United 2 Oldham 0 - report

[Deadbat]

The Blades kept up the pressure at the top of League One with a 2-0 victory over basement side Oldham Athletic at Bramall Lane in front of nearly 26,000 fans. United were not at their best but were indebted to master poacher Billy Sharp who scored a brace to see off the plucky Latics.


Manager Wilder named an unchanged side from the win at the Ricoh against an Oldham side that sat at the foot of the table. The visitors included former Blade Ryan Flynn who got an excellent reception when introduced before the game.


United began by winning a corner and Ebanks Landell seemed to be completely blocked off but the referee remained unmoved. Oldham played a neat spell of football and Osei had a low shot well saved from Moore but the keeper made a much better save from a Flynn swivel and shot that saw the keeper flick the ball over. Flynn was then booked for chopping down former teammate Freeman who advanced down the right.


United had struggled to get any fluidity to their play with Coutts and Fleck getting closed down at every chance. Duffy finally found some space to play in a ball that saw O’Connell well forward and the keeper off his line but after a spell of pinball it went out for a corner. Soon after this a great move saw the ball moved from right to left and then transferred down the left inside channel for Done to send over a superb cross but Sharp headed against a defender when he seemed set to score.


Oldham then had a decent break but O’Connell made a block. Basham was now playing in a more advanced position as United had a more orthodox formation. Lafferty then headed a cross into the box but the ball somehow missed Done and Sharp. Duffy had a free kick after a foul on Done but his free kick was straight at the keeper. O’Connell then headed powerfully but straight at keeper Ripley from a corner. McKay hit a shot over right on half time as the game ended with plenty of endeavour but little quality as the visitors will have undoubtedly gone in much happier.


Clarke came on not long after the break for the hard working Done as United tried to get it forward quicker soon after this change. Duffy tried to prompt but the ball was cleared after good build up. Soon after another decent move saw Coutts thread in Lafferty but it was cleared. A bad foul on Lafferty saw an opportunity and from the free kick O’Connell lashed wide after a decent attempt at the pull back led to the chance.


Oldham had not offered much this half but had a few half chances on the hour. Basham and Ebanks Landell got in each others way but O’Connell did well to block before another poor piece of defending from Basham saw Ebanks Landell chop his man down but Law’s free kick was well over the bar. United tried to step it up and the noise started to increase as the huge crowd started to make a difference.

Oldham players seemed to be going down at regular interval with ‘injuries’ and they now were sitting back deeper. Sharp fired over after good build up from Freeman and then United went agonisingly close to scoring. Coutts run and deep cross saw Clarke head goal wards but Wilson somehow got enough on it to clear.


The crowd were sensing it now and sure enough the crucial breakthrough came. Duffy helped the ball on but it was no more than a half chance for SHARP who hit a tremendous half volley which dipped into the far corner of the goal beating Ripley all ends up. The noise level inside the ground showed what a big moment it was in a scrappy game.


Oldham did have a chance when substitute Ladapo had a go from range but Moore pushed away for a corner. This was a timely reminder that the game was not won. However, Oldham were now having to commit more forward and with it saw openings for the Blades. Duffy was now starting to show his class and twice he led the break as United charged forward. On each occasion Oldham did enough to clear.


Freeman had a shot that seemed to hit a hand and then Duffy had a shot saved before Basham’s charging run saw him go to ground but it was rightly not a penalty.


The game was effectively sealed with just two minutes of normal time left. Duffy was involved again with the cross and Clarke put Ripley under pressure; the ball bounced down and SHARP was able to clinically drill home.


After the goal the party tricks came out from Duffy as United played a spell of keep ball to the delight of the now happy crowd. Right at the end Wright came on for Coutts and Scougall for Duffy.


The referee adjudged five minutes of additional time was to be played (mostly for Oldham’s timewasting) but United continued to be the stronger side to finish and won another corner and then Clarke ought to have scored when Basham played him in but he fired over with the goal at his mercy.


United – It was not a great performance and we were sloppy for long spells all over the field. They had a few chances and Moore was worked more than he has been at home for some time. However, for all this we had more possession (61%), more corners and more efforts; albeit there was 3 apiece on goal. First half we began slowly and the game was quite even. Flynn had a good effort, they had a few other breaks where as we struggled to win the midfield we have dominated so much. This meant it was very even really. They could argue they had the better openings although Sharp missed a good header and another cross eluded everyone. United had not done the little things they had been doing in terms of winning the tackles and picking up loose balls/headers. They will have been very content to restrict United to few chances of note at half time. United had done a few decent things but lacked clear penetration and had not got behind the defence or tested the keeper.


Second half we were much better in terms of moving it forward quicker. Clarke made a difference (no offence to Done who worked quite hard) as he allowed the ball to stick more and we got it into the last third with more pace and then the aforementioned midfielders did better, getting on the ball more. Coutts and Duffy made more of a difference. Slowly you felt we were getting control and you sensed chances would come. Sharp and Clarke both had decent chances and other than one Oldham free kick they were less of a threat. The goal finally came and then after this the game was really open and they had a decent chance but we had some as well and the 2nd came to seal the game.


The football only came after we scored and we started to knock it about and show some of the neat one touch zipping play we have shown on much of the great run. The confidence came back and we started to look a side full of almost arrogance with Duffy and Coutts to the fore again. There were some very average performances but over the course of the game we still did enough to win. Maybe 2-0 flattered United a bit but the second half saw us dominate for long spells and I felt it was much better than a lacklustre first half. The main thing today was to get the win even if we lacked the fluidity and bite of other games. Like the Coventry game it was just important to get the three points. Hopefully we can get back to a more assured performance against Northampton as well as getting the all important win. I feel with some tougher games to come and some of our rivals having their tricky spell now it is crucial we get maximum points from the next couple of games.


---


Oldham – They had a go and were much better than some of the recent opponents who have come down here. They defended well and actually got out and created a few chances with Moore making a couple of decent saves from Flynn and the sub after it went 1-0. They did not just sit in and even though they did slow the game down and time waste; they did not defend all game. They got men forward when they could and did try and break when they had chances. United had more of the ball of course but not sure we did much with it and they will have felt fairly comfortable for the most part.


However, a moment of class from Sharp and it was 1-0 and they then had to come out even more and after this even though they had that one chance; they could have conceded more as they tried to commit more men forward.


Their fans will have been wondering the same as Wilder after the game; that they put in a lot of effort and a more than respectable performance today after several poor showings in recent weeks.


Ryan Flynn came back and was the same old Flynn really. Had one good shot but then was not in the game for long spells although he did commit a bad tackle on Freeman which was more aggression than he had ever showed at the Lane! He played in a more central role.


It was an odd performance as the seemed split between having a go and they did a few times with some decent breaks and being the cynical, time wasting, slowed down side that we have seen so many times in recent weeks at the Lane. There were a few moments of this such as a spell when 4 or 5 men went down seemingly with no injuries whatsoever, including one moment when two went down. The keeper took forever over goal kicks and they also delayed throw ins for ages but when they took them took so many foul throws that were not penalised!


On that performance they did not look a relegation outfit; a game where they put a lot of effort in and restricted a side at the top of the table to few chances and had a few of their own. Clearly though they have not been playing like that as I have said. They put a lot of effort in and had some chances. They do lack quality when you look at the squad and have been very poor at home; which makes it even harder for them when they go away. I do feel that they may go down as they lack goals in the side and real leaders aside from maybe the lad Clarke at the back. They do not concede many goals though and that is one positive but don’t score many either.


Opponent man of the match : I actually thought in midfield the veteran Green got around the pitch and was combative making things hard for our talented midfield trio. He got his foot in and made tackles. I did think the lad up top McKay was a real handful and he won a number of headers, chased lost causes and led from the front as the only real striker.


Opponent Weak link : Noone was awful. They defended well when they could. I felt Peter Clarke actually did a decent job on Sharp but one moment and it is in the net. The lad Dummigan was a bit clumsy and got booked for a poor foul and did another bad one second half and could have gone. Flynn was Flynn.

 

[Deadbat]

SUFC Player Ratings –


Moore 7.5/10 – He made two excellent saves and these were crucial in a game of few chances. The first a good one from Flynn’s effort and then saved well from Ladapo. He handled other efforts well and looked very assured all game save for one punch when he could have maybe caught.


Freeman 7/10 – Thought he began game slowly and was a bit sluggish but improved as the game went on. He continued to get up and down the flank and showed some nimble footwork. Second half he got beat once when Moore had to shovel over from a cross shot. He certainly looks better going forward than the other way but looks a very good footballer at times.


Lafferty 6/10 – Has been solid in the run of games and despite nothing flashy been workmanlike and played the positions well. Today I thought he was off and quite sloppy. A number of crosses failed to beating the first man and with the ball he gave it away quite a bit. Second half did a few better bits of play with some decent interchange but also came inside too much and made the play narrow.


Ebanks Landell 6/10 – Mixed bag today. Some powerful headers and clearances and good tackles mixed with some sloppy bits of play, a cynical foul and some lapses in concentration such as when he made a mistake when he passed a ball back that nearly let them in. He also scythed his man down for a deserved booking. Despite some of these poorer moments, he gives us that big presence and will be badly missed if and when he goes back which I expect he will after the next couple of games. Defenders really worried when he goes forward and he maybe was unlucky not to get a penalty early on when wrestled to the floor.


O’Connell 7/10 - Solid enough defensively. He won headers and made the tackles when he needed to. Came onto the ball well and tried to move it on with pace. A few times he got pulled about a bit and I felt the lad McKay actually won a few headers/knocks ons and to say we had 2/3 centre backs I thought we did not dominate as much as we should have done. However, he also made a few tackles to get some of the other defenders out of the mire. Had two decent efforts on goal with a header saved and then a shot from a well worked free kick that he blasted over. He does try and cause a threat from such set plays.


Basham 6.5/10 – Seemed to play about 3 or 4 positons today being the furthest back defender and then moved into just ahead of O’Connell and Ebanks Landell and then into central midfield and then seemed to end up right wing. I thought he did some decent bits of break up and some good runs forward but too often his control and passing let him down. His error led to Ebanks Landell chopping his man down and getting booked. He made a few other poor touches that led to them breaking away. Technically he is one that stands out as a weak link. Effort an industry cannot be faulted but still awfully weak in challenges and Flynn once put him on the floor. Still for all criticism he is a handy lad to have around the team at this level. Ridiculous dive when he did not need to go down after a great surging run down the right second half. At times he shows great legs to get up and down but end product is lacking. His effort was great though and seems very fit.


Fleck 6/10 – Think that is the poorest he has been for a while. I felt the game passed him by for long spells and he did not get on the ball as much. I also thought he looked slow and was not winning the tackles and 50/50 balls he has been done. Overall, we lacked the control we have had in recent games. Still did show some decent touches and towards the end as we started to see the game out showed some class.


Coutts 7/10 – Like others felt he has played much better but still looked one of the better footballers on the pitch. He got on the ball and played that ‘quarter back’ role well. He took a few knocks but he kept going and seems so much fitter than he ever has been whilst at SUFC. A few balls overplayed or telegraphed but for the most part he still moved it on better than most and always looked to prompt and probe.


Duffy 8/10 – First half relatively quiet as play became stilted and crowded around the central area. They man marked him pretty much. He did not get on the ball as much and when he did I felt did not show quality he has done but it was so hard with bodies swarming around him. Second half was much better. Involved in most of the good things we did and after we got in front started to dictate play. Involved in both goals with his build up play. Maybe overplayed a bit too much and one or two tricks and flicks too much when a quicker ball and we could have got in. Did managed to nutmeg the same player twice near the end and showed some impudent flicks and bits of skill. Looked a class act again for long periods.


Done 6.5/10 – Once again he worked hard. He won 2 or 3 corners or free kicks by chasing balls down into the corner but also the ball did not always stick to him and a few times he gave it away. Had a few half chances when the ball came across the box and I felt should have reacted quicker to one cross that came over that evaded everyone. Put over a super cross for Sharp whose header was blocked. Not our worst player but I can see why we changed things as Oldham needed something more to think about and we needed to go more direct. People will now clamour for a change again but I think his hard work helped wear Oldham players down and then Clarke could come on and make that extra difference.


Sharp 8/10 – First half he missed a decent chance with a header that should have maybe been scored after a really good move. He tried to work the channels and hold play up but we had few chances first half. Second half he started to work even harder and the Oldham defenders knew they were in a game as he held it up well and began to use his body to shield the ball and bring others into it. Missed one good chance when well set up but swept over. The game looked like it would be decided by one moment of quality and so it proved as he hit a tremendous half volley into the top corner to break the deadlock. He then scored another predators goal near the end and indeed could have had a third but unselfishly squared it rather than shooting. At this level he makes the difference as you always feel he can nick you a goal. The first one he scored was a cracker today and a real moment of class.


Subs


Clarke – Thought he came on and made a difference. He put himself about, won headers and used his size to good effect. He linked better with Sharp than he has all season and they were much closer together. He was able to also hold it well and run onto through balls. Looked a lot more interested than he has done. Involved in the second goal with his challenge on the keeper. Missed a sitter right at the end when he should have scored but overall a good impact today and helped us get the win


Wright – With the game now sealed at 2-0; his introduction was to just give us that bit more defensive presence as the game entered stoppage time.


Scougall – Brought on very close to the end as we were seeing time out.


Manager – Wilder 7.5/10 – Another win. A clean sheet and we move to a point off the top side with a couple of winnable games coming up. Today we were not brilliant and were quite ordinary for long spells of the game but he made a decisive change early on by moving Basham into the middle of the field and then second half only waited 5 minutes before putting Clarke on. He clearly wanted us to get the ball forward earlier and get the defence turned and this saw us create more chances. He will be delighted with 47 points after such a poor start. He will hope for another 3 points on Saturday and then a trip to Bury to get more points. He also has the transfer window looming too to add those extra pieces


Ref – Mark Heywood. I thought he was alright but the game did become stop start and I felt he could have let things flow more. A few times he talked to players (both sides) for an age but did not book them which seemed to waste everyone’s time. In general play, I cannot recall too many awful decisions either way really aside from the 2nd goal. I have to say I thought it was a foul on the keeper but it was good we have someone prepared to put themselves into the keeper/centre back (did not have that last year). The ref was not helped by some terrible play acting and feigning injury from Oldham. He tried his best but even at times he fell into their trap. To be fair a few times he just told them to get on with the game or waved them away but when they were rolling around he had no choice but to stop it. The keeper was taking forever in goal kicks and this is something refs are not penalising enough. He did get all the bookings right, 4 cynical fouls from both sides (3 for them and Ebanks Landell for us). I felt he did not get much help from assistants with neither being able to make decisive calls on throw ins in any kind of speed or spot a foul throw when it came in! he turned down three penalties, one on Basham rightly so and could have booked the United man and then another for handball after a Freeman shot and the one early on when Ebanks Landell was grabbed on a corner. He easily could have given one of those latter two appeals. However, I have seen much worse referees this season overall.


Crowd – 25,821 with maybe 500 from Oldham. A superb effort at League One Level to see over 25,000 Blades fans in the crowd. Despite the numbers it was all a bit subdued I felt and the small following from Lancashire made more noise at times but the fans stuck with United and slowly the noise volume went up. Gradually you felt them willing the crowd further forward and you could sense that something may happen. Sharp’s goal saw that huge roar and the second similar as the fans went home happy. Hopefully even though the performance was not quite as good as some we have seen at the Lane, fans will have seen enough to come back (those that are not regulars)


Annoying thing about extra crowds is you cannot get served as easy in the pubs around the ground and there are much bigger queues for the turnstiles and the toilets! However, you have to acknowledge that it is a superb effort to get so many in the ground. Hopefully we will approach a similar number at the weekend for another big chance to rack up another three points.

 

[Woodwardfan]

I thought Lafferty had his best game for us and joint MOM with O'Connell who was brutal at times.

Well played too - Sharp (goals), Moore, Duffy (last half hour) and Coutts.

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

"Ebanks Landell 6/10 – Mixed bag today. ..."

I don't think it's any co-incidence that EEL has had a few shaky moments since Wright hasn't been in the team and he's mostly been used as the spare man at the back. Everything about the defence looks more solid with a back three of EEL-Wright-JOC. EEL's starting to remind me of when we had Shaun Murphy at centre half, excellent at the defensive side of the game providing he had a talker alongside him, leave him to his own devices and he started looking like a bit of a lost sole. Get Wright back in and let him direct things at the back, especially talking EEL through the 90 minutes.

 

[Iceybabey]

JOC was my MOTM. He made a quality block low down with his chest. Proper defender.

 

[bladeinspaceandtime]

"Ebanks Landell 6/10 – Mixed bag today. ..."
...he started looking like a bit of a lost sole.

Small fish, big pond, that sort of thing?

 

[nicksufc]

Just what we needed really and a pretty solid win. Never going to be a thrashing against an Oldham team who always seem to come here and overperform.

I see Scunny looked lucky to escape with a point at Bradford and Bolton not very convincing either. If we win on NYE then the result between them two doesn't matter a great deal - it's win-win for us.

 

[SB_90]

Gutted i had to work today as love Boxing day footie But typical fixture computer Off boxing day last season so were Away. Had to work this yr so of course were at Home. But from the radio Sheffield commentary Good win today, v an oldham team that sounded better than where they are at bottom of the league, huge credit to oldham show some ambition unlike some of the crap earlier in the season.

Superb finish from sharp for opener. I must say was 1 of those that were unsure about him. Because i traditionally ive always liked my captains in defence or midfield. But Sharp has more than proved me wrong as he similar to gerrard could at liverpool as he leads by example & motivation. Which the other guys seemingly following. Nearly 26,000 fans in attendance unbelieveable apparently the 7th biggest attendance today. Anyone know the last time we got a league attendance that high. I guessed last Sheffield derby

 

[nicksufc]

Very good crowd but absolutely shocking support, the place was dead for 75-80 minutes if we're being completely honest with ourselves. Not much point having 26k there if you don't support the team.

 

[super_pig]

didn't think we had any real standouts today, good or poor .. clarke starting to look like the real deal

 

[Antonb]

agree with nearly all of it, except over the ninety minutes O'Connell was Man of the Match.

 

[moDtheGod]

I thought Flynn had a good game for them. I was expecting DB to be critical. Ever consistent

 

[Snowman]

Very good crowd but absolutely shocking support, the place was dead for 75-80 minutes if we're being completely honest with ourselves. Not much point having 26k there if you don't support the team.

I know what you mean, but if they are anything like me, I now sit there petrified thinking it will all go wrong. I just want out of the division without a play off and am too tense with concentration to do any singing.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Cheers Deadbat . Another quality performance from you.

 

[JohnDenver]

Sharp 8/10 ... could have had a third but unselfishly squared it rather than shooting.

Glad you mentioned that. What on earth was he thinking? 2-0 up, last minute, chance for a hat trick....

 

[blader]

Would give them all at least one mark fewer IMO. First half we were very poor and were far from brilliant second half. I reckon (can't be bothered to check) you were dishing out 6 and 7s for far better performances this season. Thought Freeman, Fleck and Basham were all very poor by their personal standards and should have been given 4 or 5.

Duffy tried to make things happen and O'Connell looked really solid but no one else played nearly as well as they are capable.

We seem to be scraping through a few games at the moment. On the one hand, it's a real positive that we can play poorly and win but we appear to have lost that bit of zip that made us so formidable in our run. Would love us to consecendingly brush Northampton aside to show we have still got those extra gears.

 

[Hodgyman]

I thought that Billy was the MOTM today. Apart from the 2 superbly taken goals, he ran their defenders ragged all of the game.

The other comment that I would make is that we make too many passes in the box instead of shooting when we get a clear sight of goal, Billy excepted.

 

[Pinchy]

Sharp, Duffy and Moore jointly for me. All vital to the win.

At no stage were we poor. See last season for a definition of that word. We were not up to the high standards we have set this season.

 

[Bladepicker]

we appear to have lost that bit of zip that made us so formidable in our run. Would love us to consecendingly brush Northampton aside to show we have still got those extra gears.

Since the run ended, we have won all three league games, including our best performance of the season brushing Swindon aside 4 nowt.

 

[Bladepicker]

I thought Flynn had a good game for them. I was expecting DB to be critical. Ever consistent

So Flynny had a good game.

Oldham might as well drop him for the next seven games then

 

[Pinchy]

Since the run ended, we have won all three league games, including our best performance of the season brushing Swindon aside 4 nowt.

Ah yes, but what about the first half eh? eh?

 

[blackydog]

Thanks deadbat. I'm amazed how you take all this in. If you don't me asking where do you sit to follow things with such detail?

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

SUFC Player Ratings –


Moore 7.5/10 – He made two excellent saves and these were crucial in a game of few chances. The first a good one from Flynn’s effort and then saved well from Ladapo. He handled other efforts well and looked very assured all game save for one punch when he could have maybe caught.


Freeman 7/10 – Thought he began game slowly and was a bit sluggish but improved as the game went on. He continued to get up and down the flank and showed some nimble footwork. Second half he got beat once when Moore had to shovel over from a cross shot. He certainly looks better going forward than the other way but looks a very good footballer at times.


Lafferty 6/10 – Has been solid in the run of games and despite nothing flashy been workmanlike and played the positions well. Today I thought he was off and quite sloppy. A number of crosses failed to beating the first man and with the ball he gave it away quite a bit. Second half did a few better bits of play with some decent interchange but also came inside too much and made the play narrow.


Ebanks Landell 6/10 – Mixed bag today. Some powerful headers and clearances and good tackles mixed with some sloppy bits of play, a cynical foul and some lapses in concentration such as when he made a mistake when he passed a ball back that nearly let them in. He also scythed his man down for a deserved booking. Despite some of these poorer moments, he gives us that big presence and will be badly missed if and when he goes back which I expect he will after the next couple of games. Defenders really worried when he goes forward and he maybe was unlucky not to get a penalty early on when wrestled to the floor.


O’Connell 7/10 - Solid enough defensively. He won headers and made the tackles when he needed to. Came onto the ball well and tried to move it on with pace. A few times he got pulled about a bit and I felt the lad McKay actually won a few headers/knocks ons and to say we had 2/3 centre backs I thought we did not dominate as much as we should have done. However, he also made a few tackles to get some of the other defenders out of the mire. Had two decent efforts on goal with a header saved and then a shot from a well worked free kick that he blasted over. He does try and cause a threat from such set plays.


Basham 6.5/10 – Seemed to play about 3 or 4 positons today being the furthest back defender and then moved into just ahead of O’Connell and Ebanks Landell and then into central midfield and then seemed to end up right wing. I thought he did some decent bits of break up and some good runs forward but too often his control and passing let him down. His error led to Ebanks Landell chopping his man down and getting booked. He made a few other poor touches that led to them breaking away. Technically he is one that stands out as a weak link. Effort an industry cannot be faulted but still awfully weak in challenges and Flynn once put him on the floor. Still for all criticism he is a handy lad to have around the team at this level. Ridiculous dive when he did not need to go down after a great surging run down the right second half. At times he shows great legs to get up and down but end product is lacking. His effort was great though and seems very fit.


Fleck 6/10 – Think that is the poorest he has been for a while. I felt the game passed him by for long spells and he did not get on the ball as much. I also thought he looked slow and was not winning the tackles and 50/50 balls he has been done. Overall, we lacked the control we have had in recent games. Still did show some decent touches and towards the end as we started to see the game out showed some class.


Coutts 7/10 – Like others felt he has played much better but still looked one of the better footballers on the pitch. He got on the ball and played that ‘quarter back’ role well. He took a few knocks but he kept going and seems so much fitter than he ever has been whilst at SUFC. A few balls overplayed or telegraphed but for the most part he still moved it on better than most and always looked to prompt and probe.


Duffy 8/10 – First half relatively quiet as play became stilted and crowded around the central area. They man marked him pretty much. He did not get on the ball as much and when he did I felt did not show quality he has done but it was so hard with bodies swarming around him. Second half was much better. Involved in most of the good things we did and after we got in front started to dictate play. Involved in both goals with his build up play. Maybe overplayed a bit too much and one or two tricks and flicks too much when a quicker ball and we could have got in. Did managed to nutmeg the same player twice near the end and showed some impudent flicks and bits of skill. Looked a class act again for long periods.


Done 6.5/10 – Once again he worked hard. He won 2 or 3 corners or free kicks by chasing balls down into the corner but also the ball did not always stick to him and a few times he gave it away. Had a few half chances when the ball came across the box and I felt should have reacted quicker to one cross that came over that evaded everyone. Put over a super cross for Sharp whose header was blocked. Not our worst player but I can see why we changed things as Oldham needed something more to think about and we needed to go more direct. People will now clamour for a change again but I think his hard work helped wear Oldham players down and then Clarke could come on and make that extra difference.


Sharp 8/10 – First half he missed a decent chance with a header that should have maybe been scored after a really good move. He tried to work the channels and hold play up but we had few chances first half. Second half he started to work even harder and the Oldham defenders knew they were in a game as he held it up well and began to use his body to shield the ball and bring others into it. Missed one good chance when well set up but swept over. The game looked like it would be decided by one moment of quality and so it proved as he hit a tremendous half volley into the top corner to break the deadlock. He then scored another predators goal near the end and indeed could have had a third but unselfishly squared it rather than shooting. At this level he makes the difference as you always feel he can nick you a goal. The first one he scored was a cracker today and a real moment of class.


Subs


Clarke – Thought he came on and made a difference. He put himself about, won headers and used his size to good effect. He linked better with Sharp than he has all season and they were much closer together. He was able to also hold it well and run onto through balls. Looked a lot more interested than he has done. Involved in the second goal with his challenge on the keeper. Missed a sitter right at the end when he should have scored but overall a good impact today and helped us get the win


Wright – With the game now sealed at 2-0; his introduction was to just give us that bit more defensive presence as the game entered stoppage time.


Scougall – Brought on very close to the end as we were seeing time out.


Manager – Wilder 7.5/10 – Another win. A clean sheet and we move to a point off the top side with a couple of winnable games coming up. Today we were not brilliant and were quite ordinary for long spells of the game but he made a decisive change early on by moving Basham into the middle of the field and then second half only waited 5 minutes before putting Clarke on. He clearly wanted us to get the ball forward earlier and get the defence turned and this saw us create more chances. He will be delighted with 47 points after such a poor start. He will hope for another 3 points on Saturday and then a trip to Bury to get more points. He also has the transfer window looming too to add those extra pieces


Ref – Mark Heywood. I thought he was alright but the game did become stop start and I felt he could have let things flow more. A few times he talked to players (both sides) for an age but did not book them which seemed to waste everyone’s time. In general play, I cannot recall too many awful decisions either way really aside from the 2nd goal. I have to say I thought it was a foul on the keeper but it was good we have someone prepared to put themselves into the keeper/centre back (did not have that last year). The ref was not helped by some terrible play acting and feigning injury from Oldham. He tried his best but even at times he fell into their trap. To be fair a few times he just told them to get on with the game or waved them away but when they were rolling around he had no choice but to stop it. The keeper was taking forever in goal kicks and this is something refs are not penalising enough. He did get all the bookings right, 4 cynical fouls from both sides (3 for them and Ebanks Landell for us). I felt he did not get much help from assistants with neither being able to make decisive calls on throw ins in any kind of speed or spot a foul throw when it came in! he turned down three penalties, one on Basham rightly so and could have booked the United man and then another for handball after a Freeman shot and the one early on when Ebanks Landell was grabbed on a corner. He easily could have given one of those latter two appeals. However, I have seen much worse referees this season overall.


Crowd – 25,821 with maybe 500 from Oldham. A superb effort at League One Level to see over 25,000 Blades fans in the crowd. Despite the numbers it was all a bit subdued I felt and the small following from Lancashire made more noise at times but the fans stuck with United and slowly the noise volume went up. Gradually you felt them willing the crowd further forward and you could sense that something may happen. Sharp’s goal saw that huge roar and the second similar as the fans went home happy. Hopefully even though the performance was not quite as good as some we have seen at the Lane, fans will have seen enough to come back (those that are not regulars)


Annoying thing about extra crowds is you cannot get served as easy in the pubs around the ground and there are much bigger queues for the turnstiles and the toilets! However, you have to acknowledge that it is a superb effort to get so many in the ground. Hopefully we will approach a similar number at the weekend for another big chance to rack up another three points.

Even accounting for his improved performance second half, Duffy did not warrant an 8 out of ten Deadbat.

 

[Lane Ender]

Very good crowd but absolutely shocking support, the place was dead for 75-80 minutes if we're being completely honest with ourselves. Not much point having 26k there if you don't support the team.

If we're not walking all over teams the crowd just don't want to know.
That's what comes with being in this league for so long.
There's a big case for a standing area down the centre of the Kop get all the chanters together.

 

[Deadbat]

Thanks deadbat. I'm amazed how you take all this in. If you don't me asking where do you sit to follow things with such detail?

I am in the dugout with a tracksuit with the initials CW on it

 

[ForgeBlade]

Thanks as always Deadbat. I feel like I've been reading your reports both on here and on bladesmad for years, how long have you been doing them for?

Another excellent report, and it's always appreciated that you take the time to note all this and provide such good reading after matches. Hope you've had an excellent Christmas, and look forward to you reporting on a successful second half of the season in the new year

 

[RealMcCoy]

Even accounting for his improved performance second half, Duffy did not warrant an 8 out of ten Deadbat.

In the spirit of the season.......oh yes he did!!

 

[Fjortoft's Aeroplane]

I actually thought the atmosphere was decent on the Kop. A wider range of songs than usual too. Last Christmas...

 

[SB_90]

Very good crowd but absolutely shocking support, the place was dead for 75-80 minutes if we're being completely honest with ourselves. Not much point having 26k there if you don't support the team.

Ive said this even all the way back to clough the season we lost to yeovil in playoffs. this league that is problem Because we are very similar to celtic in scottish league. Bar bolton any of the other 22 got promoted this season. They would have open top bus & Huge praise. But auto promotion would just be meeting not exceeding expectations because of massively superior budgets to the majority of League 1

 

[Dec]

I thought Lafferty had his best game for us and joint MOM with O'Connell who was brutal at times.

Well played too - Sharp (goals), Moore, Duffy (last half hour) and Coutts.

Really? What did he do that was so special?

I understand that he's fairly good defensively but we need more than that in this league. The attacking part of his role is more important than the defensive part and from what I've witnessed, Basham and O'Connell get forward with more impetus from centre half than he does.

Maybe I'm just missing something, so if it's just me I'll hold my hands up!