Billy’s still Sharp-est
BILLY SHARP continued to prey on Canaries as Sheffield United remain in dreamland.
Sharp scored his fourth goal in his last three games against Norwich to keep the Blades fighting for an unlikely Champions League spot.
They are now only two points behind Chelsea, who occupy that fourth and final position. United are also just one game away from Wembley in the FA Cup and could enjoy hearing that neighbours Wednesday had just been thumped 5-0. These really are great times to be a Blades fan, as manager Chris Wilder is. “The league table is there, we can’t shy away from it,” he said. “We’ve got 10 games to go and we’ve got some fabulous games left at home. This was a dangerous, difficult game for us against a side that has been written off, just as we were at the start of the season. “But we keep rolling forward and now we move onto another huge game next week at Newcastle.” Norwich stay bottom, six points from safety and they still have not won consecutive league games all season.
They could not repeat their midweek FA Cup heroics when they knocked Spurs out on penalties, and it’s now just one goal in their last six away games in the league. “We’re disappointed as we wanted at least a point,” said manager Daniel Farke.
“Performance-wise, especially after a really tough 120 minutes at Tottenham, we can’t ask for much more.
“All the stats were better and the guys invested everything but the only statistic that counts is goals. It’s all about effectiveness.”
The goal that counted came when John Lundstram delivered a brilliant cross for Sharp, who bulleted his header past Tim Krul for just the third Premier League goal of his fine career.
Sheffield United have conceded just four points from winning positions all season and they kept their opponents at bay.
When they were threatened, Dean Henderson showed why he is a contender to be England’s goalkeeper at the Euros.
The on-loan Manchester United player blocked a header from Ben Godfrey and then prevented Drmic and Mario Vrancic turning in the rebounds.
“He’s made some important saves for us – the best ones do,” said his manager. “And Dean is one of the best.
“He’s developing nicely. He’s got a big 10 games left for us and hopefully a couple of cup games.”