There are some games ahead of which it might be said that league positions mean nothing. This was for sure going to be one of them. When you take on the side bottom of the league with no points and five straight defeats, just one scored and 12 conceded, you would normally be licking your lips. But when that team happens to have been within 15 or so minutes of the Premiership last season and has just brought back their iconic manager, playing in front of their own fans, it really is a different ball game. And with the season at this early stage one or two results can truly alter the picture: win and we’ve started with 2,2&2, perfectly acceptable; don’t win and all the focus is on not having won since the first game of the season.
Like others I’m sure before the game I felt this would be one it would be easy to lose in the first 20 minutes – and that therefore we needed to be on it from the first whistle. Was hoping that a more defensive line-up wouldn’t mean we retreated into a shell early on and invite them onto us, fears echoed by Steve Brown in the commentary box. But it really didn’t pan out that way. Sheffield United looked a pale shadow of the team last season, inventive in midfield but quite blunt up top and wobbly at the back. They didn’t show the intensity and determination we expected. Instead in another game of very few chances it all boiled down to whether one side or the other might nick one and take the points. And it proved to be us.
The team saw two changes from the Millwall game, one enforced of course by Ramsay’s suspension. Burke came in for him, while Bree was preferred to start instead of Apter as the right-side wing-back. Presumably that was just to tighten up in the early stages with a view to bringing on Apter later in the game against tiring defenders. On the bench Anderson was back after having served his suspension.
Rather than being on the back foot we had the better of the first period, containing them well enough in our final third and looking dangerous on the break. An interception poked on for Kelman to run on goal in the first minute set the tone, but he had a long way to go and no support, ended with a shot wide. He was almost in again on 10 minutes but couldn’t control a difficult ball, then it was Campbell’s turn to run on goal on the right side on a break, but he too shot wide. They were openings but not really good chances, the next one coming on 29 minutes when Campbell cut into the area and saw his shot blocked.
However, Sheffield did begin to dominate possession and had their best spell, finally giving their crowd something to get behind. The closest they came was a set-piece move with a corner played short and then squared for their midfielder to run onto it and hit a curling shot with his right. It went just over the bar after a slight deflection; just under and there was nothing Kaminski could have done about it.
Fortunately we saw out that period and before the end of the first half had by far the best chance to open the scoring. A corner was knocked out but then played back in and Jones rose unchallenged to head back to inside the near post. It looked a certain goal until their keeper stuck out a left hand and kept it out.
At the break the stats showed they had enjoyed 62% possession but with six shots and just one on target, against eight and one for us. It was clearly still anyone’s game, but you expected Sheffield to come at us with greater urgency in the second half. That too didn’t really happen.
Sheffield did have what proved to be their best chance of the game early in the second half as we made a sloppy start. A low cross from their left was intercepted but the ball only made it to the edge of the box where their guy got to it first. He had clear sight of goal but his shot was superbly blocked by Edwards and another guy hit the rebound well over the bar. We breathed again.
We were struggling to get anything going when in possession and it wasn’t surprising that Jones the Boss made an early change, bringing on Leaburn for Kelman on 61 minutes. Kelman hadn’t played badly but we were tending to go long and he had a thankless task again competing against two centre-backs, with Campbell less influential after the break.
We had another scare on 50 minutes as Bell, already on a yellow (after a foul on him was not given he’d stopped a quick throw being taken), slid in and their guy nicked it past him and took the contact. Unlike last Saturday the ref took a lenient approach and let it all go with a word and a free kick. But you had the impression that if their guy had gone to ground and rolled over a few times a second yellow would have been given. It was a close call and Bell was now on a knife-edge, with Jones the Boss surely contemplating taking him off for Gillesphey. He didn’t and Bell did manage to see out the game without further alarm.
Going into the final 20 minutes or so the game had become very scrappy. We worked manfully out of possession and kept them closed down, but you couldn’t see where a goal for us might come from. On 78 minutes Knibbs and Olaofe were introduced for Carey and Campbell, with Jones not yet at least opting to bring on Apter for Bree to increase our attacking threat.
And as the clock ran down we did have some half-chances. A Bree cross from the right found Docherty making a run into the box and his decent header went over the bar. Coventry pressed well and won the ball back for Leaburn to run on goal, his shot was fierce but close to the keeper and saved. Then, on 89 minutes, we finally made one stick. Kaminski sent it forward and Leaburn did well to turn it on, then Knibbs directed a header well to Bree on the right side. His first touch was excellent and wrongfooted their defender, moving the ball inside. He then played the ball across goal to find Olaofe. He struck it well and it was in the net.
We saw out the four minutes of stoppage time with no alarms. Would you say we deserved to win? If either of the two sides was going to win we deserved it, although through the second half the odds on a 0-0 were shortening rapidly. The final stats showed 63% possession for them, 13 shots, just that one on target (their two real chances were the one curled over and the shot blocked), against 13 for us too but four on target - including the one that mattered. We had again defended heroically, everyone worked their socks off.
Anyway, who cares? The win and three points does ease any pressure that might have been building. And if we were a shade fortunate we’ve been on the wrong side of fortune in other games. The table looks a good deal better now and we are back above Millwall, so something in this world is back to normal.
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