I was glad to be back on my seat on the Kop for the early kick off today. It was good seeing BDTBL again and twenty-five thousand other fans.
There were a couple of changes in the starting line-up, Duffy came back in midfield, and Wright slotted back in at the back. Duffy ended up with the man of the match and it was well deserved to be honest. I`d have had it between him and Basham who did a lot of clearing up across the back line.
I suppose I could be moaning again but I thought the ref and the linesman on the John Street side in the first half were poor. With Leon`s sending off it seemed a tad harsh. He reacted after Macdonald had fouled him and reacted towards Leon in the first half. I think they should have both just had a yellow for that. After all, Hammill clattered one of our defenders at the Kop end and that was worthy of a red-card but he got away with a yellow. There were a few cards shown in that game though, Sharp had one for an innocuous challenge and when one of Barnsley`s midfield fell over the top of Fleck, Fleck was shown the yellow as well.
The linesman switched sides after half time and ended up flagging us offside more often than not, so it was a bit frustrating. We did have a lot of opportunities though, 18 shots and six on target, plus twelve corners! I would have thought more of those corners would have paid off though. Sharp netter a close range effort and put us ahead. We had a more attacking attitude going forward as well, maybe as we were at home, but seemed to threaten all the time. With Duffy and Fleck in midfield we played a lot more aggressive, attacking football. When Brooks came on in the second half he caused problems and was unfortunate not to get on the score sheet after his effort dribbled along the goal line and hit the opposite post and came out. He liked running at their defence, which I don`t think they expected. O`Connell fancied his chances as well this match, I`m sure he was dying to make up for the “offside” against Boro, he kept coming forward and taking shots from outside the area which was excellent to see.
You could see the players were eager, even when Clarke got fouled in the first half, before anyone could tell Ched Evans to warm up he sprang straight out of the dug-out and ran the line. I was glad he made an appearance in the second half though, the crowd were shouting “Super Ched” towards the end of the first half. He had too much to do though in the second period, coming on for Sharp, he was on his own up front and had to chase about the pitch. He`ll probably get more time now that Clarke will have a three match ban now.
I did think that CW might have plumped for a first-half substitution after Clarke and Macdonald got sent off, thought he might have thrown on Evans and take advantage of a lack of an opposition defender.
It was a good match to watch, good atmosphere as always at the Lane. I`m sure my presence after coming back from being away for the last five and a half months has brought some luck and seen us back to winning ways!! It`s either that or the fact that I was wearing my supporter`s club polo shirt as I haven`t washed it since we won against Bolton last season (Superstitious!).
Cup match next against Leicester, then I`ll be missing the Derby County match as I`m away on holiday for a week, hope we can keep this going now and pull clear of the Piggies!
UTB!!!
Olly
Olly Longden (RFA)
Sheffield United MOD/Armed Forces Supporter`s Branch
Email: oliverlongden@aol.com
Tweet: @oliverlongden4
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