Todays Game - How well did we play?

[stannyblade]

Not been today myself. How did we play??

How did Murphy do?

 

[Foxy]

Wasn't a fantastic game, but the result is what mattered.

Murphy was encouraging, didn't look out of place, good movement and positioning and likes to run at people, very persistent too... numerous times he looked certain to have lost it, before coming out on top.

 

[drinksmat]

I am sure others will sent back better reports but:

I thought we were deserved winners and after we went 1 up looked in control. In the first half Oxford's decent chances went over the 2m fence behind our goal and bounced off the cars in the car park, in the second half then their 3 or 4 chances all went wide - should have done a lot better but our luck held . After we went 2 up it felt pretty much in the bag (subject to Blade-style cock ups). Usual moans and groans about giving the ball away too easily, poor passing and hoofing but what we did have was more than enough on the day.

I hoped for a little more from Murphy to be honest but he has only been with the squad 3 days so I have high hopes for more. We played 3-4-3 and I thought it worked well overall.

Good away support, free parking at the ground, into the forth round - all in all a good day.

 

[BristolBlade]

I would agree that today wasn't a great game however a very professional one by the Blades, avoided a real potential banana skin especially with the form Oxford have been on lately.
I thought Murphy looked lively, was really good to see a striker get at defenders and run at them, was actually sat next to his family today and they said he was so excited playing today and pleased with his move to Bramall lane.
I think he probably should have scored in the second half at the keepers feet but there seems some real potential with him, be good to see how he works with Kitson in weeks to come and with Blackman out on the right.
I've said it all season when we get the ball down we look like the perfect bloke a woman would go for, cool, confident and sophisticated, there was some great movement at times, but we do rush and waste our play which annoys me.
We settled to Oxfords tempo but never looked in any danger, I thought their number 15 Alfie Potter was superb all across their midfield, he was a better McDonald, he did things I think Kev has the ability of doing we just don't see it enough.
I didn't understand the noise/chants coming from the Oxford Ultras very peculiar behavior just moaning about nonsense, it's a miracle was quite amusing, but like I said to the girlfriend they do get used to watching League 2 football, with some teams in that league i'm sure quality football is non existent. However I would fancy Oxford for a good play-off push themselves.
Good noise and support from Blades fans as ever and another away ground ticked off the list, round four here we come. Not a bad festive period from the Blades minus the little hiccup at home to Hartlepool, lets hope for a good draw tomorrow and back to league business with three home points to Yeovil. Up the Blades!!!

 

[boo radley]

Wasn't a fantastic game, but the result is what mattered.

Murphy was encouraging, didn't look out of place, good movement and positioning and likes to run at people, very persistent too... numerous times he looked certain to have lost it, before coming out on top.

I love that. Like Suarez then.

 

[Bergen Blade]

I am sure others will sent back better reports but:

I thought we were deserved winners and after we went 1 up looked in control. In the first half Oxford's decent chances went over the 2m fence behind our goal and bounced off the cars in the car park, in the second half then their 3 or 4 chances all went wide - should have done a lot better but our luck held . After we went 2 up it felt pretty much in the bag (subject to Blade-style cock ups). Usual moans and groans about giving the ball away too easily, poor passing and hoofing but what we did have was more than enough on the day.

I hoped for a little more from Murphy to be honest but he has only been with the squad 3 days so I have high hopes for more. We played 3-4-3 and I thought it worked well overall.

Good away support, free parking at the ground, into the forth round - all in all a good day.

3-4-3? Do you mean 4-3-3?

 

[Jon Bon]

I love that. Like Suarez then.

But without the horse's gob though....

 

[Zlatan]

3-4-3? Do you mean 4-3-3?

It was a flat 4-4-2 - Long, McMahon, Maguire, Higginbotham, Hill, Blackman, McDonald, Doyle, Flynn, Kitson, Murphy

Murphy looked very lively. Loves a run with the ball and seems very determined.

 

[Ferenc Blade]

Deffo a 4-3-2-1

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Decent win for us today, though spells at 1-0 where we got rather lazy. Nice free-kick again from McMahon as I thought it might have been too close for him to get it over the wall. We sort of went to sleep for periods after that, with the occasional decent-looking counter attack. Too often the defence just bypassed the midfield, hitting it at Kitson - who to be honest Duberry dealt with very well. Long made a great save first half to tip over after a poor lapse by Maguire, and more hesitancy left their number 18 with a glorious chance that he fluffed. Kitson then tapped in for 2-0 and we knew it was over as a contest. Long did have to make another good save though, before Blackman's fine effort to seal it.

I was very impressed with Jamie Murphy. Confident with the ball, pacy, quick with his feet, hard-working. Unlucky not to get a goal, but I've no doubt that will come soon. A lot of the chances he created himself from deep, as frankly Kitson didn't have a particularly good game. He also linked up well with both Flynn and Blackman.

 

[mekkyblade]

How did danny and harry pair up at the back? All be it against an inferior opposition.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

How did danny and harry pair up at the back? All be it against an inferior opposition.

I thought Higginbotham did well. Very much a talker, which is good. He also got whacked a couple of times by their forwards.

Maguire had a poor game, but did improve slightly second half. Two v good chances for Oxford came directly from him failing to deal with simple things. I hope he hasn't been distracted by any transfer-related stuff happening in the background.

 

[Ollessendro]

Echo the thoughts of others on here. It was not spectacular, but it was a professional performance. United just showed they had a bitmore qualitythan Oxford. The 4th division team had the better of the play in the first half, but created nowt. The Blades defended well as a unit. United took the lead, but in the opening period of the 2nd hqlf Oxford had a good spell. They should have equalised when Maguire went to sleep and their strker was in on goal. He missed a sitter. Long kept us in the lead with a couple of pretty goods saves during this spell. Once the 2nd went in it was game over. United really relaxed then and looked a lotbetter than th deflated Oxford. The 3rd goal was brilliant. McDonald's floated through ball from his own half was sublime and the control (on the chest) and finish from Blackman was fitting of the pass.

I liked the look of Murphy. He is quick and dangerous. He rain at defenders and caused problems. He made the wrong decision on a couple of occassions when he broke but held onto the ball too long. He has a very good touch though and you can see he is a decent player. He will be an asset.

Thought Flynn had a very good game yesterday and worked tirelessly. Maguire had a stinker, but Higginbottom was dominant. Doyle was poor and I actually thought him and K Mac got overun for spells by the very good Oxford midfield. Kitson had a poor first half, but was much better in the 2nd and Blackman was fairly quiet but very dangerous. Typically, when he had the ball at his feet he caused a lot of problems. Their no 15, Alfie Potter was excellent. Very lively, quick and a good intelligent player. Duberry actually played very well at the back too. Thought their black centre forward was lively as well, but he missed the absolute sitter I mentioned.

We were probably a little too direct, often with the defence just lumping towards Kitson. Duberry lapped that up. However the encouraging signs were that we looked dangerous and created a lot of chances. As well as the goals Murphy missed a good chance and thier keeper made a couple of good saves. It was our full strenght team and it showed. Players like Blackman, Kitson, McDonald, Murphy and Flynn are simply much better than the 4th division. We carried a lot of attacking threat. Credit to Wilson for putting out a full strength team that dispatched a potentially tricky team. We are now in the 4th round and that meansmore money and a potentially exciting draw.

In summary, 3-0 probably slightly flattered us (no scoreline journalism from Olle) but our quality showed through.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Professional performance from the blades yesterday. Average in the 1st half , but uch better play in the 2nd.

Our second goal shouldn't have stood. Doyle was offside when the kick was taken. Despite that decision i generally thought the officials had a decent game.

I thought the distribution from the back was terrible. Almost every forward pass from Mcmahon, Maguire, and willaims was hit long. Higginbotham's distribution was a little better.

Flynn was excellent, worked hard to battle for the ball, and covered the terrible Williams many times. Murphy looks a great prospect.

Magnificent Xavi-Esque pass from macca for the 3rd and great control from blackman.

One final point moDtheGod is a lightweight pussy. Me, Ollessendro, Balham Blade and BladeInThatcham were supposed to be meeting him at Paddington at 11ish to get the train, but we hear not a wink from him until about 2. Had 'Too much pop' from the night before and couldn't make it. Lightweight.

 

[moDtheGod]

Although the majority of the above is true, I did drop Oliver a text at half ten. It's not my fault the bell end lost his phone. That's why you never heard from me. I'm not a complete nob eard.

 

[Ollessendro]

Although the majority of the above is true, I did drop Oliver a text at half ten. It's not my fault the bell end lost his phone. That's why you never heard from me. I'm not a complete nob eard.

We were much better off without him Highbury_Blade. He did us a favour by not turning up. Also a bit of beer money for us from selling his ticket. Feel free to do that again next time you two hat nob-eard.

 

[Rodley]

This thread is turning into an episode of The Inbetweeners!

 

[Balham]

Echoing the thoughts of most who have already posted, I thought we did what we had to do yesterday. Chatting to some Oxford fans afterwards seemed to back that up; they thought we had the benefit of some soft refereeing decisions (hard to disagree) but showed real class with the third goal.

My ratings:

Long 7.5 - some sharp stops when required but still needs to work on his distribution and command of his area.

McMahon 7.5 - great free-kick for 1-0 and did the basics well. They didn't get much change down the right until they subbed on a quicker winger but even then it wasn't much.
Maguire 5 - comfortably the worst game I've seen from big Harry in a long time. Lucky to get away with wrestling his man whenever the ball was in the air and a couple of ponderous moments led to chances for Oxford.
Higginbotham 7 - solid and experienced. Knows how to take the sting out of the game with some real gamesmanship from him at times. Looks like the talker we need at the back too.
Hill n/a - took a blow to the head 5 mins in

Blackman 6.5 - until the goal, he never really got into the game. We need to figure out when to give the ball to feet and when to go longer to him. Great finish for the third.
Doyle 6 - never really in the game but both teams were going a bit more direct. Booked.
McDonald 6.5 - same as Doyle until he floated a great ball in for the third.
Flynn 7.5 - the hardest working player on the team but that often reduces his attacking impact. Solid if unspectacular yesterday.

Murphy 8 - willing to work back and willing to take players on. Needs to work on his decision making but I am guessing that'll come as he gets used to the way the rest of the team plays. A very encouraging debut and we could have an absolute bargain here.
Kitson 6.5 - battled away with Duberry but more often than not was outmuscled. Showed good anticipation for the second goal.

Subs:
Williams 4 (for Hill, 12) - the man has zero composure when he's defending. Too many times there was an aimless hoof down the line and I wonder whether some of our players only pass to him as a last resort.
Ironside 6 (for Kitson, 76) - came on when we were settled for a win. Chased down their defenders and won a lot in the air.
Cresswell n/a (for Murphy, 88) - only on the pitch to let Murphy get a deserved ovation.

Tactics: once we went 1-0 up we looked like we thought the game was won and switched to a 4-5-1. Can't argue as we looked solid at the back and dangerous when attacking; with better decisions on the break the scoreline could have been even more emphatic.

It's actually not a bad ground to say they forgot to build the fourth stand. Compared to Colchester it was startling how much better the atmosphere was which is surprising given that the grounds appear very similar.

Beer 9: some cracking pubs in Oxford and a thoroughly enjoyable day out.

moDtheGod 0 - a huge disappointment.

 

[bartman]

Hard to disagree with any of that except I think you are being very generous with Maguire...more like and 2 or 3 for me(I thought he was worse than Williams yesterday) Higinbotham was my MOM. He looks like the natural leader we have missed since Morgs got injured

 

[Blackheath Blade]

Hard to disagree with any of that except I think you are being very generous with Maguire...more like and 2 or 3 for me(I thought he was worse than Williams yesterday) Higinbotham was my MOM. He looks like the natural leader we have missed since Morgs got injured

Took the words right out of my mouth Bartman, we've not had such a vocal presence in the back four since Morgs' last game. I was really impressed with Higgo yesterday and it was pleasing to listen to him encouraging and directing the defence all through the game, as well as listen to the bollockings he gave to the linesman in the first half.

Very impressive debut from Murphy too. Loved seeing him run at defenders and he wasn't afraid to take them on either. Showed a lot of confidence on the ball and very quick too, early days but let's give the lad time and a chance to show us what he can do.

All in all, a solid win and three lovely goals from The Blades to send us home happy. Great support and banter as ever, I absolutely live for days like yesterday.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

Decent win for us today, though spells at 1-0 where we got rather lazy. Nice free-kick again from McMahon as I thought it might have been too close for him to get it over the wall..

I thought he was a bit sneaky and took the free kick a couple of yards further back from where the offence took place, because I, like you, thought he was too close to get it up and over, but then as he was running up, I thought, "Hang on..!"

 

[sitwell]

He cant have been otherwise Micaligo ,Putney and Mpjacko would be going apeshit about it ,actually they must have gone away this weekend.

 

[Ollessendro]

He cant have been otherwise Micaligo ,Putney and Mpjacko would be going apeshit about it ,actually they must have gone away this weekend.

yep, funny how the forum has been awfully quiet since our spirited comeback against Donny and convincing w9n yesterday. Mind you, there could be plenty to moan about. Drawing shitty Reading away when we should have had Man U at home in the cup and dropping out of the top 2 this weekend. Tricks being missed by our Blades bashers.

 

[metalblade]

I think you lot love Mic and Mpjacko really seems strange that you have to talk about them when they havn't even posted. You know I thought it would be more constructive to talk about a Blades win rather than lamenting the loss of a reason to abuse folk.

 

[Ollessendro]

Just watched the highlights. Tony Mac definately moved the ball back a 4 or 5 yards from where Murphy was fouled, allowing his space to dip it over the wall. Belter of a free kick. Doyle was defo offside when the ball was kicked, but he did not interfere with play. The only thing he nearly did was put Blackman off. Good header back up across the face by him and good anticipation from Kitson. The 3rd goal was so good that Blades Player showed it 3 times! Beautiful pass from k Mac, but Blackman still had a lot to do. His control on the thigh and half volley, whilst uner pressure, was sublime.

I was going to write a little report, but after rocking home at half 1 in the morning steaming drunk, I had to spend the day wi ar lass. I had lost my phone and tol her I would be back before 11. I was in the spare room sat-di neet and she had me building a fookin cabinet yest-di. Might jot down a few more detailed thoughts later, but it is my first day back at work and I am snowed under.

 

[super_pig]

don't worry mate, i just read your report already.. glad you didn't have too much trouble getting back from Romania