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Match Report

IBO Reporter: Spot51

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Intro

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|When I travelled to Sheffield for my (short-lived) University career in 1971, the Blades sat atop the old First Division. My mates, who had chosen their places by what football they could watch, had thought me daft holding offers from Sheffield and Leicester with no top-flight football. Both Blades and Foxes were promoted that Summer.

With Wednesday miles away up Penistone Road, the Blades in the City centre were the University’s club, so I watched them for a season. It was swashbuckling stuff in the days of Woodward, Currie and Big Bill Dearden. By season’s end, Blades were 10th (in those forgotten days before relegation automatically followed promotion).

I have always retained a soft spot for the club. Indeed, it was the lure of First Division football in 1973, when Drew moved to Southampton and suggested I come watch The Saints, that my football future became cast in stone. Yes, Lawrie got us relegated in his first season, but by then I was hooked.

Blades started even slower than us this year and badly enough to get Selles sacked. Back came Chris Wilder for a 3rd go, and ominously, they picked up their first win at the weekend. Wilder obviously picked “his guys”, and we are likely to face them this Tuesday.

Will Still seeks a second league win after our 2 cup wins proved useless after the fixing of the Carabao Cup to keep the LoG clubs apart. I know what side I want to see, but with a large and fit squad to pick from, I haven’t a clue who will start at The Lane.

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Report

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|Will did what many of us had hoped for by keeping the XI who held Boro’ on Saturday. Cap’n Jack had not travelled after a training injury. Chris Wilder only made one change from their victorious side at Oxford, with Tom Davis making his first start in midfield in place of Soumare.

Tonight’s ref was Adam Herczeg, a product of PGMO’s Development Scheme in his 4th EPL season.

Saints gave the blue & yellow kit a first league outing and adopted a 3-4-2-1 shape with the ball morphing to 4-5-1 without it. Manning and Fellows were the guys most puzzled by making it work.

Azaz told the Echo he always scores on his 5th start, so he went early but sent his 4m shot over the bar. He then got on the end of a cross from Fellows, but the header was also off target.

Our front line was pressing high up the park, and Ross Stewart nearly got a tap-in from Cooper, but the keeper was able to keep the ball out. Saints had most possession, but neither side were creating good chances. There were too many niggly fouls which interrupted the flow of the match.

Campbell looked to carry the ball into our box, but he was crowded out by a wall of yellow and blue. Up the other end, Azaz and AA won a corner, but before the ball arrived, the ref had blown for a Blades free kick. Our next attack saw Azaz find Ross, but the offside flag went up.

It seemed to be just a matter of time before we opened the scoring, but Blades found Hamer just outside our box. Campbell was to his right, and he played him in. Quarshie seemed to have him covered, but Campbell left him for dead, making enough space to hit it with his favoured left foot and smashing it beyond Alex. FFS 1-0 down.

Saints got on with the game, continuing to do what they’d been doing and were almost rewarded when Ross met a Fellows cross and his downward header was well saved by the keeper’s dive. A minute later, Ross had a shot from the edge of the box blocked.

On 36m, Mee went through Azaz, and the Ref gave a free kick. Manning and Campbell began arguing, and both got yellow cards, but Mee did not. Tempers were fraying both on and off the pitch.

When Saints won a corner on the right, Shea went to take it and got some stick from the home crowd for having been an Owl last season. United’s attacking moves mostly floundered against Woody, who anchored our back line. Play paused while the magic sponge was administered to Hamer.

In +3m, Saints had some great chances to draw level. First, AA had an effort blocked, then Jander crossed, and another Ross header pulled a second good save from Cooper. Then, in the dying seconds of the half, Stewart chased a ball goalwards and went over the keeper. The Ref gave a penalty.

It was a “soft one”, but in the VAR-free zone of the EFL, all United got was a booking for their captain’s protests. Up stepped Adam and smashed it over the bar. In retrospect, perhaps Azaz should have taken it. Before the laughter of the home fans had subsided, the halftime whistle went.

Chris Wilder raced to the centre circle to give the officials his views on the penalty decision. Blanked, he trudged off and (he says) went to kick the match ball “against the wall”. It flew into the stand, hitting a fan with some force. Wilder went into the crowd to apologise, but when he came back to the pitch, he was red-carded by Mr Herczeg. HT = 1-0.

Neither Azaz nor Fellows reappeared after the break. Fraser was given the RWB berth, and Robinson went wide left, allowing Armstrong to come inside. Our guys had clearly been enthused by Will’s halftime words, Edwards immediately fouled Hamer, but then Shea got carded for his on Ogbene.

Hamer played the free kick into space behind our backline, where O’Hare smashed it low at the goal. McC blocked it away, and Josh put it out for a corner, which Saints dealt with. Robinson went over in their box and was then judged to have handled the ball: a likely story. Nevertheless, minutes later, the magic began.

A left-wing cross was headed behind by Tanganga, giving Manners a corner to take. As the ball came in, AA got ahead of his marker to head the ball over the keeper. It came off the bar and dropped among motionless defenders at the back post. Stewart seemed the only one moving as he met the ball on the half volley and stuck it beyond Cooper’s dive into the opposite corner. 1-1 and game on again.

Blades came close to restoring the lead when O’Hare set up Campbell, but this time the forward’s effort flew wide. Then AA won a corner from the right, which Shea took. Again, Adam was first to the cross, but this time it skimmed the top of the bar.

Stewart was looking like a proper striker and determined to resurrect his Loch Ness Drogba persona. On 58, he collected a pass from Robinson, turned inside his marker and brought the ball infield. Looking up about 25 yards out, he obviously thought, “Why not?” He smashed the ball into Cooper’s top left corner, and the keeper got nowhere near it. 2-1 Saints.

The Blades were momentarily stunned but slowly ground their way back into the match. We were then playing in our own half more than theirs. Burrows took aim, but Woody blocked his effort

Cooper then gave away an easy corner by miscontrolling a back pass. As Ogbene brought the ball out of defence, AA took him out and was booked. Wood was then penalised for a foul on O’Hare. Davis set up Hamer, but his shot was off target. Davis and Campbell were then replaced by Matos and Cannon.

Soon after, Saints also made a double substitution with Armstrong and Manning replaced by Downes and Roerslev. Wee Man now found himself out left with JR on the right. United were definitely seeing more of the ball, but we were noticeably holding onto it as long as we could and making them work to get it back. A lot of scruffy fouls continued to disrupt play.

Saints survived another corner before Blades made another double change: Ings and Sereki for Mee and Ogbene. They were clearly looking for an equaliser. Ings was soon trying to break into our box but was bested by Fraser, who saw him off.

With 5 minutes left, both sides made their final changes; they brought on McCallum for Burrows, and Archer replaced LND, who left with the cheers of the away support ringing in his ears. McCallum set up an opportunity for Hamer, and this time the Dutch Brazilian was on target, but McC saw it all the way, making a routine save.

Edwards then tried to allow a ball to run out for a GK as Ings moved in. It rolled over his boot on the line, and the Ref gave a corner just as 5 added minutes were signalled. The ball was hit long to the far post, where Peck rose, headed the ball in, then ran off and smashed the corner flag.

The Home crowd were celebrating wildly, but as Peck turned back, he saw the Ref stood motionless, arm aloft, signalling a free kick to Saints. The replay showed Cannon had impeded Alex and dumped him on the ground, and the Ref had blown as Peck headed in.

The sense of injustice among the Blades supporters meant the rest of the match was accompanied by “You’re Not Fit to Referee”, which was not wide of the mark, TBF. He was both inconsistent and petty, and if the majority of errors were in our favour, we were due that (and more) after the many shit decisions that went against us last season.

Play could not restart till a new corner flag was installed, and the Ref gave Peck a yellow card for smashing it, which further wound up the Bacon Butty fans.

When play resumed, Ings got between Wood and the ball, went over in the D and got them a free kick. Whether he was just a crap Ref or pissed off with the abuse he was getting, the Ref sprayed his line much closer to the ball than it should have been.

It was hard enough getting the ball up and down from there, but with all our big guys standing there, Hamer had no chance. He kept delaying taking it, getting more and more annoyed, but the Ref made him get on with it. The shot hit one of ours and flew over for a corner.

Saints defended that, and as Roerslev carried the ball out, Hamer hacked him down. Alex sent everybody down the other end and launched it long. Moments later, in the 9th minute of added time, the final whistle confirmed a 2nd league win for us. TFFT!

With Derby (A) on Saturday, Will kept them in Sheffield overnight before decamping to St George’s near Burton for 3 days - including 2 of intensive training. Half of our team were not here for preseason, so Will hopes this time will help build relationships between old and new teammates.

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Man Of The Match

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|One assumes that Chris Wilder will eventually get a tune out of his club’s players, so a win here will look good as time moves on. Both sides are still searching for peak form, but at least two of ours had great games tonight.

Woody is a Rolls-Royce of a defender and probably the best we’ve had since Virgil jumped ship. He is always in the right place at the right time and must be black and blue after all the blocks he makes. He would have been a shoe-in for MoM if not for The Loch Ness Drogba.

Ross Stewart has so far hinted that he might be a proper centre-forward, but 2 seasons of injuries and few opportunities have held him back. Against Boro’ for 75m he put himself about, bullying defenders and creating opportunities for teammates. In Sheffield on Tuesday, he ran for 85m, did all that plus two lovely goals. He showed a striker’s instinct to meet the ball after Adam hit the bar, smashing it low past Cooper to level the game. Inside 10 minutes, he created space to turn and shoot from range, beating the keeper all ends up. Best on-pitch moment of a piss-poor year!

Take a bow, Ross Stewart. More of that, please. Man of the Match.

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