Game 13 – Preston North End (H), Championship – 3-2
So we missed a couple of games in Game by Game - whilst our
correspondents were at both Bristol City on Saturday and the Lane on Tuesday,
time and other priorities have limited their writing opportunities.
And so on
the back of two results that can be described as disappointing for different
reasons, the Blades went into a game that, based on the season to date form of
both sides, looked imminently winnable. History tells us that is never the case
when we face Preston, either home or away. This was a team that showed more
hunger and fight when the two teams met at the end of last season in a must win
game and their matchday squad was largely unchanged with 14 players named who
were included back in April. Perhaps the biggest losses were the injured
Maguire and Bodin, limiting their attacking options.
Chris Wilder made five changes midweek, perhaps too many and
the disruption caused maybe contributed to so many of the team having a stinker
on the same night. He then made four more changes on Saturday, but few would
argue with re-instating the two wing backs and restoring Sharp and McGoldrick
to frontline duties. The starting XI picks itself at present, assuming all are
fit and able.
In front of a relatively sparse looking crowd, the ground
slowly filling up as the traffic chaos around the city impacted so many
journeys to the Lane, United started on the front foot. Plenty of possession
but initially lacking that impetus in the final third, with O'Connell crossing
over everyone's heads and Stevens and Freeman both wasting great crossing
opportunities bursting to the sidelines. McGoldrick had a goal-bound header,
cleared away by a Preston forehead, but for those who had witnessed the
Birmingham game there were similar features. Preston were sat deep and rarely
threatened.
We needed to find a way through and needed that bit of
inventiveness that had been lacking for a couple of games. Each attack seemed
to end with a groan from the crowd and sat on the Kop there was a sense of
agitation rather than anticipation building. This cannot help the players. When
on top like this the crowd needs to get behind the team and be the 12th man
forcing the ball home, not sat waiting and then grumbling when it doesn't
happen.
The goal, when it came arose from end to end football and
one perfectly delivered pass. After a spell of prolonged United possession
Basham tried turning in a tight spot on the right edge of the opposition
penalty area. Robbing the ball from Basham, Preston broke at pace and United
were on the back foot. But a superbly timed challenge, I think from Egan, saw
the ball fall into the path of Freeman who advanced and hit a deliciously
weighted through ball into the path of McGoldrick down the right channel.
McGoldrick's cross shot could only be parried by Maxwell and, after what felt
like an age, Sharp reached the ball to tap into the empty net. No more than
United deserved.
Shortly after McGoldrick stretched for a Stevens cross, but
could only head wide. Just before the half time whistle, Preston had a rare
break stretching the Blades back line and O’Connell and Egan made excellent
blocks at crucial moments. Rarely had we been under pressure, but when we had
been we felt a little panicky.
Bizarrely Preston didn't start the second half with any
greater ambition and it felt like one way traffic with all the play coming towards
the Kop. United won a free kick on the right-hand side and Norwood drove a
hard, curling ball that only needed a diversion from the head of Basham to send
it into the top corner. I thought no one could top the accuracy and quality of
my childhood performance at Paperboy on the Spectrum, but Norwood's delivery is
the best I have seen for a long time.
United were coasting and had a great chance to kill the game
off, McGoldrick dragging it wide from the right side of goal with only the
keeper to beat. This seemed to trigger Preston into action and the introduction
of the tricky Daniel Johnson, just after the hour mark, and Barker ten minutes
later really added some thrust to their attack, but for a lot of effort and
possession the final ball was lacking. United were solid enough but without
ever looking wholly comfortable, mainly due to not retaining possession for any
decent period. Wilder changed formation, Marvin Johnson for Sharp and we
switched to a 4-1-4-1 that also allowed us to go to 4-3-3 when attacking with
Johnson and Duffy either side of McGoldrick, but nothing was sticking when the Blades
were in possession. It felt like wave after wave of Preston pressure and when
the goal came, you could sense the ground as one seemed to mutter, "Well
that's been coming".
It was a completely preventable goal; as Barker advanced
O'Connell stayed on his heels, Stevens went to close him down leaving Barker to
slip in Fisher overlapping on the right. He laid the perfect ball across to
Robinson who had dropped a couple of yards off Egan, who ended up slipping to a
heap on the floor as the ball was knocked home. Preston now had belief and
their second came down the opposite side. Freeman sucked inside leaving Hughes
alone on the left and his cross was met by the lunging Johnson, whose shot was
probably heading wide until it cannoned off O'Connell and wrong-footed Henderson.
With 8 minutes to go, there was a sense a draw might be a good result right now
as United had offered little for 20 minutes and Preston's dander was up.
Then out of nothing United had a third. Johnson, who up to
that point had struggled to get into the game, linked up wonderfully with
Stevens. The full back surging to the by-line, leaving a couple of defenders
flat footed, before a perfect pull back that McGoldrick was never going to
spurn. From dejection to joy in minutes and a goal celebration that further secures
Dean Henderson’s place in the hearts of Blades fans. It reminded me of Simon
Tracey’s celebrations against Wednesday.
There followed a ridiculous 6 minutes of stoppage time that
became even longer with Stearman coming on to shore things up at the back.
Given Maxwell had wasted time from minute one, it was odd that Scott Duncan
loaded the stoppage time to the second half, but thankfully the Blades saw it
out.
Three final thoughts:
PNEgative - There was an interesting tweet from
Blades' fan and AUV contributor Phil Ridley post match.
It was a bizarre tactic from Alex Neill. For large parts of
the first half they were under the cosh and had eleven men behind the ball, but
having said that they rarely broke with any real threat or numbers, despite the
impressive Callum Robinson working hard.
McGoldrick's missed one on one chance to make it 3-0 seemed
to spur them into life and the period that followed was largely one way
traffic. We seemed to panic under pressure, there was no outlet and as quick as
the ball was cleared, Preston were back on the front foot. We were rocking.
When the first goal came you felt that they could get another and even the most
hopeful Blade must have feared a PNE winner after the equaliser, we were
reeling. Daniel Johnson, a player who impressed in his Oldham days when we
played them in League One, added some real impetus to their play and although Wilder's
subs made sense to try and stabilise defensively and offer an alternative
outlet wide in the pace of Marvin Johnson, we seemed to retreat further.
Would Preston have stood a better chance starting like this?
That is hard to say, as the shift in gear when we were on top seemed to catch
us out. Doing it from the off and maintaining it is a different issue. We may
well have exploited the space created instead of playing the football equivalent
of Arkanoid against a yellow wall for an hour. Clearly Neill has concerns
about them defensively and their zero away goals before Saturday suggest that
the tactics aren’t allowing their attacking talent to flourish, but neither is
it working defensively. Give me The Wilder Way anytime.
A soft underbelly? - The one concern coming out of Saturday is that we are still susceptible
to sloppy play defensively and when we don't get the goals to kill teams off we
have a tendency to panic and concede possession too easily. The goals conceded
were not great goals from an attacking perspective, more the result of
continually knocking on the door until a hinge comes loose. In this case in
both full back positions, although you could argue O'Connell being decisive and
going to meet Barker, would have left Enda less exposed. We were nearly undone
by Birmingham in similar fashion midweek and I am sure it is something the
management team will look to address.
First choice striker - Probably lacking the goals his
performances deserve David McGoldrick has to be topping the strikers’ pecking
order right now. Tireless work rate, good link play and eventually got the goal
on Saturday. A little more consistency in his finishing and staying injury free
could see him up the top end of the Championship Top Scorers list.
