United had been fortunate to go in at half time still all square after a poor performance but improved significantly after the break and were the better side after the interval. Still despite Baxter’s strike; United were far from convincing and spent several minutes at the end of the game trying to kill off time such was their desire to get up and running at the Lane.
Clough had opted to tinker with his starting line up with Michael Higdon coming in for Marc McNulty after the win at Peterborough in the week. Crawley had lost their first game of the season in midweek at home to Bradford and began with former Blade loanee Izale McLeod.
The game began with little in the way of goal mouth action with Davies trying to cause problems with his delivery from wide but the game was played in the middle of the field for the opening stages. United were sloppy in possession and were struggling make much headway and gradually it was the visitors who began to start to take the ascendancy. They had a chance when Doyle and Collins both left it to each other and Young was in on the angle but his shot was a nice height for Howard and pushed away. Soon after McLeod was nearly in after more hesitancy; this time from Collins and McGahey but the ball was eventually cleared.
United were giving the ball away and not showing enough urgency. Crawley were in control of the game but had not created much themselves despite seeing more of the ball and having the few chances that had been created.
The lack of fluency in the home side’s performance continued as Higdon was unable to hold the ball up and the midfield struggling to get to grips with some lively runners from the visitors.
United had a rare chance just after the half hour when a trip on Murphy saw Davies hit a free kick that Jensen did well to finally gather as a sea of bodies converged on him. Soon after though it was Crawley back on the attack though and as the ball broke through Henderson managed to get away from the defence and hit a rising shot that hit the bar. The eventual follow up was blocked well by McEveley as the home crowd showed their frustration. Soon after McLeod blazed over and the half time whistle could not come quick enough for the Blades who were slightly fortunate to go in level.
The second half clearly saw that Clough’s words had some effect as the tempo was much better from the Blades. They were quicker to the ball and were getting it forward quicker. It did not take long for this improvement to get rewarded.
After Higdon held the ball up and moved it wide, Murphy then found Alcock who played a ball inside. BAXTER hit it first time using the momentum of the pass to get the necessary whip on the shot. It nestled just inside the far post giving the motionless Jensen no chance. It was an excellent goal and one that lit up a mostly dreary contest. The goal scorer slid on his knees in front of the United bench, using the now wet surface after the first half downpour to good effect!
Soon after United nearly made it two as again Baxter was at the end of a move but this time his low shot went just wide of the post. United came again as Davies showed some good work to get in and maybe could have shot but his pull back gave Hidgon a chance but it was blocked. Basham then had an effort cleared and Davies again nearly forged a chance.
Crawley were struggling to stop the attacks now and the game was being played entirely in their third. Flynn came on for Baxter who may have taken a slight knock and then soon after this McGahey had a chance but badly scuffed wide after Jensen could not deal with a corner.
Reed came on for Higdon as United now sought to hold onto what they had got and ended up with an odd formation with Murphy the most advanced player. The home side opted to take the ball into the corner with 4 minutes left and this drew some groans from the fans but they were able to kill off a considerable amount of time. This pattern repeated itself often during the closing stages. Harris came on for McEveley right before the end and instantly nearly made a second as he advanced down the left on the overlap and pulled back but Davies put it wide when he should have sealed the game.
The game entered four minutes of additional time and in this period Crawley forced a late corner with big Jensen going up. The ball fell and a shot came in but hit a United player and was cleared. The throw in could not be taken as D’Urso called time on proceedings and marked United’s first home win.
United – It was not totally convincing. The first half was turgid and United never got going. We sat off when they had it, were careless when we had it and the whole tempo was woefully slow. We looked like we were playing a practice match and no one got the game by the scruff of the neck. So many players were 5 yards off the play or had awful first touches. The crowd were getting frustrated and other than Davies’ dead ball delivery never really looked like scoring at all. We were lucky to go in level as had a let off when they hit the bar. We had nothing up top with Higdon very poor and Murphy struggling to get past his man again.
Second half we improved and seemed to simply up the tempo and play further up the field. The defence pressed and the midfield were sharper to get to the ball. We started to have more of the ball and get the ball wide and into good areas to start creating things. Baxter scored a great goal and then we could have had a couple more with Davies and Baxter seemingly involved in most good things we did going forward. Still the second goal did not come and then we had a nervy final stage to the game as United opted to hold what they had rather than go for another goal. The crowd became frustrated and also held their breath as they had a shot from a corner right at the end that was blocked.
Still it was just important to get the win and nice to finally see a clean sheet. It was a poor game and a mixed performance. We are up and running and whilst a few of the new signings are yet to fully convince, a few (the full backs) have been steady. Too many from last season have yet to get going and we are operating with a lot of so-so performances. I hope we can continue to edge up the league but we do have a tough test at Preston next week. We need to just stay in and around the top 6 and then hope that individuals improve, we can settle to some sort of regular side but also maybe add 1 or 2 real quality rather than the quantity that we seem to have added.
Crawley – Gregory said it was the best performance he had seen since he came to the club which maybe was going a bit far but they played well first half and I felt they should have been winning at half time. They had 2 or 3 chances and were on top. They pressed us and were able to defend in numbers when they had to (all men back on corners and free kicks) but did get forward in numbers at times when they did break. The fact they only named 5 subs shows the comparison in resources of the two sides but for the first half they looked much better and more determined than us. After the break United upped the tempo and it seemed they regressed quite a lot. I felt they had a really wobbly spell around the goal and they could have conceded again. They hung in there though and was able to have another little go again at the end but it was probably too little, too late and the home side held on.
They have a mixture of some experienced players (Jensen, McLeod, Leacock) who seemed to have played for a lot of clubs with some young players and some carry overs from last season but read that they too have made a lot of changes and would have expected a bedding in period. They won the first two and have lost two this week; the polar opposite to United. Where will they finish? Not sure but I think they will be closer to the bottom than top but on the game against United I would suggest they would have plenty to avoid being in a relegation scrap. Gregory has been about and the squad has enough of that aforementioned experience to be ok. Of course if the pitch causes issues again in the winter and the postponements mount up then that could change things!
Howard 7/10- He made one smart save in the first half and then saw another shot hit the bar. Outside of this he had little do really taking a few regulation crosses.
Alcock 7/10 – Been moved about so far from centre back to full back but he has been one of the new signings that has done ok. Today once again he was steady enough and I felt defensively he handled his man ok and also tried to get forward when he could.
McEveley 7.5/10 – Not a signing that I was that happy with as I was unsure why we would sign another utility type player who was coming to the wrong end of his career but he played well today. He did little wrong defensively and also got up and down the flank and supported the attack. I like Harris but he had started the season poorly and thus McEveley now has the shirt and today he was impressive.
Collins 5.5/10 – He had a very uncertain first half when he was at fault when they got the chance to take the lead when they broke and Howard saved. He also was partly culpable when they hit the bar as he could have attacked the initial ball. Seemed to be often blaming others rather than taking responsibility. He did get better in the second half and I felt generally the defence started to attack the ball more and impose themselves when the ball came forward.
McGahey 6/10 – Like Collins I felt he was uncertain and had a few mis hit clearances and moments where he did not quite make the ball but he did get better in the second half. Had one shot wide when well placed. Not quite convinced me yet but not helped when he has had different partners and Collins was probably even worse than him today. Looks a decent size but incredibly raw and a little indecisive at times too. A work in progress.
Basham 4.5/10 – Once again I was really disappointed with him. A big bloke he seems to shrink when challenging for balls and aerially he loses quite a lot. When he does get on the ball which is very rare his touch is not the best and he found them more than he did us! He is a bit of a pointer in that he never seems to know who he is marking but often is quite adept at pointing to others to tell them who to mark. Not sure what he offers.
Davies 7.5/10 – Think he was one of our stand out players once again. Yes I know he is not really a full back and is not really a winger and we are kind of shoe horning him into the side but without him we would not have created and scored many goals this season. He is very slow and lacks mobility but he compensates with his excellent dead ball delivery and crossing in general. Felt he looked one of main threats as we improved second half and linked well with others. I know people seem to suggest he should not be playing but I would argue that he has been one of few players to play to a decent standard this season.
Doyle 6/10 – Up and down. He won a few loose balls and kept it simple when he had it but also gave the ball away on a few occasions. I thought first half we did not have anywhere near enough of the ball in the first half. He was better second half but I do worry about the middle of the park. I feel we lack leaders, imposing players and creativity and Basham and Doyle are incredibly ordinary footballers sadly.
Murphy 7/10 – Better but For me his season has not really got going yet. Granted I was not at Peterboro when he was supposed to have been better but today he showed flashes. He rarely got past his man down the outside all game and continually came inside. He got crowded out a lot and I also felt his final ball was poor (often overplaying crosses). Sadly he ‘neshed’ 3 or 4 balls aswell in the first half. Came inside and played more centrally second half but did not have much more of an impact but a few times when he went back wide did get into good areas. Needs to up his game to get near standards that he ended the last campaign but today we saw some flicker of light and he did get involved a lot more.
Baxter 7.5/10 – Another that gets a lot of criticism but for all his faults; overweight, slow, sometimes does not work hard enough, no fixed position etc (moved between behind Higdon to wide left to centre forward today); he is still one of the best footballers we have at the club. He is one of few players who can get on ball and make a pass that sends us going the right way and can unlock a door. He is one of few players who can score goals like the one he got in the game and many of our better chances did come from his play in the second half. Had no help from Higdon or behind him really so had to go looking for loose balls and scraps.
Higdon 3/10 – Sadly as decent as he was in the first game against Bristol City; he was as poor today. He was awful. He was involved in the lead up to the goal but he did little else all game and I am struggling to recall many good things he did all game. Often the ball came off him and bounced away or he never won a header or even looked remotely able to allow us to keep the ball. He barely left the ground when going for headers and his touch was abysmal. On that performance no better than Porter. Seriously. Just hope this was a one off and he can improve.
Subs-
Flynn – Replaced Baxter who seemed to be feeling the back of his leg after stretching for a block. He was influential in helping us see time out in the corner. Another who had started season really badly and needs to get his form back when he gets a chance.
Reed – Brought on for Higdon as we looked to keep the ball and see out time. Not massively involved in the time he had on the pitch as we tried to take it to the corners.
Harris – Came on for McEveley who seemed to be struggling. Was involved in our final chance when he overlapped and squared for Davies who should have scored. Needs to work hard to get his place back now.
Clough 7/10 – It was a win and a clean sheet. He did not change the team much after the week’s win and hopefully we can get some consistency again. After some sub par second half performances it was the other way round as we began the game poorly but then improved as the game went on. So it seemed his half time words did the trick. At the moment we are not hitting standards of last season’s ending but at least we have got back to winning games. He is still seeing some decent performances mixed in with many sub par ones; in terms of individuals. At least we have a bigger squad so can change things but he will want to avoid messing the team around too much rotating odd individuals based on injuries or form I would guess; rather than the mass changes he made in the week.
Officials – The game did not really have any bad challenges all game. Andy D’Urso kept things flowing and only had to book two players; Henderson for them and Basham for us – both for tackles from behind. Even those were barely bookings. I cannot recall him getting much else wrong all game and don’t recall ever commenting on the officials so that is a good sign.
Crowd/Officials – Crowd was decent again with over 18,000 in the Lane although it was quiet much of the game. Some frustration before the break and a smattering of boos after a dire first half performance but then the crowd came to life as we scored and were buoyed for a period. Frustration again set in when we tried to keep the ball in the corner (maybe a bit too early in the first instance) but those same people moaning would have been complaining if we had crossed the ball in and they had broke and scored. I was mixed with how United did it. It was maybe a bit early but then as it got to the end I agreed as just getting the win in such a scrappy game was the most important thing. Some of the reaction from fans to us doing it was nonsensical and do wonder if people actually know the game at times! The objective is to entertain but first and foremost to win football matches. Crawley brought around 100 fans who did their best to generate some noise up in the Bramall Lane upper tier.