Sheffield United came back from 2-0 down on Saturday to claim a point against Bolton. Goals from Rob Hulse and Colin Kazim-Richards in the space of three minutes helped the Blades to a 2-2 draw.
United started the game brightly, forcing an early couple of corners which saw Morgan and Hulse head wide. Bolton did not take long to come back into the game though and saw both Nolan and Tal shoot just wide of Kenny’s left hand post.
Bolton showed their danger on the break again minutes later when Tal found Davies in space on the edge of the box, only for Morgan to superbly block the striker’s shot. Morgan could do nothing about Bolton’s goal on 34 minutes though. As jagielka misjudged Pedersen’s long ball Diouf was let in and the striker curled his shot passed Kenny and in to the far corner.
The Blades could have been 2-0 down at half time had Kenny not saved superbly from a Tal strike. United went in at the break having created little in front of goal against a side who were giving them no space or time on the ball.
Warnock brought on Kazim-Richards to replace Gillespie at the start of the second half and the forward had an immediate impact on the game. His mazy run found Quinn on the edge of the box but the latter’s strike was gathered easily by Jaaskelainen.
Just as the Blades seemed to be getting more of a grip on the game they found themselves 2-0 down. After some scrappy defending Tal laid the ball back to Davies, who’s low strike wrong-footed Kenny and found the left corner of the net.
The goal brought an immediate reaction from Warnock who brought on Law for Montgomery and Nade for Quinn. United started to push forward more and managed to pull a goal back on 70 minutes through Hulse, who met a Leigertwood cross to head powerfully past Jaaskelainen. The Blades, who looked dead and buried at 2-0 down suddenly found some belief.
Bramall Lane erupted only three minutes later when Kazim-Richards levelled the score. Jaaskelainen could only push the ball away under pressure from Hulse and as Nade layed the ball back to Kazim-Richards the forward picked his spot and curled the ball in from 25 yards out.
Bolton looked shaken and United continued to push forward following the equaliser and nearly took the lead when Hulse headed over the bar on 75 minutes.
Although the Blades were on a high in the final quarter of the game, it was in fact Bolton who should have won it. Nolan headed straight at Kenny from eight yards out, after a handball somehow went unspotted by the referee. Next it was Anelka’s turn to waste a chance when he overhit a cross after breaking clear on the left wing. United were indebted to Kenny again on 86 minutes when the Irishman saved a point-blank shot from Faye to keep the scores level.
The final whistle was met with a relieved cheer from the home support, who realised that it was a point gained rather than two thrown away, after coming back from 2-0 down. United now await the visit of league leaders Manchester United next Saturday. The Blades certainly can’t afford to give Rooney et al a 2-0 lead and expect to get anything out of the game. For now though United can enjoy the feeling of a great comeback against Bolton that saw them climb out of the bottom three.
Player Ratings
Kenny
8.5/10
Made two unbelivable saves to earn a point for the Blades.
Kozluck
6.5/10
Defended well but his passing was poor at times.
Jagielka
6.5/10
Played well but made a big mistake to gift Diouf his goal.
Morgan
7/10
A typical Morgan performance- Full of heart and made a great block, but found life difficult against Diouf.
Geary
6.5/10
Similar to Kozluck in that he defended well but wasn’t as effective coming forward.
Leigertwood
6/10
After a great performance against Newcastle Leigertwood wasn’t as effective today. Got pushed off the ball too easily at times.
Montgomery
6/10
Worked hard but passing was poor and lost the ball too often.
Quinn
5/10
Was positive coming forward but was pushed off the ball too easily against a powerful defence.
Gillespie
5.5/10
Similar to Quinn, but did better defensively.
Hulse
7/10
A fairly quiet game for Hulse compared to usual, but he took his goal superbly.
Webber
3/10
Another shocker from Webber. Saw little of the ball and didn’t look interested the few times he had it.
Kazim-Ricards
8/10
Took his goal brilliantly and went on a number of mazy runs.
Law
6.5/10
Did well the few times he had the ball.
8.5/10
Did everything right. His power and directness changed the game.
Manager Rating
7/10
The three substitutions came off for Warnock, but why did he have to wait till we were 2-0 down to bring Nade on!