Blades relishing trips to big two blasts McBurnie
SHEFFIELD UNITED striker Oli McBurnie believes his side can keep their incredible away record going – even though the next two trips are to Manchester City and Liverpool.
McBurnie’s first-half goal means they have gone 18 games without losing on the road – nine of them in the Premier League.
No other promoted side have achieved that since 1947, which puts the feat of Chris Wilder’s side into perspective.
So although there are massive tests on the horizon, McBurnie says that will not faze anyone, insisting: “The confidence now is so high.You can see that we have no fear, no matter who we play against.We’ll be just as confident going to Manchester City – 100 per cent.
“We’ve already shown we are good enough against the big teams this season. We’ve played Chelsea, we’ve played Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool. And either we’ve got results or, like Liverpool at home, we lost 1-0 and were really unlucky.
“We’re not here to be spectators.We want to test ourselves against the best in the world.That’s what we’re doing at the moment – and we’re causing some upsets.”
By a quirk of fate, a McBurnie goal for Swansea at the
Liberty Stadium in January was the last one to beat Sheffield United on the road and he said: “The game plan we take into every away game is good.
“We’re not going to dominate the ball all the time, we know that.We know sometimes we have to stay professional with 11 men behind the ball and then, when we get it, we need to make the counters count. That’s what we did again.
“The away form is now a crazy stat. It shows how resilient the boys have been and how professional they are.”
The only disappointment for the Blades was that popular striker David McGoldrick, below, who has gone more than 1,000 minutes without a goal, missed a second-half sitter that would have broken his duck.
But McBurnie is adamant his teammate will come good.
He said: “I can’t speak highly enough of him as a person or player and, if you ask all the boys and fans, they’ll say the same.
“We’re all desperate for him to score but, if he doesn’t, he won’t get dropped because of how much he does on the pitch and off the ball. Once he gets one they’ll keep coming.”
BRIGHTON: (4-3-3): Ryan 5; Montoya 6 (Bissouma 55, 6), Webster 4, Dunk 7, Burn 7; Propper 6, Stephens 6, Gross 5 (Connolly 46, 7); Mooy 8, Maupay 6, Trossard 5 (Murray 46, 6).
SHEFFIELD UTD: (3-5-2): Henderson 7; O’Connell 8, Egan 7, Basham 7; Stevens 6, Freeman 6 (Osborn 52, 6), Lundstrum 7, Norwood 7 (Besic 82), Baldock 6; McGoldrick 7, McBurnie 8 (Mousset 62, 6).