It may have come too late to save them from relegation, but Sheffield United’s nervous win over Brighton & Hove Albion at least proved they won’t go down with a whimper.
Saturday night’s clash at Bramall Lane saw the Premier League basement boys emerge victorious thanks to David McGoldrick’s early attack, somehow surviving an attack by the Seagulls in the second half.
Too many times in this span, the Blades have failed to take chances when it mattered and apparently ended up on the wrong side of countless fine margins as a result of grave misfortune.
But, this time around, they capitalized on one of only two decent openings created at night, while at the other end, their own goal led a lovely life.
After a rather brilliant performance in the first half, United were trapped within their own territory for almost the entirety of 45 seconds, managing to sneak over the line thanks to a poor finish from Brighton and with the help of VAR.
Ultimately, however, they benefited from perhaps his boldest play of the contest, which came when Albion defender Adam Webster carelessly gifted him possession and Enda Stevens’ well-weighted pass sent Ben Osborn running down the left of Sheffield. .
The former Nottingham Forest forward hit a cross with real intent, aiming to catch McGoldrick’s run at the far post, and although a defender got the first, the ball only went as far as Rhian Brewster, who showed more desire than Pascal Gross on the edge of the penalty area.
His touch deflected the ball into McGoldrick’s path, and he swept a low shot past Robert Sanchez with the least amount of fuss.
That moment aside, the opening period saw plenty of fair and orderly play from both teams, although there was little cutting edge on display.
The only other incident to note came with the game still scoreless, the impressive Yves Bissouma playing Neal Maupay in the home goal before John Fleck came to United’s rescue with an excellent blocking of coverage.
The second half was an entirely different matter, with Brighton dominating throughout and creating a decent chance to tie at 11 seconds into the restart.
On that occasion, Adam Lallana caressed a tame effort from a good position directly to Aaron Ramsdale, who then made a much better save to avoid Maupay’s explosion in the 54th minute, following a delightful interaction between Lallana and Danny Welbeck.
A tie seemed like a lot on the cards at this stage of the game, and it seemed like it had materialized 60 seconds later.
A corner from the right was assisted by Welbeck, then Webster, for Jakub Moder to finally apply a finishing touch to the back post, only for VAR to step in and disallow the goal for offside.
Undeterred, the visitors kept coming and Bissouma lunged forward from midfield and shot well off the post from 20 yards before Welbeck directed a nose dive past the post.
The Blades were visibly creaking heading into the final 20 minutes and should finally have been tied up as Brighton substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh produced an attractive cross from the right, which was greeted within the six-yard box by Maupay, who somehow cleared the center. Pub.
Paul Heckingbottom’s team finally created a clear opening of their own in the 75th minute when George Baldock cut the ball from the right, although Jayden Bogle only managed to finish off a poor direct shot at Sánchez.
Desperate for a point in their own battle to avoid demotion to the Championship, the Seagulls kept pushing until the end, but putting aside a nosedive from a long-range effort by José Izquierdo, Ramsdale wasn’t too busy in the final moments. like United. i saw the game.
Sheffield United: Ramsdale; Baldock, Egan, Bryan; Bogle, Norwood, Fleck, Osborn (Lundstram 81), Steves; Brewster (Burke 65), McGoldrick. Unused Substitutes: Foderingham, Mousset, Lowe, Jagielka, Ampadu, Brunt, Gordon.
Brighton and Hove Albion: Sánchez; Webster, Dunk, Veltman; Gross (Jahanbakhsh 67), Lallana, Bissouma, Moder (Connolly 67); Trossard (Left 82); Maupay, Welbeck. Unused Substitutes: Steele, MacAllister, Alzate, Propper, Zeqiri, Burn.
Referee: K Friend (Leicestershire).
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-24 21:36:14
