Dawson’s derby shutout denies United top spot
If Cameron Dawson’s transition from scapegoat to saviour was not startling enough, the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper’s first taste of a Steel City derby had a surreal postscript. As he halted Wednesday’s losing run and denied United a return to the Championship summit, the fans who had made the omitted Keiren Westwood a cause
celebre and called for the 23-yearold to be dropped ended up chorusing: “Cameron Dawson, he’s one of our own.”
And then the United manager Chris Wilder revealed Dawson may be one of his own, too. “I think he is a relation of mine, going back along the way,” he said. “I am not going to look up the family tree tonight as I might be disappointed.”
Dawson excelled, from saving John Fleck’s early shot to Oliver Norwood’s 94th-minute free-kick. “He was their man of the match by an absolute mile,” lamented Wilder.
“We all forget that we play with a very young goalkeeper,” said Wednesday manager Jos Luhukay. “He did a very good job. I don’t really understand why he gets so much criticism. In the last four games, he was not the player who made individual mistakes.”
But Wednesday had lost all four. If Dawson was blamed for conceding the most goals in the Championship this season, he has also made the most saves. While Luhukay turned back time 10 months to his debut in charge of Wednesday – another 0-0 draw at Bramall Lane – Dawson rewound the clock six days, but with a different outcome.
He saved Mario Vrancic’s penalty for Norwich last Saturday, but Wednesday still lost 4-0. Last night, he kept out David Mcgoldrick’s spot-kick and, for the first time since they visited Wolves in April, Wednesday prevented opponents from scoring in a league game. “The team find the trust in defending,” Luhukay said. It meant the post-match taunts were livelier than a subdued second half with Wednesday fans wondering how poor United were as “we kept a clean sheet” and their hosts retorting “what the hell was that?”
As three of United’s finer former defenders, the watching trio of Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and Phil Jagielka, could confirm, it was an excellent rearguard action. “They defended with their lives,” added Wilder. “It wasn’t anything tactical. They just sat in.” But, as he noted: “If we score the first goal, they might show a bit of ambition.”
United had the opportunity when Morgan Fox tripped Mark Duffy but Dawson dived to his left to keep out Mcgoldrick’s penalty. “I have laid it loads on him that he has cost us the derby,” joked Wilder about his summer signing.
His top scorer, captain Billy Sharp, had an injury-time chance to turn match-winner but the lifelong Blade, who has never scored in the Sheffield derby, headed Norwood’s corner wide.
“I am delighted in the way we played,” said Wilder. “We have dominated big hitters, lads on £40,000 a week. They had bigname players on big wages but they resorted to kicking it anywhere.”
Wednesday struggled to keep the ball as they had just 32 per cent of possession and, while Fox spurned an early chance by volleying over, only substitute Marco Matias drew a save from Dean Henderson and even that was a tame 90th-minute shot.
But the point eased the pressure on Luhukay after Wednesday tumbled from the play-off positions to 17th inside a month. “I am very relaxed,” he said. “I never thought about my position.” But Dawson, by having the game of his life in the biggest match of his career, may have shored it up.
Sheffield United (3-4-1-2) Henderson; Basham, Egan, O’connell; Freeman, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; Duffy; Mcgoldrick (Clarke 75), Sharp. Subs Moore (g), Baldock, Coutts, Stearman, Johnson, Washington.
Sheffield Wednesday (5-4-1) Dawson; Baker, Lees, Hector, Thorniley, Fox; Reach, Bannan, Pelupessy, Penney (Matias 79); Fletcher. Subs Wildsmith (g), Palmer, Onomah, Nuhiu, Joao, Pudil. Booked Bannan, Baker, Hector.
Referee Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire).