Hecky dreamers can hold their heads high
“ARE YOU Wednesday in disguise?” chirruped the Sheffield United contingent cheekily midway through the first half of yesterday’s semi-final after a stray pass from Ilkay Gundogan went into touch.
The Blades were still holding Manchester City, the English champions were chugging along fitfully in second gear and a first FA Cup Final appearance for 87 years was still possible.
Then came the touch on the accelerator from Riyad Mahrez and it was all exposed as a pipe dream.
The team in blue – sky blue – definitively weren’t Sheffield Wednesday and the team in red and white weren’t in their league. Not yet, anyway.
United were left, as beaten sides say palliatively after a cup defeat, to concentrate on the league but in their case, the consolation prize is really the big one. One more win from their last four games will confirm promotion back to the Premier League.
Promotion could come as early as Wednesday against West Bromwich Albion and in big-picture terms that is what really matters.
But Wembley was still a special day out yesterday and the United fans were determined to enjoy it come what may.
A flood of 30,000 headed south to savour it, filling Wembley with noise and colour and, rather sweetly, red and white balloons.
They travelled in hope of a
1936 rerun – one red and white banner at the United end read ‘We
Believe’ – but the ineligibility of their two Manchester
City loanees Tommy Doyle and James Mcatee rendered their already slim chance of upsetting the Champions
League semi-finalists even more faint.
This has been a make-doand-mend run.
The backdrop to United’s Wembley odyssey had been one of unpaid bills, a transfer embargo – recently lifted – and a long-running takeover saga.
United manager Paul Heckingbottom (below) arranged for the players’ families to write notes expressing their pride which were left in the dressing room to be read when they arrived at Wembley.
They let no-one down but for all their labours, they were well beaten.
It might have been different had United’s top goalscorer Iliman
Ndiaye buried a glorious chance after 80 seconds. City’s back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega saved from Ndiaye and the Senegal international put his head in his hands.
He knew he was unlikely to get another opportunity as good all game.
The Blades defence coped well for 42 minutes but then came the concentration lapse – from Daniel Jebbison in his own penalty area.
Jebbison’s rash challenge on Bernardo Silva saw him hit the deck and referee Stuart Attwell had to award a penalty. Mahrez did the rest.
City, without ever going full throttle, pulled smoothly away.
The two other goals from Mahrez in the second half meant the match ball belonged to the Algerian.
The semi-final, emphatically, was City’s.