I find it personally hilarious that Reading appear to have a squad list this season of, wait for it, 42 players. Seriously. Go and look at the back of yesterday's programme if you don't believe me. 42 Players and about half of them were in FourFourTwo's best players of the Football League 10 years ago. Yep, back before it was colloquially called 'The EFL' half of them are there. Which makes it interesting to say something like 'Reading would have a top Championship squad... If it was 2012" because despite being saved from relegation largely due to other teams points deductions, Reading found themselves top of the league going into last night's game. Shocking, I'm sure you'll agree and just to further add to that football nostalgia, United were second! It's 2005-06 all over again and I think I can see David Kitson and Leroy Lita about to tear us a new one. Except that didn't happen did it? Because it's not 2005 and because Sheffield United appear to have a squad capable of decimating a team quicker than Adam Rickman can eat a kitchen sink full of ice cream. So, let's talk about last night then, shall we?
Two changes were made from our Friday night sojourn to the nation's favourite airport Luton (more of a Doncaster/Sheffield man myself, but each to their own) with Anel coming in for Bash and Tommy Doyle coming in for James 'Jimbo' McAtee. Reading was as i mentioned above, a who's that of good Championship players gone by. Junior Hoilett, Jeff Hendrick and former wonder boy Tom Ince all lined up for our opposition. Ex Wednesday players Sam Hutchinson and Lucas Joao were also said but they didn't really do much apart from get booed. Anyway, United started like prime Road Runner and created openings for Lowe, Doyle and Berge that none of them actually got to then it happened. Foul. Edge of the box. This is now prime Norwood country pardner and he's about to make Joe Lumley cry. Here he goes... Close, but no cigar. No worry Oli, your counterpart is about to score. Yes, like the proverbial adage about buses, Oli McBurnie continued his hot streak in front of goal and leapt like a Salmon to meet a Lowe cross with a bullet header that I'm pretty sure would have caused poor Lumley's hand to disintegrate had he got a hand to it, he didn't and it was one nil Blades! Reading came into a bit after this with a Loum effort dragging wide but then Unied were back at it again. McBurnie had an effort deflect into Lumley's hands and then Ndiaye saw a shot blocked. The pressure continued but no dice and United were nearly made to pay for our semi tardiness when Egan decided he wanted to give Joao a clean run on goal but then, like a Welsh version of Nightcrawler, RND came outta nowhere to nick the ball off his tootsies before he could think about the shot. Reading went close again before the half hour mark as Anel let Tom Ince try and recreate his youth when he sent a first time effort from his attempted clearance spiralling towards him in the box. Thankfully, Tom Ince is old now and sent his effort well wide of Wes's post. United bucked their ideas the F up after this and should have had a second. Tommy Doyle sent a ball into the dark Sheffield night apparently to no one but wait! It's dropping and Illiman is clean through on goal! Will he finish? He couldn't. His effort bobbled past Lumley's post with Illi perhaps not realising he had more time to get a shot off. United ended the first period strong and Ndiaye had another chance to get a goal just before the break but his effort from a Lowe cross went so far over the bar that I'm pretty sure it's the reason Artemis 1 isn't launching before Saturday. Alas, it was still a decent half for Illi and the boys, could it get better in the second half? It could you know, a corner won by McBurnie was swung in by Doyle with Anel swiping in like Dora's arch nemesis to get his second goal of the season and his first in front of The Kop. Reading did respond a teeny, tiny bit after this but didn't really have a shot on goal. A whipped Hoilett cross was nearly met by Holmes but not quite and it curled behind for a goal kick. It would be United who would get the next goal in the game and it was that man Illiman Ndiaye who would get the goal. Lowe broke onto the edge of the Reading box and he played the ball to Berge who layed the ball onto Illi who rolled the ball past a couple of Reading men, took aim and placed his shot past Lumley for his 4th of the season. The game went into a bit of a lull after this with neither team looking like they wanted to attack anymore. Reading were done and it looked like we were pretty content to knock the ball around too. The Blades did have a half effort as we entered the final twenty when the Brewster/Berge connection combined which almost saw Brewster backheel into the net. It didn't quite come off but it seemed to wake United up a bit with Doyle going close not long after. Bash was the next to test Lumley's wrists as he got on the end of a McAtee cross with his downwards header being agonisingly tipped over by Lumley. That was quickly forgotten however as from the resulting corner (well, the resulting recycling of play per se) United had a fourth. Bash rolled the ball back to Norwood in his 'zone' with his whipped cross being met by Anel with a diving header that Edin Dzeko would be proud of to get his second of the game and his third of the campaign. And just like that, a mesmerising night at The Lane was over and United reclaimed top spot and continued our unbeaten run at home. I could spit so many superlatives about how good last night was. Incisive, cutting, dangerous they're all there but I'll leave it at them because this article is getting a bit long in the tooth. It was just good wasn't it? We were worried about how we'd create chances with the loss of MGW but we've managed to replace his creativity and, more impressively, then some. We've scored 11 goals in four home games and that could have been even more all the while only conceding once in those game. Bramall Lane has genuinely become a fortress again for the first time in a while and that can only lead to good things if we continue to keep it that way. All in all, a very good August for United with only one loss and being unbeaten since that loss with a few very commanding performances and lots and lots of goals. We're top after the first month, it's all good so far bit there's still a long way to go. So, until next time, UTB.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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
Categories |