Nottingham Forest 1 - 0 Sheffield United
We're entering that part of the season now where pretty much anything can happen, and if recent results are anything to go by, it's hang on to your hats time for yet another rollercoaster ride. Our disappointing slump in fortunes away from home is offset (albeit only partially) by West Brom and even Newcastle choosing the same time to trip up as well. In the latter case that is all the more heartening until you realise where they recently succumbed to a 3-0 defeat and to a team whose own recent reversal of fortunes seem to have started at our expense. Makes you sick, doesn't it? Still, at least it's us in 3rd place, not The Sheep, just as I mentioned last time.
Tonight? Another win ground out of a gritty performance against a decidedly lacklustre Blades side, obviously missing the bite of Chris Morgan, though partially compensated by the late arrival of that perennial thug Richard Cresswell, coinciding with the game taking a far more physical turn. It was certainly not a game particularly easy on the eye, even allowing for the fact that tonight I was seated in F-Block which at least afforded a more sideways view of the game (rather complementing some of the sideways views in these reports, ha ha!).
All the same, it was refreshing to see us find the net so quickly - something which our fans who'd returned empty-handed from The Ricoh and The Keepmoat would have been particularly relieved by - and the second corner in a bright opening four minutes was enough. Radi swung a superb ball in to find Ando's head (unusually!) and although the ball looked to have already beaten Bunn, Earnie was there to tap in and claim his milestone 150th goal. I think the surprise at having scored so early may have been the reason behind the slightly muted celebrations where I was sitting, but still a welcome boost, even if it meant almost shutting up shop for the remaining 86 minutes.
That wasn't quite how it turned out, though the ball remained in United's half for the next 20 minutes with little end product, and when it was time for Lee Camp to eventually rise from his deckchair there was only a token effort from Darius Henderson to parry away. Wes and Wilson were defending well and we were firmly in the driving seat, though once more we lacked the killer punch in the final third, although we came pretty close to repeating the goal scored earlier from another Radi corner.
It was very early in the second half which brought the incident which pretty much dictated the rest of the game. No doubt The Blades were still of the opinion that Wilson had been insufficiently punished for the misdemeanor which prematurely ended his game (and season) at Bramall Lane last Easter, and Henderson was caught offering Wilson a less than sly dig which was swiftly followed by a straight red, and without even any consultation with an assistant. This was just one chapter in a sequence where the ref decided to do a bit of stamping his authority as a flurry of yellow cards quickly followed, coinciding with United doing their best to wield a bit of Sheffield steel at anyone wearing a red shirt. Needless to say it didn't work for them, although their one-man deficit was not enough for us to break them down and increase our lead.
Overall we played reasonably well, though at the back of my mind it was far removed from the kind of football we've been used to, and you wonder whether people are beginning to get the measure of us now. Time will tell, but the lack of goals away from home is a worry, especially with only three scored in the last five encounters, and all of those were in the same game. The Lancashire Red Roadshow gets out and about very soon with trips to Preston, Blackpool, Scunthorpe and Newcastle looming, with taking something from all of them necessary which won't be easy.
On the positive side tonight makes it eight in a row at home, and still in touch with the top two. Let's hope the run can continue at least beyond Saturday as we put Boro firmly in their place. We've been fairly lucky resource-wise, and will need to be, especially if no additions to the squad are forthcoming.
And if nothing else, it's good to have the edge over The Blades this season, and I was surprised when I realised I was at Bramall Lane when we last beat this lot - all of six years ago!
Ref Watch: N Miller - The sending off seemed a little bizarre, but otherwise no real complaints, and certainly a big improvement on what we've been used to of late.
Entertainment Value: Another of those 'ground-out' results which rarely makes for an entertaining game - we've certainly seen better this season. 4/10
Atmosphere: A 22000+ crowd with the usual semi-local rivalry thrown in for good measure made for quite a lively affair, especially for a midweek game.
Highlights: The game of two halves, with the first far better, topped by Earnie's early strike.
Lowlights: Should have put the game to bed, especially with the one-man advantage.
Stinker: No-one
Stormer: Wes Morgan with some awesome tackling gets the vote tonight.
Premiership Chump of The Week: Mr 'Cashley' Cole - I'm no fan of his missus, however being caught trying to emulate fellow chump Mr Terry by playing away (again) ain't gonna win him any favours, whether he makes the England squad or not.
