Stevens strike not enough as Blades slip up
CHRIS WILDER found himself in the no man’s land of managerial awards at the weekend when he was named manager of the EFL before the end of the campaign.
It will count for nothing if the Sheffield United boss cannot upgrade it to a promotion trophy and that means going through an A to Z of emotions on nights like this. A night of ultimate frustration and a failure to leapfrog Leeds into second place in the Championship.
Just like Leeds on Saturday, the Blades found Birmingham durable and determined. Take the reaction to going a goal down. Within three minutes Michael Morrison had cancelled out Enda Stevens’ opener.
Last weekend Birmingham boss Garry Monk dubbed Sheffield United’s style ‘unique’ and it was meant as a compliment, even if it also posed a head- scratching challenge. It was said in the wake of that win over Leeds.
Monk, once of Elland Road, may be more concerned with regaining the nine points deducted for financial fair play irregularities but he has had a say at the other end of the table too.
His aim was to give Sheffield United a ‘twist’ and that he did. This, after all, was a team who had registered eight clean sheets in nine matches. A daunting task but then so was ending a run of five straight defeats by beating Leeds.
‘It’s a fantastic result. We showed resilience and character today coming off a big performance on Saturday,’ Monk said. ‘Leeds and Sheffield United are fighting it out for promotion so to take four points is a huge response and it’s a huge credit to the players.’
When Wilder and Monk look back at this match, the first question they may ask is how on earth there weren’t more goals.
United’s Dean Henderson certainly earned his corn, pretty much from his first meaningful save of the night when he prevented what looked like being a spectacular own goal.
Connor Mahoney, a livewire on the right, teed up Gary Gardner, whose shot struck Martin Cranie on the bounce and flew off at a wicked angle. Henderson’s reactions needed to be quick. He was on song, his second-half saves from Che Adams and substitute Jota both of the highest order.
However, he could do nothing about Birmingham’s goal, Morrison reacting first to a clearance from Gardner’s initial shot and wiping out United’s lead.
Stevens was the unlikeliest of scorers. This was his first goal of the season and only his second for the Blades but he was perfectly positioned to run on to Mark Duffy’s short pass and beat Lee Camp.
While Camp’s positioning may have been slightly suspect, the goalkeeper made up for it with a series of saves, including one from David McGoldrick.
McGoldrick came within a whisker of being the matchwinner in the dying seconds but his header from Oliver Norwood’s corner went agonisingly wide.
United manager Wilder admitted: ‘It was a tight game. It is a tough place to come as the Leeds team found out on Saturday. One team played on the counterattack, the other went for the win. Will it be a good point? I don’t know yet. I know what the fans are saying but it can be a rollercoaster.’