SHARP’S THE BOY AS BLADES SLICE THROUGH NEIGHBOURS
Two sent off in a Yorkshire battle...
BILLY Sharp’s first-half strike ensured Yorkshire bragging rights for the Blades as both sides were forced to play for 50 minutes with ten men.
United were 1-0 up and cruising when striker Leon Clarke grabbed Angus MacDonald by the throat.
The Barnsley defender reacted by aiming a wayward headbutt at Clarke and, after consulting with his linesman, referee Tim Robinson sent both men packing.
The Sussex-born official has now shown four red cards in four games this season – and United boss Chris Wilder argued it should have been three.
“I’ll always see things from our side,” he admitted. “But it was pretty clear to everyone that their boy has tried to headbutt Leon.
“When I spoke to Leon – and this is just coming from the player – he’s said their lad punched him.
“He reacted to the punch by grabbing him around the neck and chest area. Then their lad’s tried to headbtt him off the back of that.
“I think he’s a little bit unlucky. If people chuck punches, I don’t want my players to fall over and roll around. It’s not what we’re about.
“Maybe he should have walked away but he plays on the edge. And when someone throws a punch at you it’s difficult not to react.”
Opposite number Paul Heckingbottom, meanwhile, found the lacklustre performance of his side far more concerning than the misadventure of his skipper.
“We weren’t good enough with the ball or without it,” said the Tykes boss. “We didn’t create enough, we didn’t play on the front foot. Not many of them came out with any positives.”
It’s hard to argue. Rarely can two red cards have had so little impact on a match. Already tentative with 11 men, Barnsley were equally toothless with ten.
Not once in the entire 90 minutes did the Tykes create a genuine, gold-plated chance to score.
Not once did they even come close. Passes went astray. Set pieces hit the first man.
Adam Hammill, usually so direct and inventive down the right, was invisible. Up top, Tom Bradshaw had no hope of bridging the yawning chasm to midfield.
“That’s the first time I’ve played the same team three games running in the Championship,” added Heckingbottom. “These are young players. New players. For a lot of them, it was their first derby, the first time they’ve done three games in a week. “I wanted to learn what they were about, whether they could handle it. But it was probably a game too far.”
Barnsley’s lack of adventure played into United’s hands, allowing Chris Basham and Jack O’Connell to launch adventurous raids from the heart of United’s back three.
One such burst saw Sharp blast point-blank at Adam Davies. The next saw the skipper deftly turn O’Connell’s low cross into the Barnsley net.
The remainder of the first half was a niggly, bookingstrewn mess, capped by Clarke and MacDonald coming together after a chase for the ball.
After the break Sharp missed a perfect Basham delivery, a la Gazza in Euro 96. Sub David Brooks glanced at Davies, the ball squirming under his body, along the line and finally out off a post. But for the Tykes keeper and a string of last-ditch blocks, the damage for Barnsley would have been far more severe.
“We fell a little bit short in the last few games,” added Wilder. “It was important to dig in and bounce back. The attitude and the enthuiasm of this group cannot be questioned.”