Sheffield United made the worse possible start to the new 2015/16 campaign with a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Gillingham. Gillingham teenager Emmanuel Osadebe found the net just eight minutes into his senior debut as Gillingham sent Sheffield United crashing to a 4-0 defeat. Osadebe and on-loan defender Adedeji Oshilaja both struck in the first half before John Egan scored against his former side and Bradley Dack completed proceedings to get Gillingham's campaign off to a flying start.
Gills boss Justin Edinburgh included five debutants from the start and two of them linked up for the opener, Ryan Jackson's long throw causing mayhem in the box and Osadebe poking home. The visitors struggled to get into the game - Che Adams their best outlet - and were 2-0 down two minutes before the break when Oshilaja stabbed the ball home after United had failed to clear a corner.
Egan made it three in the 82nd minute, meeting Brennan Dickenson's corner to head home and the Gills added a fourth in injury time. Dack capped a superb performance by driving a shot past despairing Blades goalkeeper George Long to round off a miserable afternoon for the visitors.
Blades boss Nigel Adkins will be looking for a better league performance and result in their next encounter at home to Chesterfield on Saturday (3pm) and may opt to rest some vital players at Morecambe tonight and may give an opportunity for Diego DeGirolamo a chance to shine.
They will be without Matt Done (collarbone), Jamal Campbell-Ryce (hamstring), Ryan Flynn (Achillies), Terry Kennedy (knee) and Jose Baxter (leg) who are all sidelined through injury. Adkins could hand a debut to defender David Edgar who yesterday completed a move to Bramall Lane on a season's long loan from Birmingham City.
The Shrimps also started the new league season with defeat with a 2-0 loss at Hartlepool United. Billy Paynter and Rakish Bingham netted as Hartlepool began their Sky Bet League Two campaign with a 2-0 win over Morecambe. The strikers, two of 11 summer recruits at Victoria Park, ensured Ronnie Moore's men followed last term's great escape with a winning start to the 2015-16 season. The hosts, featuring six new faces in their XI, began impressively - although they almost fell behind when Ryan Edwards headed against the crossbar.
Pools were undeterred and took a 25th-minute lead through one of their new signings. After Michael Woods had seen a powerful effort saved by Barry Roche, Bingham collected the ball and sent in a perfect centre for skipper Paynter to head his 100th league goal into the corner. Jamie Devitt and Lee Molyneux spurned glorious chances to level either side of half-time, with the Shrimps growing into the contest.
However, that good spell came to an end as Hartlepool doubled their advantage. Paynter was the orchestrator, cleverly finding space before chipping a delicious through-ball to Bingham - who powered home emphatically. Morecambe still looked dangerous, which was shown when veteran winger Kevin Ellison rattled the woodwork, yet Pools held on to claim the points.
Shrimps boss Jim Bentley is likely to field former Sheffield United striker Shaun Miller to face his former club, he was included as a substitute in the defeat at Hartlepool and may make his full debut tonight.
We've Met Before.....
Sheffield United have met Norecambe just once competitivly - this was also in the League Cup (Round 3). After the Blades had beaten Chesterfield (3-1) and MK Dons (3-2) in extra-time they face Morecambe in round 3 who had bypassed Preston North End (2-1) and won on penalties at Wolverhampton Wanderers (1-1) in previous rounds. The pair met at Bramall Lane on 25 September 2007 with United victorious by five goals without reply.
Billy Sharp finally got off the mark with two lethal strikes to kill off Morecambe's cup dreams as he paid back the first instalment of his £2million transfer fee. The 21-year-old, signed from Scunthorpe in the summer, struck in the first half with Luton Shelton grabbing two and midfielder Lee Hendrie scoring his first for the side since his move from Aston Villa. United boss Bryan Robson took no chances, fielding a strong team against the Lancashire club who are enjoying their first season of league football.
Morecambe, who have had a steady start in League Two, had already disposed of Championship sides Preston and Wolves in the earlier rounds. Shelton, signed last season from Swedish side Helsingborgs for £1.8million, set up United's opener on 18 minutes with a mixture of pace and skill. The lanky striker weaved past three defenders before slipping the ball inside to Sharp who finished with a left-foot strike into the roof of the net from 10 yards. United escaped on the half hour when a poor clearance fell to the feet of Craig Stanley .
The midfielder's fierce strike was tipped around the left-hand post by Paddy Kenny in spectacular fashion before United swept further ahead three minutes later. Full-back Derek Geary, who was back in the side after a three match suspension, threaded the ball to Sharp who charged into the area before hammering his left-foot drive past Joe Lewis from 16 yards.
Michael Twiss almost found a way through and Stanley had a curling cross-cum-shot snatched by the diving Kenny before Shelton killed off Morecambe on 52 minutes. He ran on to Stephen Quinn's pass to round Lewis and slot the ball into an empty net. Hendrie added the fourth in the 67th minute with Shelton grabbing his second of the night four minutes later.
Blades-Mad Prediction: Morecambe 0 Sheffield United 2
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