Post by deadbat on Dec 21, 2021 9:45:12 GMT
Podcast coming later today all being well (links to follow). Report below….
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With much of the football world seemingly in a state of flux, matching that of the wider society, the game did go ahead on Monday night at Craven Cottage as league leaders Fulham entertained the mid-table Blades. After the full-time whistle, the Blades will have been delighted the game went ahead as they made it four wins on the bounce and three straight for Heckingbottom since he was appointed permanent manager. Iliman Ndiaye’s superb individual goal early on gave United a platform and for the most part the Blades managed the game superbly offering Fulham few chances of note until a late Mitrovic/Wilson double miss in stoppage time. United now are inching near the playoff area and the resilience and togetherness that seemed missing much of the season, seems to be back in the camp as United not only won but kept yet another clean sheet. It was the first league win for United at Craven Cottage since September of 1985 when Steve Foley (2) and Glenn Cockerill were the scorers in a 3-2 win in front of only 4,266 fans.
United had to make changes with McGoldrick (Covid) and Davies (personal reasons) out so in came Jack Robinson for a rare start and Iliman Ndiaye. There was no place in the match day squad for Brewster, McBurnie or Mousset as the Blades’ striking depth was severely limited due to various reasons of unavailability.
Fulham were clear at the top and despite a run of draws, will have been boosted by the fact that their two closest challengers, West Brom and Bournemouth both dropped points this weekend.
The game started with United kicking away from their excellent following of supporters, considering the new date, TV coverage and the recent upsurge in Covid cases. The Blades started confidently moving it around and on the attack but the early goal came from a home side spell of possession. The ball was turned over by the Cottagers and fell to NDIAYE. The French forward took it on confidently and ran from well inside his own half. He kept going and moved away from two challenges and then as he approached the edge of the box, curled a delightful left footed finish away from the despairing dive of Rodak. It was a wonderful individual goal showing his qualities of pace, running and composure.
With a goal to build on, United continued their excellent start and were moving the ball around well with Ndiaye looking to flick and trick when he could. Fulham had struggled to get going but slowly started to see more of the ball and Wilson was becoming a threat getting into pockets of space. They did not really create anything until a ball down the side saw Mitrovic get in but he pulled his shot wide.
Fulham then got into the box and Wilson skipped past two defenders but then fell as he looked to take the shot and United cleared. United continued to look threatening the other way and Ndiaye’s fleet footed skills were a highlight early on. Gibbs White had not been as influential but his beautiful ball saw Sharp in but the striker could not get it under his spell and Rodak pouched the ball. It was a good chance for the skipper.
Fulham had struggled to build up much headway in open play and their next chance came from a deep free kick headed back by Tosin and Kebano was in space but he dragged his shot wide. His appeals for a corner fell on deaf ears and it seemed the correct decision as it did not hit a Blades player on the way behind. Foderingham was booked for taking his time over a goal kick but in truth the Blades had not been really in any trouble and had looked dangerous when they did attack.
Rodak’s poor punch nearly saw Norwood profit but the half time whistle was not long coming and United had limited Fulham to few chances and Foderingham had not made a save.
At half time, Silva brought on Cairney for Seri in an attempt to bring some creativity for the disappointing home side. The Blades also had to make a change with Gibbs White not able to shake off his knock and Berge came on in his place – as the visitors went to a more orthodox flat three in the middle of the field.
Fulham saw a lot of the ball but United were well organised and kept a solid shape and often the final ball from the home side went awry drawing groans from the Cottage. Cairney and Wilson tried to link up and the latter was clattered by Jack Robinson, drawing a yellow card. Wilson then nearly found an opening but Egan did well to get across before Basham did likewise.
United had soaked up the Fulham attacks and indeed had the best chance of the half as they broke down the right and Bogle was in after good work from Berge but he got blocked out.
De Cordova Reid came on for Carvalho and soon after Muniz Carvalho for Robinson, as Fulham used their final changes with still 20 minutes to play.
Fulham finally had a shot on target as Mitrovic’s turn and shot was straight at Foderingham and quite comfortable before at the other end Ndiaye, who had been quieter this half, got in space and found Sharp but the flag went up despite the striker’s excellent finish into the top corner.
Fleck and Osborn came on for Hourihane and Ndiaye as the game moved towards the final 10 minutes and Fulham did start to at least build up some pressure but Foderingham’s handling was immaculate on two occasions from a high cross and then a low ball into the box.
Bogle was booked for bringing down Kebano and Fulham won a number of free kicks and corners but the Blades held firm as the game ticked into four minutes of stoppage time. Right at the start of this Fulham had a great chance to win a point. The ball was pumped forward and Osborn’s clearance did not go very far and the ball was knocked into the wide right position on the angle and Mitrovic was left unmarked. The striker came inside and waited patiently before hitting a fierce shot that thudded against the bar. The ball came back out and it seemed Wilson would net the rebound but made a real mess of it spooning it high and wide. It was a lucky let off for the Blades who had defended so well up this frantic finale.
United saw out the remaining period of additional time with no further worries and the full-time whistle was met by a loud ovation from the jubilant away supporters who celebrated with the players who came over to thank them for their terrific support that was rewarded with the best result of the season.
United – A fantastic win and a good performance. We scored a great early goal and then worked our socks off and did what we had to and deservedly won the game limiting the best attack in the league to barely an effort and only the late chance saw any concern in a solid, organised and professional showing.
On paper today looked the toughest game left on paper, playing the league leaders away. We have played a fair few of the other top sides away. I thought Fulham would be tough and show us where we at in terms of improvements after routine defeats to challengers West Brom and Blackburn on the road (albeit did well at Bournemouth and unlucky to lose). The recent opponents, Reading, Bristol City and Cardiff were all really poor sides. The reality is today showed what a bad division it is but also showed United’s improvements and that if you can defend, be organised and do the little things, you can be the right side of tight games.
Maybe Fulham had an off day but they have not been ripping things up recently and, in the end, United were decent value for the win and it was a classic away performance. We got an early goal – a fantastic one – then we managed the game pretty well. Fulham struggled to break down a very organised defence with good protection in front too. We lost Gibbs White but still managed to do enough to limit them and with a bit more care on the break might have had another goal. They had a few efforts but Foderingham was faultless again. Not sure I recall many chances at all and he made some fairly routine saves. At the end we got deeper and deeper and the chance fell to Mitrovic but after it hit the bar, Wilson somehow missed the rebound. We got lucky there but we do not seem to have experienced more fortune the last 18 months so nice to see a couple of efforts miss the target.
I am not sure we were superb with the ball and at times rushed or made poor decisions and I felt the longer the game went on, we became more jittery in possession but actually to be fair when we lost it, we got into a great shape and denied spaces/areas. Out of possession, we were excellent. The team had few gaps either in the middle or down the sides and we stopped the supply to Mitrovic. I thought Robinson came in and had a really solid game alongside Egan who had his best game of the season. Bash was Bash and the wing backs did ok defensively. I also thought Hourihane and Norwood screened and protected the defence well. Ndiaye and Sharp worked hard and well to get Sander 45 minutes too. We were not scintillating and outside of the goal we only played a few pockets of good attacking football but ironically when we did, we looked dangerous. After leading we seemed caught between protecting and attacking and in the end, I felt we had a nice balance though and ended up just being really solid but trying to find spaces on the break when we could. I thought the work rate was superb and players hunted in packs. We tackled, covered space, got blocks in and vital interceptions. We won the big headers and also, I felt fouled when we had to. We slowed the game down nicely at times and it was as I say a perfect away performance. Get an early goal and then just make the game a bit messy and slow it down when needed but try and pass when we could. We really did limited Fulham to nothing significant at all that I can remember.
The table looks so much healthier now. United need to ensure they keep to the standards they have set in terms of not giving away sloppy goals and limiting chances but also keeping the ball and attacking when they have chances to do this. We showed this against a good side and as we have seen, versus poorer sides will get more chances. Nice to see Ndiaye come in and take his chance and he did well with his goal and showed other flashes at times. We of course had a number of strikers missing so it was crucial he came in and got back to the form he exhibited when he broke into the team.
We now have to back things up with some games where points are very attainable in Preston away and Hull at home where we need to be looking for 4 points minimum to me. We then have a certain former manager in town.
Hope the games go ahead of course as the country is still in an uncertain status and the recent development in Wales is a bit of a worry in terms of our chances of being able to keep attending, as we have often ended up doing what they and Scotland have, albeit later. I do think we may end up with reduced crowds or even behind closed door at some point. I think the games do need to keep happening whatever restrictions may or are put on fans. If teams have enough players, then games need to go ahead where they can. I cannot see how stopping games for a week or too achieves very much to me? Everyone then is ok-ish but then even during that period some will go down as they get off family/kids etc? I am not sure what the point of a suspension is. Everyone comes back and maybe we have more games but then players start to go down again? The only situation where it works is if they go back to bubbles again and sadly behind closed doors games again might have to come in. Of course, the alternate is lots of games get postponed and we end up with so many rearrangements and the season finishes about July! Conversely, any break and with more subsequent games postponed anyway and that will still happen. It is hard to see a way where they can ensure all the games go ahead or teams will have most players available. In the states, the NBA has postponed a fair few but are essentially just trying to play through it. That might have to be the answer unless it becomes so rife that so many have it but then if that happens then that will be mirrored in society and there may be a bigger lockdown than a few weeks. The reality is they may be an issue every winter with different strains. Maybe they need to look at moving things to the summer for football? It is all a bit of a mess but then that is not just football and hard to see of a way out, when it seemed we were getting back to normal only a month ago.
Much of above is out of our control – just nice at the moment to see United winning and back giving us some pride. We have had a great last few weeks and last night felt like proper United again. Grafting, hardworking, muck of nettles etc. Sometimes fans, including myself get frustrated how we are portrayed and I wonder whether we will ever really have a style different that fans take to – but I do believe if Jokanovic had got us playing like Fulham or Watford, fans would have taken to it. Under Wilder we worked hard and entertained, playing great stuff. The last few weeks has been very much getting back to basics but those essential ingredients of tackling, running and being hard to score against are crucial whatever style you play as a team. Credit to messrs Heckingbottom, McCall and Lester for getting the team back doing those key things and we have still scored some good goals in the run too, both individually and collectively.
Ratings:
Foderingham 7.5/10 – His mark may seem a tough high for someone who did not have much to do but he was absolutely faultless all game – again. Really surprised me how well he has done. We have seen no bomb scare moments and no errors at all. Of course, he may make one (all keepers do) but overall, so far, he has been excellent and a big improvement on the jittery Olsen. His handling was superb and everything hit into him stuck. He caught crosses and just looked very assured and only the last chance/s saw him in any danger or worry but that was more down the defence sitting too deep I felt. He has taken his chance superbly and keeps the shirt moving forward.
Bogle 7/10 – I thought it was a bit of a mixed bag. He got into some good forward positions and showed his energy and running. He had some good runs and linked when he could. Defensively he was ok but a few times got wrong side of the man or gave away silly fouls and I thought near the end he became a bit sloppy and gave them way too much space. He does give us pace, athleticism and energy and Baldock will find it tough to get back in but good to see him back on the bench.
Stevens 6.5/10 – He has improved since Hecky has come in. He has not been the Stevens of old but has been better. I still think he might have been our weakest defender and at times still makes some odd decisions and clumsy clearances but defensively he was more assured with less errors. Wilson was a tough opponent and at times got away from him but he stuck to his task despite his opponent constantly going to ground. Did not see much of him going the other way as Bogle was by far the more dangerous in this regard.
Basham 7.5/10 – Typical Bash really. Got his foot in, head in, made blocks, ran up and down and did everything he could to affect the game. Not everything worked but he never shirked anything. Did well to battle some tricky opponents and helped restrict space. One error when he chased the ball and left Mitrovic for the chance at the end but cannot recall much else he did wrong defensively. His commitment to the Sheffield United cause makes him one of my favourite Blades ever. He has all the qualities I want in a player for my team. A proper player and professional. Absolutely love the guy and be a sad day when he does move on.
Robinson 7.5/10 – Surprise recall with Davies out and I worried against some skilled and physical forwards, he may struggle but do you know what? He was very good. He was composed, defended the basics he had to and kept in a solid line. Yes, he made the odd mistake and a clumsy booking but overall, he was part of a solid away side that did all the little things. They barely had a chance and he was part of a very organised defence. Got my ire a lot this season and last but credit to him for his performance and attitude last night.
Egan 8/10 – I feel his play has dropped off a fair bit (like many others) the last few months and I thought early in the season, he was as much a part of some of the bad goals and defensive performances as many of the more criticised players. He seemed to not dominate his man and rarely did we win those big headers/tackles when it counted. Not last night. Mitrovic was his main opponent and he really limited him. One turn and shot and then the last chance, not sure he caused us too many problems and we ensured, often by committee, that he got crowded out or did not have space. Not sure they held it up much either and he was able to make those key interceptions to ensure they could not build up any momentum. Looked much more like the defensive rock and leader we used to see in him.
Norwood 7/10 – He has improved like a lot of the team in recent weeks but what has surprised me the most is not necessarily his play on the ball but actually what he has done defensively and out of possession. We had to keep a solid shape and ensure we got across, covered gaps, got the foot in where we could and then try and keep it for periods. I felt the two lads in midfield showed qualities I was not sure they always offered, in terms of work rate, discipline and just being solid. They were both good screens for the defence and tried to ensure they limited them coming through the middle and funnelled them into areas where they were not dangerous. It is odd me praising him so much when he did not see much of the ball.
Hourihane 7/10 – As above really. Not sure he did as many things as Norwood and at times he was a bit careless with the ball but he got across the field and I saw quite a few tackles and challenges to slow them down. Him and Norwood made it quite crowded in there. He did fade a bit 2nd half and Fleck came on for him. He has been ok the last few games – nothing spectacular but solid.
Gibbs White 5.5/10 – I thought he was not at it tonight and our weakest player but maybe got a knock early? Nothing really came off for him and he ran into trouble more than once. He set them on the attack three times when he lost it. He is that sort of player though and on other occasions things may work and we get a chance from it. One excellent ball to Sharp though when he played him in. He picked up a knock and tried to carry on but went off at half time. Hopefully it is not too serious and he will be back for the next game.
Ndiaye 7.5/10 – What a start to the game and what a goal. He has been out of the team for a while and of course even if he is not a kid, he is young in games experience. He will be in and out in terms of games he plays and performances as he seeks to get that consistency. Clearly so much talent. Great at running with the ball close to him and strong. He is also composed too. It was a brilliant goal. After this he had a few flicks and tricks and maybe like Gibbs White, things did not quite work. He did keep working hard and still showed some moments. 2nd half he went on a good run and nearly made another for Sharp. Not sure we saw much of him after the break and went off with 12 minutes to go. However, for the goal alone he will rightly get the plaudits.
Sharp 6.5/10 – Involved in some of our decent early play and was able to link when we played some decent stuff. Did have a good chance from a ball forward from Bogle but could not control it. Thought he should have done better here. Saw less of the ball as the game went on although a few chances 2nd half and one where he was just offside and maybe going too early but finished well. Worked hard for the team even if not everything came off and his link play was mixed. It was hard as without a focal point to hold the ball up we had to play quite tight and precise stuff to keep the ball up there. He did run the lines and I felt kept pressing and did well to last the whole game. I personally would have put Burke on to stretch them on the break but then Sharp can show the experience to keep the ball or win the odd free kick so can see why he stayed on.
Subs –
Berge 6.5/10 – Did ok and showed some good bits on the ball but I thought that at times he was a bit conservative when he had it and could have got us up the pitch more. I thought that he looked a bit languid defensively and at times jogged rather than ran. Not really played for so long so hopefully the minutes will help.
Osborn – Thought he was poor and a bit headless chicken. We had been so disciplined and organised and he was sort of running around and not keeping to a defensive shape. Also, his awful pass/clearance led to the late chance and nearly cost us. I had no idea where he was playing? Sort of midfield/striker/left wing?
Fleck – Great to see him back. He helped us see things out. One good tackle near the end and a few little pockets of passes down the left.
Manager:
Heckingbottom 8.5/10 – Our best win of the season and a solid, well organised performance full of work ethic, graft and skill when it mattered (goal). We made the top of the league look very ordinary and he needs to get a lot of credit for that just for the shape, pattern and how we stopped them from running through us. You have seen what they have done to some sides this season so to restrict a free scoring side completely almost all night is credit to the coaching staff for how we went about it. We started the game playing really well and quite attacking and then rightly adapted as the game went on to see it out. He has got those essential qualities of organisation, defensive solidity and being disciplined out of possession. Cannot really give him anything but praise so far. 3 games and 3 wins and we have moved up the league rapidly.
Fulham – Have done exactly what I thought they would. I was not convinced by the Silva appointment but then again, I was not convinced really by Parker either. The manager does not matter too much when you have so much talent. I am surprised they have struggled so much when they have come up as they have much more ability than say a Norwich and players who can unlock the door and a goal scorer and talisman Mitrovic. The fact he has never really done it top level does shock me when I look at strikers like Wood, Ings etc who he really should be a similar level. I thought they would go up and it is looking very likely. They chuck big money at it due to the owners and never seem to have to sell many. I suppose having players, a bit like Norwich that seem too good for this league but maybe not good enough for the league above means that they do not get the offers to break up the squad and have had the crux of the same side for a while. Defensively has always been an issue at top level but they get away with it down here.
They were 11 unbeaten before today and had only lost one home league game (Reading oddly) but had trailed off a bit in terms of dominance with 4 straight draws but then the others at the top have not exactly taken advantage and they seem quite comfortable in the top two to me but maybe the recent drop off has showed they are not at their dominant, free scoring self. Does not seem long ago they were hammering teams and now it is a bit more of a struggle. I worried about the pace and runners from deep they possessed and the skills of Wilson, Carvalho, Kebani and of course Mitrovic. However, they did not really do anything all night and we bottled them up. I felt they never really penetrated at all. The goal they conceded was a good goal from us but for no one to put a challenge in as he ran from his own half was poor. There were a few other moments we could have scored with better final touches/passes even though they had a lot more of the ball – I felt we always looked more like scoring.
Last night was the first time (maybe all season?) a team has had more possession than us (71%) so the team had to remain disciplined and compact but a bit like us earlier in the season, felt Fulham had the ball but did not penetrate or get through us. They created little and it was all in front of us. Not sure they had a shot on target till the 75th minute and that was routine. They did have the late chance but that maybe came from us sitting back and weight of bodies in the box. Something can always drop to a team but fortunately they missed both of the clear opportunities. I think a draw would have been fortunate as for a home team, for all the possession, they did very little and I felt United looked more organised, resolute and even with the ball used it better when they could. Not sure they can say they deserved anything for such a timid home performance.
I still expect them to bounce back and find their mojo again. They have too many good players to not win most games they play but tonight showed what a poor division it is as we scored a good goal and then actually won the game (late chance withstanding) relatively comfortably.
Opponent Man of the Match – Not sure anyone played that well really. I thought Wilson showed some flashes but went to ground and moaned a lot. Cairney improved them but no one was above a 6/7/10 really at best.
Opponent Weak link – Mitrovic was dreadful at the Lane last year despite us all feeling he always dominates us and tonight he was equally bad but well defended. Looked lazy, slow and just not arsed. He had a few chances but wasted them.
Referee/Officials – James Linnington. Has to travel overseas for every match! Well form the Isle of Wight. Not someone I can recall much but a quick scan of his history with us sees that he did do the Boro game away earlier in the season and reffed 4 from our promotion season (Villa 4-1 at home, Reading 2-0 away, Norwich 2-2 away and Bristol City 2-3 but cannot recall too many awful decisions in those?). He has not given a red card this season which is always a stat I like to see. He rightly booked Bogle and Robinson for poor tackles and then also carded Foderingham for time wasting (which he was!). He did not fall for Wilson and co constantly going to the deck and whingeing. I thought he was really good and let things go. There was one moment where I think two (Bash was one) got fouled and he somehow played on but overall, he let the game flow both ways and I liked that. A good ref lets the players play and only steps in if he has to and he did that.
Matchday/Crowd/Coverage – Fair play on those who went down. I would have considered it if it was a Saturday but moving it to a Monday on the cusp of Xmas and with all the covid stuff increasing, I was never seriously going to go but well done those that did. Seemed a really good following and loads of fans in Santa outfits too. Fantastic to hear the ‘Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way, oh what fun it is to see United win away!’ I watched it in a Sports Bar in town (Sheffield) so not sure how accurate above was as I was playing Pool at times (terrible I know) during the game but rewatched this morning for clarity after having several pints. By the way what a great game Shuffleboard is (more on the pod when released!).
