Sharp’s spot-kick secures first league win for Blades

BILLY Sharp’s penalty secured Sheffield United a long-awaited first Premier League win of the season against 10-man Newcastle.

The club captain, 34, pictured, came on as a second-half substitute and showed all of his experience to remain calm and score a 73rd-minute spot-kick as the Blades won 1-0 last night.

The goal ended a dismal run of 15 defeats in 17 Premier League matches during the 2020-21 campaign and was the least Chris Wilder’s team deserved after dominating against a negative and unimaginative Newcastle side. The Magpies were uninspired and mundane before Ryan Fraser’s red card just before half-time made their task even harder.

Wilder’s men were on the front foot for the majority of the first half and certainly did not look like a team adrift at the bottom of the table and unable to win.

The Blades cut open their opponents on several occasions with crisp passing but, as has been the case so often this season, they were not clinical in the final third. Wilder said: “I should imagine the sending-off and the penalty will be talked about but in my opinion we were value for the victory. Everybody needs a bit of luck. But it wasn’t an outrageous stroke of fortune. The performance was good, considering the position we are in. We’ve had a load of tight games and we’ll take it. I was looking for my car keys and to take up another sport if we’d thrown it away in added time.”

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce said: “I’ve got no issues with the red card - we can’t argue with that and you can’t argue with how poor we are in the first half.

“If you are in the bottom half of the league it is always going to be difficult. We have to be difficult to play against. I offer no excuse, but we must be more of a threat going forward. Whoever you are in the Premier League the pressure comes upon you. That is what we have to deal with.”