but he should have kept 2 up top and by changing the formation. It seemed to be with Duffy just up the front and an odd midfield shape and we seemed to go 4 at the back. I might be wrong and it may have been different to 4-5-1. Basham certainly came into a midfield area and Duffy was just off McGoldrick. It was just strange and we lost the control. It all got a bit confused and they find little gaps and nearly got in but were just wasteful when they had it. I actually felt despite the formation changes and sub not helping; not sure I thought they were going to score and then they score two! They ran through us too easy and like Swansea at home got unopposed crosses in and then we were all over the place in the middle and they scored two dreadful goals from our point of view. After this I thought we may go on and lose. We seemed stunned but we then with brilliant work from Stevens; got the winner. Really pleased McGoldrick got the winner as his hard work and play merited it. Still not exactly comfortable after this and they chucked men forward and the extra time did not help the comfort! We got there in the end. It ended up being an exciting end and a late goal at the Kop end to win a game for the second game this season. It should have been a straight forward win but ended up being a real relief to get those three points.
Collectively we were ok for the most part. I felt playing an awful Preston team helped as they let us have it and still at times we took too long to move it and did not create lots. The keeper did not many saves if any all game really. We had a few headers and half chances but until we scored did we create enough for the amount of play we had? After we got the 2nd you felt that would be it but it became a bit ragged. Against Villa they had more of the ball but we made them go side to side and they did not get into the last third much. In this game gradually, Preston got into little gaps and went through us in the middle more. We became more stretched but did they have any clear efforts? Then it was just two quick goals out of nowhere. It happens. You can nit pick individual mistakes; both wing backs did not get tight but even before this the midfield let players carry the ball and then when the ball came in; we were not picking men up and they got in to score from not far out. There was a touch of luck on the equaliser but after they got one you felt they could get another but maybe not as quick. The winning goal was a really well-made goal.
Overall, we definitely deserved the win. Preston were negative and unambitious throughout. You can see why they have struggled but we made a game we should have just coasted to a 2 or 3-0 win into a dramatic and exciting win at the death! Still we have to try and not concentrate solely on that spell of madness but maybe think about the majority of the game where we played quite well. Not exceptional but solid enough and a 2-0 win would have been about right. We have to ensure we do not switch off and Wilder maybe needs to stick with what is working. Not sure it needed the tactical change. We ironically seemed to switch back to our more familiar shape straight after we scored.
Individually felt the wing backs did well; Basham made some real errors but got better and better. The other two centre backs were fine too until that mad spell. I felt Norwood got back towards his more normal self. Still made a few mistakes but he showed his quality. Duffy also first half was able to get on the ball more and make more things happen but as he usually does faded. Thought Fleck for the most part was off again other than a few bits and pieces and Sharp actually did not do much other than his goal really. McGoldrick was excellent and led the line superbly. He is now clearly the number one striker on current form and Sharp and the out of sorts Clarke will have to fight it out for the other spot.
Crucial to get the win. If we had now got the win we would have been around mid-table or just above. This win keeps us right in the top 6 and 4th sees us having an excellent start. Two tough away trips with an out of sorts Millwall sure to be fired up and desperate to kick start their season at a ground that has not bee a happy hunting ground. Then Blackburn who have been doing superbly. We need to look to see if we can try and put another run together and not be that win-draw-lose sort of side we have seen this week.
Today was more of a 7/10 performance for me – it was not brilliant but was decent-good and would have been desperately disappointing to have undone all that 80 mins of play and get just a point. As I say a deserved win; if a little bizarre how we got it.