Another season is in the books and what a rollercoaster of a season it was in the end. We started like a depowered Turbo from the eponymous film of the same name and ended it in a blaze of glory again, much like the certified banger that Lady GaGa released like what, 5-6 years ago? Anyway, let's not dwell on that too much let's talk a bit more about the awards we'll be handing out. There are some permutations to become nominated for some awards so I'll go through them here:
General Nomination: A player must have played at least 10 games this season to be eligible for nomination. This can include sub appearances. Young Player Of The Year Award: Player's nominated must have been 23 or under at the beginning of the season. Rookie Of The Year Award: Player's nominated must have made their first full start for United this season. Most Improved Player Of The Year: Player's nominated must have made 10 appearances for United in the previous season. (This can include sub appearances.) And that's that for the permutations! (I think) so, that's all done and dusted, let's get on with the awards starting with the big one... Player Of The Year Nominees: Wes Foderingham: Appearances: 34, Clean Sheets: 18 John Egan: Appearances: 46, Goals: 2, Assists: 2, Clean Sheets: 20 Morgan Gibbs-White: Appearances: 35, Goals: 11, Assists: 9 Billy Sharp: Appearances: 42, Goals: 15, Assists: 7 And The Winner is... Morgan Gibbs-White! What a revelation this man has been this season. It's fair to say that signing this man on deadline back in August could very well be the main reason between us finishing the season in mid table with nothing to play for and the reality that we had in gaining entry to the play-off's and finishing 5th. A supremely talented player who really should have been playing in the Premier League rather than the Championship, Gibbs-White is up there with one of the most talented players to pull on a red and white shirt this century and perhaps of all time and wherever he plays next season, they'll be getting a hell of a player. Young Player Of The Year Nominees: Iliman Ndiaye: Appearances: 33, Goals: 7, Assists: 2 Morgan Gibbs-White: Appearances: 35, Goals: 11, Assists: 9 Sander Berge: Appearances: 32, Goals: 5, Assists: 3 Jayden Bogle: Appearances: 22, Goals: 3, Assists: 2, Clean Sheets: 11 And The Winner Is... Morgan Gibbs-White! A second award for Gibbs-White but this one was perhaps a little bit more difficult to decide on a winner for than POTY funnily enough because we have had quite a few players who were 23 or under represent us this term and just narrowing it down to the four nominees was a difficult thing to decide and then narrowing that field of four down to a winner was, again, very difficult because I think you could make a case easily for any of the four nominees to win. But the winner is indeed Morgan Gibbs-White. I'll just reiterate what I said in POTY paragraph in saying that this man has been the creative heartbeat of the team this year and is fully deserving of getting his second award and is fully deserving of performing on the biggest stage available next season. A very, very, special player indeed. Defensive Player Of The Year Nominees: Wes Foderingham: Appearances: 34, Clean Sheets: 18 Jack Robinson: Appearances: 30, Goals: 3, Assists: 1, Clean Sheets: 14 John Egan: Appearances: 46, Goals: 2, Assists: 2, Clean Sheets: 20 Chris Basham: Appearances: 31, Assists: 1, Clean Sheets: 15 And The Winner Is... Wes Foderingham! What a difference a year makes. After coming in last year as our first signing in the ill fated second Premier League season and having a fairly shaky debut against Burnley in the League Cup, it's fair to say people were a little bit sceptical of Wes becoming our No.1 after we tried Robin Olsen and Michael Verrips there after the protracted sale of Aaron Ramsdale at the end of the summer transfer window but Wes has made everyone eat a massive slice of humble pie this season with a string of very impressive performances and a slew of top class saves as he established himself as one of the top keepers in the Championship this season. To have gone from third/second choice to our stand out defensive player this season deserves a huge amount of credit to Wes and he really has gone from a bit part player who might play in the occasional cup match to one of the first names on the team sheet and a cornerstone in our hugely improved defence that helped us climb the table to 5th. Congratulations Wes, you absolutely deserve this award. Offensive Player Of The Year Nominees: Morgan Gibbs-White: Appearances: 35, Goals: 11, Assists: 9 Iliman Ndiaye: Appearances: 33, Goals: 7, Assists: 2 Billy Sharp: Appearances: 42, Goals: 15, Assists: 7 Sander Berge: Appearances: 32, Goals: 5, Assists: 3 And The Winner Is... Billy Sharp! Billy Sharp really is like a wine that get's better with age. I'm fully convinced that his face is there when you look up that phrase in whatever dictionary would hold that phrase and it's definition. Despite turning 36 this season, Sharp has gone on to perhaps have his best all round season with 15 goals to his name but also 7 assists as Sharp continues to adapt and tinker with his game that keeps him in and around the top scorers and offensive contributors in a division where he is now the all time top scorer since the turn of the new millennium. We keep on expecting Billy to slow down but I think that prediction has been made for each of the last 5 years so God knows when that will actually happen but it's a damn good thing that it hasn't happened yet and long may Billy continue to defy the age gods and contribute to the Blades cause. Rookie Of The Year Nominees: Iliman Ndiaye: Appearances: 33, Goals: 7, Assists: 2 Rhys Norrington-Davies: Appearances: 24, Assists: 1, Clean Sheets: 10 Kyron Gordon: Appearances: 8, Assists: 1, Clean Sheets: 3 Morgan Gibbs-White: Appearances 35, Goals: 11, Assists: 9 And The Winner Is... Iliman Ndiaye! A hell of a first season in professional football for Ndiaye and that's saying something. It initially looked like Ndiaye would be leaving the club this year after contract negotiations stalled over the course of the summer after Ndiaye came on for the last ten minutes when we got battered against Leicester in March. Things changed however and thank goodness they did because Ndiaye has been a revelation in attack this season and has probably been the most impressive graduate from the academy since David Brooks. It's hard to believe that this is Ndiaye's first season in professional football because he plays like a player who has been doing this for at least 5 years. His dribbling his mesmeric, he can create something out of nothing and his tenacity to get back and make a crucial tackle to break up play is something that you might not usually think of when we talk about flair players but Ndiaye does that. He's a wonderful player and it'll be interesting to see how big a role he plays next season now that it's unlikely Morgan Gibbs-White will not be here. But if any player can take on that offensive load, it's Ndiaye. Most Improved Player Of The Year Nominees: Jack Robinson: Appearances: 30, Goals: 3, Assists: 1, Clean Sheets: 14 Oliver Norwood: Appearances: 47, Goals: 1, Assists: 4 Rhian Brewster: Appearances: 16, Goals: 4 John Fleck: Appearances: 37, Goals: 1, Assists: 2 And The Winner Is... Jack Robinson! For the first two years and six months of his Sheffield United career, Jack Robinson had been a bit of a dud signing who looked like he'd become the forgotten man in a transfer window where we entered the international market for the first time under Wilder and where we ultimately broke our transfer record on one of Europe's up and coming talents. When Robinson did play in his initial spell he looked woeful. Let's not dress this up as something it's not, Robinson looked sub standard for League 1 (with all due respect to League 1 players) let alone a Premier League player. That sub standard performing continued as this season started and at one point, he was pretty much costing us a goal a game with an error. He went back to the bench but was recalled for a match against league leading Fulham just before Christmas and that's when everything changed. Robinson put in a cracking performance against one of the most expensive and deadliest strike forces the Championship has seen and played a huge part in our 1-0 in the capital. From that point on, Robinson hasn't looked back and has hardly put a foot wrong as he established himself in our starting XI ahead of Liverpool loanee Ben Davies. He's probably been our most consistent defender since the turn of the year and has chipped in with some crucial goals to boot with the most important being his bullet header to give us the lead in our crucial away game at QPR to give us a bit of breathing space as we looked to face Fulham the week after. A truly incredible turn around from a player that was undesirable at the start of the season but has now become undeniable at it's end. A real feelgood story for this season. Goal Of The Season Nominees: George Baldock VS Swansea City Saturday 19th February 2022 Morgan Gibbs-White VS Middlesbrough Tuesday 8th March 2022 Morgan Gibbs-White VS Cardiff City Saturday 4th December 2021 Iliman Ndiaye VS Fulham Monday 20th December 2021 And The Winner Is... George Baldock VS Swansea City! It just had to be this didn't it? To be fair to United this season, we've scored a lot of very, very good goals this season. Enough to probably fill two or three GOTS awards but these are the four that this particular blog has picked and the winner is George Baldock's howitzer to put us 2-0 up against Swansea back in March. Baldock doesn't score many goals with his last goal before this one coming way, way back in December 2019 when George ducked and dived his way in and around the Norwich box before slotting home past Tim Krul to set us on our way for 3 points in the Premier League. The landscape has changed a far bit since then but that doesn't take away from the pure brilliance of this strike. Catching a Rhys Norrington-Davies cross with a mid air volley that would make Van Basten blush, George's effort cannoned off his foot and off the Bramall Lane end crossbar and slid down the side netting and settling in the goal with Fisher in the Swansea goal rooted to the spot. The stadium erupted in a mix of disbelief and euphoria as Baldock sprinted towards the benches in pure unadulterated joy. It was a special, special goal and it's blasphemy that it didn't make it in the Championship end of season nominations. Fear not however, it could very well be United's first representation at a little known award called the Puskas. Not too bad a days work for a wing back that hardly scores eh? Match Of The Season Nominees: Sheffield United VS Peterborough United Saturday 11th September 2021 Sheffield United VS Middlesbrough Tuesday 8th March 2022 QPR VS Sheffield United Friday 29th April 2022 Sheffield United VS Fulham Saturday 7th May 2022 And The Winner Is... Sheffield United Vs Middlesbrough! There are certain matches and games of football that people instantly look for when the fixtures come out. Usually, it's when you'll be playing your local rivals or who your playing on Boxing Day or the opening/closing games of the season. This game was none of those. This game only gained significance when Middlesbrough unveiled their brand new manager sometime in the winter. Replacing Neil Warnock in the hotseat would be none other than our manager of the past five years Chris Wilder. We were due to play Wilder's charges on New Year's Day but because of some late 'Covid' cases in the Boro camp literally minutes after a pre match press conference the match was pushed back until early March on a Tuesday. Bramall Lane has a certain mystique under the lights on a weeknight. The atmosphere crackles that little bit more and the senses are heightened usually by the biting cold. This match was the first time the fans would be able to see Wilder since the day he left back in March 2020 almost a year to the day that he left. Now under the stewardship of Paul Heckingbottom, a man Wilder brought in to manage the under 23's, United annihilated our former boss in a night when one era of Blades history was firmly put to rest and another era started. It all started when Sander Berge bundled home an opener after an error from Lumley in the Boro goal. Billy Sharp was next to slam home into The Kop goal after a lovely pass from Morgan Gibbs-White left the skipper with the simplest of finishes. The scoring stopped until the second half when Jack Robinson poked home after some pinballing from a corner. Boro were given a slight reprieve when a rare Foderingham error allowed Arsenal loanee Balogun to tap into an empty net to pull a goal back but it would be United who would have the last laugh with a stroke of sheer brilliance from Gibbs-White who backheel volleyed a floated Osborn cross into the far corner of Lumley's net as the drubbing was finished and our new manager's name rang out loud over the chilly Sheffield night. It was a brilliant night for everyone involved in a Blades capacity and really did allow us the chance to put the Wilder years behind us and welcome in fully Paul Heckingbottom as our new boss. Just a brilliant, brilliant game. And there we have it. Congratulations to all nominees and all winners over our 8 categories. It's been a very interesting season to say the least for everyone who follows Sheffield United with the lowest of lows being met with wuthering highs. Where do we go from here? Who knows? But it should definitely be interesting to watch if nothing else. The blog will be back for a 6th season whenever we play our first game but there will be some coverage of the Women's EURO's that will be happening commencing with a very tasty looking clash between Holland and Sweden in early July. So, thank you all for taking the time out of your day to read the rambling thoughts of a stranger on the internet and I'll see you all in July! Until then, have a wonderful summer and, as ever, UTB.
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The story of Icarus, the Kansas City Royals in 2014, the GB mixed curling team from this year's Olympics. This triumvirate of teams (and a fable) all focus around people that flew close to the precipice of success but ultimately just couldn't quite get over the line to ensure the ultimate glory for themselves. On Tuesday night, the Sheffield United vintage of 2021/22 will join these illustrious(?) teams after we almost secured our place in the Championship play-off final after a battling performance at The City Ground that ultimately saw us win the game but cruelly lose on penalties. So, let's revisit this, this ballad of Hecky and his red and white warriors who put up a credible fight but ultimately got lost in the dark, deep depths of an incumbent Forest.
Two changes were made from the first leg for The Blades with George Baldock and, more surprisingly, Rhys Norrington-Davies were in for Osborn and Stevens. Forest were unchanged from their first leg victory. United started the game with a Jack Robinson bombardment of the Forest box which eventually led to our first big chance of the fixture. Robinson launched a ball into the box and John Egan got on the end of it but sent his header narrowly wide of Bamba's post. There was another fantastic chance minutes later with United breaking down the left with Morgan Gibbs-White playing a wonderfully weighted outside of the foot pass into the path of Illiman Ndiaye who's effort was just deflected away by Bamba's arm. It would be a crucial miss as minutes later Forest broke away down our right and in a carbon copy of their opener on Saturday, Surridge beat Basham for pace and squared to Brennan Johnson who slid home into the top corner to give Forest a lead against the run of play and it looked like the tie as a whole was now dead. Forest did push a bit after this and efforts from Garner and Surridge went wide and were blocked. United tried to find an equaliser with an effort from Ndiaye from just outside the box probably the closest we came in this period of play. There was a bench clearing incident involving Heckingbottom and Spence after our manger took umbrage with the Forest wing back's time wasting. This saw Hecky get a booking but this did seem to give United a bit of a lift as we ended the half looking a lot more up for it with Norwood going closest with a dipping effort that narrowly cleared Samba's bar. The half ended and, for all our hard work, it looked like the tie was over and the second half would be processionary for Forest. However! No one told Morgan Gibbs-White about the tie being over as just two minutes after the restart we had the ball in the back of the net! Berge danced into the penalty area and his low driven cross found MGW in the six yard box with the Wolves loanee prodding home to send the away end into raptures and all of a sudden we were back in the tie with 43 minutes left to play! A glut of corners followed as we went looking for another goal with the best effort from those seeing Robinson have an effort head towards the goal but it was blocked by none other than Iliman Ndiaye. A few minutes later and a dangerous looking ball from Norwood was just cut out by Samba before Baldock could get on the end of it. It looked like the game had calmed down a bit as we entered the final 15 minutes but then it happened. a tricky run from Baldock saw him beat a Forest defender and slide a ball on a silver plate for John Fleck to tap home to score his first goal since Peterborough at home and, more importantly get us back on level terms in the tie. Forest looked shell shocked and the away end was in absolute ecstasy. It was what we deserved and now after not leading at all over the two ties we had the lead on the night and looked more likely to go on and get another. The game now became very end to end as both teams looked to avoid extra time. United had and effort from Ndiaye narrowly go over and Forest saw McKenna and Davis go close but neither team could find that crucial winner and so we went to extra time. The first 15 minutes of extra time saw limited chances from both teams with the best efforts probably being a shot from Ndiaye that Bamba saved comfortably and Forest put in a few crosses that Wes claimed comfortably. But that was about it for the first period. The second period saw a little bit more goalmouth action as Lolley slipped before he could shoot at the beginning of the period. The best chance of the added on period came 5 minutes before the end of play and it fell to United and Ndiaye. A corner caused chaos in the Forest area and a knock on eventually fell to Ndiaye who's shot on the turn from inside the six yard box that Bamba just about turned away. It was a very good opportunity and should have probably been put away. Joe Lolley saw another effort slide wide of Wes's post but that was that for the tie and it would now be settled via penalties. The penalties were very much like the first leg of this tie as we proceeded to miss our first two which put us at an immediate disadvantage. Forest scored their first two and Berge buried our third and Lolley skied the third to give us some hope but it wasn't to be as Samba saved Gibbs-White penalty and Forest were through. So... Here we are then. defeated but on the whole proud. After a pretty abysmal first leg where we were very lucky to get away with a one goal deficit to go to The City Ground and go for the jugular and try and win the tie was admirable. On another day, Ndiaye scores at least one of those chances we're looking at the unlikeliest of turnarounds. But, alas, it wasn't to be. It was a heroic performance from our boys and considering where we were even in January to be in the play-offs at all is a fantastic achievement from the playing and management staff. So that's it then. The 2021/22 season is done and dusted from a Blades perspective and what a season it's been. We've had ups, we've had downs but, most importantly, we've been back in stadiums which a year ago looked like we'd be a long way off capacity crowds so to be able to be back in stadiums among fellow supporters has been brilliant and now it's time for a slight break before we come back again at the end of July. Thank you all for reading my ramblings again for something like six years now which is very scary to contemplate and I'll catch you all very soon first for the blogs end of season awards and then after that, maybe a little something in regards to the Women's EURO's over the course of the summer! Until next time, UTB. Has everyone reading this ever watched Man VS Food? For those that have, skip on a few lines and either get on reading the review but if you don't know what Man VS Food is it's basically a bloke going around America and taking on food challenges of humongous proportions be it massive pizzas or a literal kitchen sink full of ice cream. It's a pretty niche idea for a TV programme but it is oddly interesting to watch. But one of the big things that usually happens on this programme when either Adam or new guy (Casey Webb) is when they hit what they call 'The Wall'. This wall usually comes when the presenter has eaten too much, too quickly and it leads to them slowing down and they either have to power through the wall and break it down or succumb to the mass of food and fail the challenge. This, in some way, is a parallel to what may have happened on Saturday as we took on Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the Championship play-offs. After our blistering performance against Fulham, we turned up against Forest and comfortably looked the second best team. So, before tonight's deciding tie, let's look back on Saturday.
United were unchanged from the team that beat Fulham and, despite rumours that he wouldn't even make the bench, Forest did indeed have Keinan Davis as a part of their matchday 18. United came out to a cauldron of noise from the Bramall Lane faithful with John Street bathed in red and white cards as the teams undertook various pre match rituals. United did start the game fairly decently and the first flash point of the contest with Sander Berge being dragged off his feet in the box that did look a teensy tiny bit like a penalty but the referee and the linesman ignored the protestations of Berge and the United fans and play continued. Would VAR have overturned it? Who knows. Anyway, Forest took advantage of some slack passing from Norwood which eventually saw the ball in our box with Jack Colback forcing a cracking save from Wes but our No.1 couldn't do anything about the follow up effort and Colback smashed home into the Kop net to send the top of the Bramall Lane End into raptures. United did almost have an instant response with Robinson having an effort from a corner cleared off the line. This was the last chance United had of the first 45 really with Forest beginning to exploit our lack of ability to defend vertically with Wes being called into action a few times and a header narrowly looping over the Kop end goal. It was a disappointing first half from United, would it get any better in the second period? The second half did see United probe and press for an equaliser with Berge and Gibbs-White both having efforts on goal that didn't really trouble Samba in the Forest goal. Despite the early pressure however, it would be Forest who would find the next goal in the contest and it was entirely our own fault. Egan dithered on the ball and was robbed by Lolley who squared the ball to Brennan Johnson who slammed home to seemingly put the game beyond doubt. A long throw from Robinson was met by Basham who's looped header looked like it might just drop into the goal but it didn't and United continued to chase a crucial goal. As we entered stoppage time at the end of the game, it looked like we would be heading to The City Ground with a mountain to climb but then, out of nowhere, a Morgan Gibbs-White corner was met by the head of Sander Berge who headed home to reduce the deficit in the tie and despite not being in the match at all really, we've got something to cling to as we enter play tonight. Forest come away from a game they should have won comfortably still looking over their shoulder. Will we be able to capitalise? We'll find out tonight. So, despite being generally outplayed in the first leg of this play-off tie, we're still in it. We'll need to be on our game from the word go tonight but I think there's a lot less pressure on us than there is on Forest. Let's hope the boys come out and have a stormer and hopefully at 10PM tonight, we'll be celebrating another trip to Wembley. Until next time, UTB. There's not many better places to be in Sheffield than Bramall Lane when the sun is shining and United are playing well. The sun beating down on the hallowed turf creating long, raking shadows that stretch from the South Stand and Bramall Lane end that envelop the Bramall Lane goalmouth in their wake whilst those of us who sit on John Street and The Kop shield our eyes with caps, hands or programmes to get a better view of our boys knocking the ball about the green grass. It's a special place to be when the going is good and on Saturday, after a season of many ups and downs, United signed off our regular season with a flourish and, more importantly, securing our seat in the end of season play-off lottery. So, enough of the build up, let's get on with the review!
It was another unchanged XI for United with the only change to the matchday squad being George Baldock returning to the 18. Fulham were without captain Tom Cairney who missed out due to his partner giving birth (congratulations!) but that didn't stop the champions putting out a strong starting XI with Robinson, Seri, Liverpool bound Carvalho and, of course, record breaking centre forward Aleksander Mitrovic all starting. Before kick off, United did the sporting thing and gave the league champions a guard of honour and as the atmosphere crackled around the ground, United looked a little bit shaky early doors which saw Fulham play some incisive one touch football that saw Kebano look dangerous a couple of times. The nerves were settled in the 10th minute however when a fantastic cross from Oli Norwood was met by the head of Morgan Gibbs-White who rose highest to head the ball in off of Gazzaniga's right hand post to get his 11th goal of the season and send Bramall Lane into raptures. This did settle us down and start to get a foot in the game and went close not long after that with Robinson heading over from a corner. The second goal of the game came soon after and this time Gibbs-White turned provider this time after picking the ball up from Berge who nicked the ball from Seri who slipped just outside the box and fed it to Gibbs-White who slid it in to Iliman Ndiaye who slammed home to get his fourth goal in five games to once again send Bramall Lane into a mass of flailing limbs. It got even better not long after when a low ball from Ndiaye was turned home by our Norwegian big boy sliding in to more or less secure the play off place after 25 minutes. United did have the ball in the net twice before the end of the half with Ndiaye and Gibbs-White having efforts knocked off for offside and just before the half was out, Fulham did force big match Wes into a big save when Carvalho saw his effort from just outside the six yard box turned over the bar by Wes as he continued to add to his saves to his resume. The half time whistle went not long after this effort and it was a blistering performance from The Blades. United didn't put the handbrake on after that first half performance and put the game fully beyond Fulham 4 minutes into the second half when some lovely passing eventually saw Berge lay off a ball onto an onrushing Enda Stevens who scored his first league goal of the season and what proved to be United's last of the season and took the applause of the fans as the three points and our play-off place was eventually secured. United did push for more for a little bit after Enda's goal with a few passing moves seeing us caught out for offside. Fulham probably had the better chances of the half once we'd scored our fourth with Kebano forcing Wes to produce a quality save down low to keep his clean sheet in tact. But that was more or less that for United's 2021/2022 regular season campaign and after looking dead and buried half way through, it's incredible to be saying that we will indeed have a chance to secure an immediate bounce back to the Premier League. All in all, a very good day! So, what a way to end your season! After looking like the play-offs were dead and buried against Reading we find ourselves 5th and five points clear of 7th place after doing what we needed to do and winning all three of our last games. It's been an incredible effort from everyone involved in a Sheffield United shirt/jacket these last three games and it really does see us in really good nick going into the playoffs and perhaps sees us in the best form of the four teams we find ourselves in the play-off places with. We now face the challenge of Nottingham Forest over two legs to secure our first visit to Wembley for 8 years. So, let's hope the Lane is rocking on Saturday and that our brilliant away support cheers us to a win on Tuesday! Until next time, UTB. Do you remember that time when we went to London and never lost? It was in the middle of the Wilder era and it was a nice little statistic. QPR, Chelsea, Brentford, we went to them all and more often than not, came back to Sheffield with a point or three in our back pocket. There was also that time during 2018/2019 when we went a near full calendar year unbeaten away from home. We lost against Swansea in February(?) 2018 and then didn't lose again until we went to Man City at the back end/start of 2019 and were harshly defeated at the home of the champions. It was a fun time. Our away form hasn't really been as good as that since then really and this season, it's been pretty poor and we currently find ourselves 17th in the Championship away table. But enough about that, let's talk about our last away day of the season.
A rarity in regards to the starting XI this season in that no changes were made to the starting line up that beat Cardiff last week with the only change coming on the bench with Jebbison coming back into the 18 for the injured Sharp. QPR lined up with a few notable names in the XI with Championship stalwarts Adomah, Johansen (more on him and Robbo later) and Charlie Austin alongside former transfer target Dion Sanderson at the heart of their defence. United started the game the quickest and a few blocks from QPR alongside a few poor final balls saw United probing for an opener. Basham and Stevens probably came closest in the opening exchanges but Stevens effort was blocked before it could get to Mahoney in the QPR goal and Bash's effort from a corner was dragged wide despite little pressure. All of the pressure came to naught however as it would be our hosts who opened the scoring. Adomah collected the ball on the left and curled a ball into the area that Charlie Austin clambered over Basham to head home past Foderingham and give QPR a shock lead. United tried to get on terms and MGW was set free by Stevens but our Wolves loanee shot straight at Mahoney. Ndiaye was the next to have an opportunity but his effort on the edge of the box sailed comfortably over the bar QPR nearly doubled their lead before the end of the half after an effort from Austin was parried by Wes but Chair couldn't get the ball under control and it was cleared for a corner with the half time whistle going not long after. United started the second half on top and should have had an equaliser 4 minutes after the restart when Robinson met a Norwood corner but QPR stopper Mahoney pulled off a cracking stop to keep the hosts in the lead. The pressure continued and another corner lead to a Gibbs-White flicked header hitting the post and being scrambled clear before Berge or Egan could turn the ball home. The equaliser did come not long after that and it was another Norwood corner that saw pinballing in the QPR box with Iliman Ndiaye eventually slamming home to bring us level. More set piece chaos saw Sanderson almost put the ball past his own keeper but Mahoney was alert and clawed the ball away. The game became a bit more open at this point and Egan was on hand to clear away a rare Rangers break before it could fall to an attacker but, just before the 75 minute mark, United pulled ahead and it came from ex-QPR man Robinson! A set piece saw Norwood receive the ball from Fleck which our ping king floated out towards Basham who headed the ball back into the area that Robinson powered home to send the away end into raptures. Incredibly, QPR nearly levelled the game shortly after this when a deflected McCallum effort was flicked on by Dunne and with Wes rooted to the spot the ball thankfully cannoned off the bar and away. QPR began to build a bit of pressure but as we entered 8 minutes of added time, it would be United who w.ould get the next goal. Norwood won the ball in the midfield and fed the ball to Berge who picked out an onrushing Hourihane in the box with a fantastic cross that the Republic of Ireland international caught sweetly on the volley and with his first touch of the ball, cannoned the ball home to secure us a vital three points. The game saw no more clear cut opportunities but it did see Jack Robinson perform a picture perfect teardrop suplex on Johansen that saw our man get booked and I assume left a certain Shawn Michaels somewhere nodding and smiling to himself. But, yeah, we won! Shell yeah! We've got something to play for next week! What a performance! That second half performance on Friday night has to be up there with one of our best 45 minutes of the season. After a first half that started well but then saw us look toothless when QPR scored, United were a tour de force in the second period. It was wave upon wave of attacks and had we been a bit more composed in front of goal it could easily have been more. Full credit to the lads and Heckingbottom for getting the team to come out in the second period and perform like that because it was a joy to watch. Special mention must go out for the scorer of our second goal Jack Robinson. From being one of our poorest performers at the start of the season, Robinson has been a revelation since at least the start of the year and has been putting in some brilliant performances at the back and has managed to bag some crucial goals for us as well with his goal here perhaps being the most important of the lot. All credit to Robbo, he's proved a lot of people wrong during this second half of the season, myself included. Here's hoping the solid performances continue till the end of the season! So, it all comes down to Sunday. At Bramall Lane all we have to do is win. Our opponents? Fulham. But if we perform like we did in the second half, then there's a very good chance we'll be in the play-off places come 3PM. Let's make The Lane loud and back our boys! Until next time, UTB. |
AuthorHi my name is John and i will be giving my thoughts on the blades matches and all blades related news in this section Archives
November 2022
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