 |
Sheffield
United v West Bromwich Albion
Bramall Lane,
Sheffield. 21st February 2004, 3.00pm. |
| Back
to Reports Menu |
Make no mistake, this was a big, big result - the most important
of the season so far. It all looked miserable when Big Dave bundled
the ball into his own net to give the hosts an undeserved lead,
but Albion picked themselves up and simply battered United for half
an hour and came away with three points.
Albion were the better side from the first whistle and created all
the early chances with United looking like a time on a run of three
straight league defeats.
Horsfield and Clement both had chances with headers before Koumas
ran through on goal having chipped the ball over Kozluk to create
the chance himself. Unfortunately, his shot was weak and wide.
Most of the game was being played in the centre of the park with
Kinsella and Johnson looking very comfortable. The hosts' efforts
were being blunted by the excellent back four with Gaardsoe and
Moore looking especially impressive.
The half hour had passed before United had their first real chance.
Peschisolido raced through on goal only to see his shot well saved
by Murphy.
Minutes later, Kozluk shot inches wide from 25 yards when he got
on the end of Gaardsoe's clearing header.
The best chance of the first half fell to Hughes when he capitalised
on a slip by Welsh international Robert Page. He had an easy option
to pass to Horsfield for a simple chance but he went for goal shooting
directly at Kenny.
And on the stroke of half time, Hughes produced a marvellous bit
of skill as he spun on the edge of the box and shot just wide.
Whitlow had the first effort on goal in the second half, but his
shot from 20 yards was deflected by Kinsella into the arms of Joe
Murphy. Albion responded with a Hughes shot which was spilled by
Kenny, but he managed to re-gather the ball before Horsfield could
capitalise.
Hughes had another chance before disaster struck. Clement received
the ball after a cross was missed by Murphy, but after he gave it
to Montgomery, the Blades midfielder crossed the ball into the six
yard box. With Murphy still floundering, MOORE could only deflect
the ball into the net with Peschisolido waiting.
Albion looked rocky as United looked to press home their advantage.
Moore almost gave the ball away in the area before Gaardsoe did
well to block Tonge's shot.
Megson made what appeared at the time to be a bizarre substitution,
switching to 3-5-2 bringing Gregan and Volmer on to replace Kinsella
and N'Dour. A few minutes later, Hughes was replaced by Facey.
But the changes worked as Albion started to control the game again.
Facey looked dangerous as he ran at the United defence and made
his presence known in the box. He forced Page into conceding a corner
on 70 minutes. Koumas swung the ball across and MOORE made up for
his own goal by powering a header past Kenny from 10 yards to bring
Albion level.
From then on, there was only one winner. Horsfield looked to have
a great chance on 81 minutes when Whitlow slipped leaving him with
only Kenny to beat, but the Horse also slipped and the chance was
gone.
Albion continued to press and on 85 minutes, Koumas swung another
corner into the danger area again. Gregan fired in a powerful shot
that was saved by Kenny. The ball fell for Volmer who put the ball
back into the mixer and GAARDSOE was on hand to poke the ball home.
Minutes later, Koumas almost made it three when his shot was brilliantly
saved by Kenny.
Albion never looked in danger from then on and ran down the clock
to secure the three points.
Albion deserved the points and, as against Cardiff, they responded
well to conceding a goal. With Norwich, West Ham, Sunderland, Ipswich
and Wigan all dropping points, it was a great day to win.
RESULT - SHEFFIELD UNITED 1 WEST
BROMWICH ALBION 2
Marks
Murphy - 6 - Possibly at fault for the goal, not as commanding as
Hoult.
Haas - 7 - Good solid performance from Bernie.
Gaardsoe - 9 - MOM. Another towering performance.
Moore - 8 - Unlucky with the own goal. Generally an excellent display.
N'Dour - 8 - Robbo was not missed.
Koumas - 7 - Still not the Koumas we know and love, but some excellent
moments.
Johnson - 8 - Good battling performance from Jonno.
Kinsella - 8 - Looking better in each game he plays.
Clement - 7 - His best display on the left side of midfield so far.
Hughes - 8 - Another excellent performance.
Horsfield - 8 - Terrorised the United defence.
Volmer - 8 - Looked very impressive.
Gregan - 7 - Good solid display as a sub.
Facey - 7 - Looked very dangerous.
The Manager - 9 - I was bemused when he brought Volmer and Gregan
on, but boy did it work. He's finally got this side playing the
sort of football we crave.
|
Sheffield
United (4-4-2):
Kenny; Jagielka, Whitlow, Page, Kozluk (Allison 88); Ndlovu (Robinson
76), Montgomery, McCall (Shaw 81), Tonge; Ward, Peschisolido. Subs
not used: Boussatta, Parkinson. |
West
Bromwich Albion (4-4-2):
Murphy; Haas, Gaardsoe, Moore, N'Dour (Volmer 66); Koumas, Kinsella
(Gregan 66), Johnson, Clement; Horsfield, Hughes (Facey 69). Subs
not used: Pressman (GK), Dyer.
|
Scoring: Moore (o.g.
57) 1-0, Moore (70) 1-1, Gaardsoe (85).
Bookings: Sheffield United - Peschisolido (foul 32), Page (foul
54), Montgomery (foul 81), Whitlow (foul 84). West Bromwich Albion
- Haas (foul 43).
Referee: M Jones (Cheshire).
Attendance: 24,805.
|
| ^ Back to Top |
|
