Under-pressure Jok is Slav-in a party after bench stormer
A BLADES late show ensured lift-off for Slavisa Jokanovic’s misfiring side.
It’s been a slow burner so far under the Serb as Sheffield United look to heal last season’s relegation wounds.
And until he sent on Lys Mousset and David McGoldrick, it looked like the home side were sliding towards a third successive defeat.
But a quickfire double from the substitute strikers sent the majority of the 30,000 crowd into rapture.
It was hard to tell in his joyful celebrations whether it was sheer relief or ecstasy.
Jokanovic said: “It’s a massive win for us and it’s bound to give us confidence. I hope we can now get the benefits of these three points.
“We have been punished in some games but hopefully we are now moving in the right direction.”
Stoke simply couldn’t believe what hit them after looking comfortable following a piece of brilliant finishing from Jacob Brown which had been nudging them towards the Championship summit.
He turned sharply inside the area to bury a low 65th-minute drive before racing towards the Potters fans behind the goal and whirling his shirt in the air.
But when Jokanovic sent on the cavalry a game full of energy and chances was suddenly transformed.
With 11 minutes to go and the home crowd beginning to lose faith, Mousset struck – hammering an inviting low cross from McGoldrick into the roof of the net after a clever ball from Billy Sharp had opened up
the Stoke defence. And the Blades weren’t finished there.
Full of confidence, they sensed blood and a swift raid down the left saw the outstanding Enda Stevens charge into the box and set up McGoldrick to finish crisply.
Stoke were on their knees as the much-coveted Potters defender Harry Souttar and his team-mates had no answer to the late home surge.
Manager Michael O’Neill said: “At half-time we asked for a reaction.
“We got that and I thought for the first 25 minutes of the second half we were excellent.
“One-nil up and in control of the game, only for it to be turned on its head by the substitutions that the opposition made.
“That was the key thing. We lose two goals and it’s hard to take but we have to accept it and move on.
“Our away form hasn’t been good enough and we need to address it.”
Normally potent at the other end, Blades skipper Sharp had popped up on his own goalline to prevent Brown’s header giving Stoke an early lead from a corner.
But normal service was resumed when the experienced striker set up the winner.
SHEFFIELD UNITED: Olsen 6; Bogle 6, Egan 6, Davies 6, Stevens 7; Fleck 7, Norwood 6 (Hourihane (67th) 6); GibbsWhite 6, Ndiaye 7 (McGoldrick 77th), Osborn 6 (Mousset (67th) 7); Sharp 7
STOKE CITY: Davies 7; Wilmot 7, Souttar 7, Chester 7; Smith 6, Allen 6, Sawyers, 6 Tymon 6; Powell 7 (Surridge
81st), Vranic 6 (Clucas (67th) 6); Brown
7 (Fletcher 81st)
STAR MAN: Enda Stevens
REF: K Stroud