YORKSHIRE BETTER
‘Salford Silva’ Mac loves it at Blades & wants Bramall Lane promotion party
SHEFFIELD UNITED 4 McAtee 24, Robinson 54, Ndiaye 80, Clark 85 CARDIFF CITY 1 Kaba 19 pen JAMES McATEE may be Salford-born and a Manchester City player, but he has certainly made himself at home at Sheffield United this season.
The 20-year-old and fellow
City loanee Tommy Doyle, 21, were the stars of the show once again on Saturday as the Blades thumped Cardiff to move a step closer to clinching automatic promotion.
And with manager Paul Heckingbottom (right) and his side now facing three home games in a row – with Bristol
City next up tomorrow – McAtee is dreaming of going up in front of the Bramall Lane fans.
The classy midfielder, nicknamed the ‘Salford Silva’, said: “That’s what I want.
“I want to get promoted here in front of the fans and hopefully we can do it.
“Recently we have been winning games by one or two goals, so to win by three clear goals, it’s a big win for us.
“We’re going to try our best to get promoted.”
Third-placed Luton are enjoying a remarkable run to ensure the Blades cannot sit easy in the race for a top-two spot, but it is hard to bet against the Bramall Lane team right now.
They suffered a first-half wobble when Sory Kaba put struggling Cardiff ahead from the penalty spot, but McAtee soon seized centre stage. A delightful piece of footwork took him past a
Bluebirds defender before he rifled home a low shot (above) to draw the hosts level.
“It was a good goal and I’m happy to get it,” added McAtee (right), who along with Doyle is ineligible to face his parent club in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final.
“It’s one of my skills that I like to do, a little fake shot, and the defender went for it which just gave me a bit of a gap to punish them.
“I’ve probably learned it playing five-a-side with my friends back home. I don’t think it’s something you can coach a player, but I got a bit of luck and it went my way. My only regret was not celebrating it.”
After a tense first half, the Blades cut loose as man-ofthe-match Doyle’s cross was headed in by Jack Robinson, before goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Ciaran Clark made the game safe.
Cardiff are hovering just above the relegation zone and their boss Sabri Lamouchi challenged his men to fight tooth and nail to stay in the division.
He said: “We have five games to play and the players know absolutely what they have
to do.”