Match report: Sheffield United 1-0 Newcastle United
Aaron Bowers was at Bramall Lane to see Sheffield United record their first victory of the season against an abject Newcastle side. Read on ...
The table: Sheffield United remain rooted to the bottom of the division, nine points from safety ... although if you really want to rain on their parade you could argue it’s 11, considering their awful goal difference. Newcastle are in 15th and on the slide, eight points from the thick black line.
Billy Sharp speaks ...
“It’s a huge relief, I’m so happy for the boys,” says the scorer of Sheffield United’s winning goal. “It was important we got a win soon. It was scrappy at times but in the first half I thought we were brilliant. We got the luck we deserved and saw it through.”
John Egan speaks ...
“It is about time we got the win,” Sheffield United’s captain tells Sky Sports. “As soon as Billy stood up I knew he was going to score. We played more like ourselves, positive, front foot. Newcastle are hard to break down, were solid even with 10 men. We were due that bit of luck though. There is a long way to go yet. We know it is a tough ask but we look to the next game.”
Burnley v Manchester United - Premier League live!
Simon Burnton has the latest from Turf Moor, where Manchester United can go top of the table with a win over their hosts.
Sounds corny but genuinely wish every Blade could give CW a non covid related hug and a beer. Just tell him the blueprint is there, that he is undoubtedly the best man to ever manage this football club and that every single player and supporter is behind him 100%.
— BA Analytics (@Blades_analytic) January 12, 2021
Ryan Fraser becomes the shortest player ever to be sent off in the Premier League, replacing Tariq Lamptey.
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) January 12, 2021
Full-time: Sheffield United 1-0 Newcastle United
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Hallelujah! Sheffield United have finally won a Premier League game at the 19th time of asking this season. They were deserving winners against a Newcastle side whose fans will be furious with another awful performance. Billy Sharp scored the only goal of the game, converting from the spot after Federico Fernandez had handled in his own penalty area.
90+6 min: Wow! Ramsdale is forced to scramble backwards and claw the ball wide of the upright to make sure a Bogle backpass doesn’t end up being registered as an own goal!!! Nothing comes from the ensuing corner.
90+5 min: Isaac Hayden gets booked for hauling down Rhian Brewster.
90+4 min: Murphy whips a cross into the Sheffield United penalty area. Ampadu heads it out for a corner from which nothing comes. Sheffield United substitution: David McGoldrick off, Phil Jagielka on.
90+2 min: Jacob Murphy, whose introduction I missed, shoots straight at Aaron Ramsdale, who drops to the ground, clutches the ball to his chest and smirks at Andy Carroll, who was in the vicinity sniffing around looking for some spillage. Not today, Andy. Not today.
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90+1 min: Newcastle win a free-kick just outside the Sheffield United penalty area, directly in front of goal. David McGoldrick gacve that one away and gets booked.
89 min: Sheffield United win a free-kick about 10 yards inside their own half. Aaron Ramsdale boots the ball towards the corner. There’ll be six minutes of added time. Six! That’s four more than two.
86 min: Now Fabian Schar is arguing with David McGoldrick after taking the Sheffield United striker out as he tried to advance towards the Newcastle penalty area.
84 min: Unlucky for Rhian Brewster. His low drive from outside the Newcastle penalty area takes a deflection and hits the foot of the left upright before ricocheting into the arms of Karl Darlow.
84 min: Play resumes and Newcastle lump the ball towards Callum Wilson, who heads straight at Ramsdale.
81 min: There’s a break in play as Jayden Bogle receives treatment for some manner of injury in the Newcastle penalty area. Meanwhile in the centre-circle, Fabian Schar and Billy Sharp are having a frank exchange of views, presumably with regard to that sh*****se tackle the Sheffield United striker perpetrated a minute or two ago.
80 min: Billy Sharp is booked for a nasty rake down the achilles of Fabian Schar as the Newcastle defender embarked on a foray into the Sheffield United half.
78 min: Matt Ritchies tries to pick oput Carroll at the far post but his cross is too high. Goal kick, which Aaron Ramsdale is in no hurry to take.
77 min: Newcastle substitution: Andy Carroll, who played so well in defeat against Arsenal in the FA Cup on Saturday evening, comes on. Federico Fernandez makes way.
76 min: Rhian Brewster gads into the Newcastle penalty area with the ball agt his feet and pulls a fairly weak, low drive wide of the left upright.
75 min: Newcastle substitution: Matt Ritchie on for Paul Dummett, who actually left the field before that penalty was awarded. Newcastle were playing with nine men at the time.
GOAL! Sheffield United 1-0 Newcastle (Sharp 73pen)
Sheffield United lead! Sharp slots the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, sending Karl Darlow the wrong way.
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Penalty for Sheffield United!!!
72 min: The spot-kick is given for Fernandez’s handball!!!
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71 min: They’re checking an offside and a handball here. I suspect if the former isn’t given, the latter definitely will. Ref Andy Madley is checking his pitchside monitor.
70 min: Sheffield United appeal loudly for a penalty as the ball appears to hit the hand of Federico Fernandez in the Newcastle penalty area while he duelled for the ball shoulder-to-shoulder with Billy Sharp. I think that’s going to be a spot-kick and it’s being checked by VAR.
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68 min: Paul Dummett, who has not played much this season, is flat on his back in his own penalty area suffering badly from cramp. Ciaran Clark helps him out, doing that “stretchy” thing with his foot.
63 min: Newcastle briefly threaten with a counter-sortie towards the Sheffield United penalty area. Callum Wilson tries to tee up Sean Longstaff but prods his pass a little behind his team-mate. A promising attack breaks down.
61 min: Good play from Rhian Brewster, who takes the ball past Fernandez down the inside left with an excellent first touch before squaring it. It’s on a plate for Billy Sharp at the far pos ... well, it would be if Billy Sharp was at the far post but he hadn’t made the requisite run.
60 min: Jayden Bogle picks up the ball on the right side of the Newcastle penalty area, cuts inside and curls a left-footed effort wide of the upright.
59 min: Sheffield United substitution: Another striker on and it’s Oliver Burke who makes way. Please be upstanding for Billy Sharp.
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57 min: Paul Dummett concedes a free-kick just inside his own half, but the ball ends up back in the hands of Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow.
56 min: Second half possession percentages: Sheffield United 88-12 Newcastle United.
54 min: Sheffield United continue in the ascendency, but without creating much in the way of chances.
52 min: Sheffield United substitute: Chris Basham off, record signing Rhian Brewster on. A striker who has yet to score for United on for a defender.
49 min: Sheffield United win a throw-in deep in Newcastle territory. Jayden Bogle tries to pick out Ben Osborn at the far post, but DeAndre Yedlin controts himself in mid air to head clear. The ball comes to Bogle, who brings a smart block out of Karl Darlow at his near post.
The absolute key now is patience, quality & composure. Newcastle will sit in even more, plug gaps, stop the wide triangles. We need to vary our play, come central to release wide with balls crossed in behind the defensive line, flood box with numbers and above all else be calm.
— BA Analytics (@Blades_analytic) January 12, 2021
47 min: Karl Darlow takes a kick-out, booting the ball long.
Second half: Sheffield United 0-0 Newcastle
46 min: Play resumes, with no changes in personnel on either side. A reminder that Newcastle are down to 10 men, following the dismissal of Ryan Fraser in the closing seconds of the first half.
Half-time: Sheffield United 0-0 Newcastle United
Peep! The deadlock remains unbroken at the break, but Sheffield United have bossed this first half. They’re likely to dominate the second too, what with Newcastle being down to 10 men after the dismissal of Ryan Fraser just a minute ago for two bookings in quick succession.
RED CARD!!! Ryan Fraser is sent off!
45 min: Lunacy from Ryan Fraser, who gets his second yellow card for a needless, mis-timed, shin-high challenge on David McGoldrick down by the touchline just a couple of minutes after he’d been booked for the first time. What was he thinking?
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43 min: “They won’t want this half to finish,” says Sky Sports co-commentator Lee Hendrie of Sheffield United, as another of their corners is cleared by Newcastle. I think it’s fair to say everyone else will.
42 min: Ryan Fraser is booked for a late tackle on John Fleck, moments after Karl Darlow had saved superbly from Jayden Bogle.
41 min: Ferandez does brilliantly to slide in and prevent Oliver Burke getting off a shot from a tight angle.
40 min: No penalty! John Egan is cleared by the curtain-twitchers in Stockley Park.
39 min: Newcastle corner. Ryan Fraser floats an inswinger to the near post, Isaac Hayden gets his head to it and there’s an appeal for handball. Over to you, VAR.
38 min: Ben Osborn puts in a crucial block tackle on Isaac Hayden, as the Newcastle man shaped to pull the trigger from the edge of the Sheffield United penalty area.
37 min: Chris Basham charges forward, plays the ball wide to Jayden Bogle on the right flank and his cross is headed clear. Of course it is.
35 min: For Newcastle, Fabian Schar ambles out of defence with the ball at his feet after David McGoldrick loses it in the penalty area.
32 min: Ampadu squares the ball across the Newcastle penalty area, but Ciaran Clark boots it clear with an agricultural block. Your reminder that in this time of national lockdown in the UK, Premier League games such as this are apparently boosting national morale. *side-eye emoji*
30 min: Fleck, Osborn and Ampadu combine down the left, the Chelsea loanee curling the ball towards the far post from the side of the penalty area with his right foot. David McGoldrick leaps highest and skims the ball high and wide off the top of his head.
28 min: A cross from the right drops extremely kindly for Callum Wilson, who makes a yard and gets a free header seven yards from goal, only to put it wide.
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23 min: Halfway through the first half and this game is everything you’d expect from a Tuesday 6pm kick-off. Sheffield United are very much in the ascendency but have only created one chance of note, and that was squandered by David McGoldrick. Newcastle, resolutely on the back foot against the worst team in the league, have been shamefully unambitious.
20 min: Osborn plays a ball into space down the inside left and it’s shepherded back to Karl Darlow in the Newcastle goal by Federico Fernandez.
19 min: Sheffield United continue to dominate possession and win a corner when a Ben Osborn cross is blocked at the source and put out of play. Ollie Norwood’s delivery from the left is cleared.
16 min: Near the byline to the left of Newcastle’s goal, Lundstram latches on to a long ball down the inside left from Ethan Ampadu. He’s all alone and disposssessed. Newcastle clear their lines.
14 min: Mildly encouraging stuff from Sheffield United, who have started well against a preposterously defensive Newcastle line-up. Lundstram shoots high and wild from distance.
13 min: David McGoldrick wastes a glorious opportunity to put Sheffield United ahead after a good passage of play, trying to curl the ball into the far corner and making life easy for Karl Darlow, when he should have done better. He had all the time in the world to pick his spot there, but shot more or less straight at the keeper.
12 min: Newcastle win a free-kick about 40 yards from the Sheffield U|nited goal, take it short and waste it.
10 min: Teed up by Oliver Burke on the left side of the Newcastle penalty area, John Lundstram tries to curl the ball around Karl Darlow and inside the far post. Wide.
9 min: A couple of minutes worth of patient Sheffield United faff around the edge of the Newcastle penalty area ends with Oliver Burke clipping a cross towards the far post from the inside right channel. It’s cleared.
6 min: From the right touchline, Ryan Fraser swings a cross into the Sheffield United penalty area. It’s a mite too high for Callum Wilson and sails out for a throw-in.
5 min: Sheffield United win a corner. The ball’s sent into the Newcastle penalty area by Ollie Norwood and hacked clear.
4 min: The ball’s floated in to the penalty area, where John Lundstram leaps highest and heads the ball back into the arms of Ramsdale. I’m not sure that was intentional, but he got away with it.
3 min: Callum Wilson wins a free-kick wide on the right, the victim of a foul by John Egan.
2 min: Callum Wilson gets all up in Ramsdale’s grille as he attempts to kick the ball clear from his hands, prompting protests from the Sheffield United goalkeeper.
Sheffield United v Newcastle United is go ...
1 min: Newcastle get the ball rolling, lumping the ball forward. Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale gets an early touch.
Not long now: John Egan and referee Andy Madley shoot the breeze in the tunnel as they wait for the players of Newcastle to march out on to the pitch, the visitors dressed like highlighter pens in luminous yellow shirts, shorts and socks.
Sheffield United follow soon after, their troops wearing their customary home kit of red and white striped shirts, black shorts and red socks. Kick off is just a minute away.
Steve Bruce speaks ...
On his changes: “Quite simply, Karl [Darlow] doesn’t deserve to lose his place,” says Newcastle’s manager in a chat with Sky. Jamaal [Lascelles] was just physically exhausted with Covid. Allan [Saint-Maximin]’s just back training with us now [after Covid]. We hope that he can hit the ground running early, because we could do with him.”
Chris Wilder speaks ...
On his decision to pick Oliver Burke over Lys Mousset and Rhian Brewster: “It was a decision that we had to make,” the Sheffield Unbited tells Sky Sports. “I thought Ollie did what we asked him to do [against Bristol Rovers]. “He got a goal, he has raw pace, he’s had an opportunity, as have all the forwards who’ve played this season.”
Big game for Burke to show something different tonight. Newcastle will sit deep and restrict space in behind so his pace less effective. His pressing however will be huge. Needs to show he can hold ball up, recycle and be a threat in penalty box. Lots of runs down side of CBs!
— BA Analytics (@Blades_analytic) January 12, 2021
Those teams: Just the one change from Chris Wiulder, who brings in Oliver Burke in place of Lys Mousset, who drops to a bench that has two empty seats.
Steve Bruce makes six changes from the team that lost against Arsenal in the FA Cup on Saturday night. Karl Darlow, Callum Wilson, Fabian Schar, Ryan Fraser, DeAndre Yedlin and Federico Fernandez are all in.
Newcastle fans are unlikely to be impressed with what looks like a preposterously defensive line-up he has picked to face what is shaping up to be the worst team ever to play in the Premier League.
Sheffield United v Newcastle United line-ups
Sheffield United: Ramsdale, Basham, Egan, Ampadu, Bogle, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Osborn, McGoldrick, Burke.
Subs: Foderingham, Jagielka, Bryan, Lowe, Brewster, Mousset, Sharp.
Newcastle United: Darlow, Yedlin, Clark, Fernandez, Schar, Dummett, Hendrick, Hayden, Sean Longstaff, Fraser, Wilson.
Subs: Dubravka, Anderson, Matty Longstaff, Ritchie, Murphy, Almiron, Joelinton, Carroll, Gayle.
TEAM-NEWS 🚨
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 12, 2021
This is how we line-up for #SHUNEW at Bramall Lane this evening...
HWTL! ⚫️⚪️
One change for the Blades. 🔁
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) January 12, 2021
Oliver Burke replaces Lys Mousset. He leads the line alongside David McGoldrick.#SHUNEW 🔴
Tonight’s match officials
- Referee: Andy Madley.
- Assistants: Eddie Smart and Derek Eaton.
- Fourth official: Lee Mason.
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VAR: Robert Jones.
Early team news ...
Anchored to the bottom of the Premier League with two points from a possible 54 (fifty-four), Sheffield United have yet to win a top flight match this season but did at least get a long overdue and unfamiliar taste of victory when they beat Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Chris Wilder fielded a strong side (it’s all relative) against Rovers, but was without Enda Stevens and George Baldock, who didn’t travel but may feature tonight.
For Newcastle, Allan Saint-Maximin continues his recovery from a particularly debilitating bout of Covid-19, while Jamal Lewis remains is a major doubt for tonight’s game after suffering an unspecified knock. Callum Wilson, Jamaal Lascelles and Jonjo Shelvey were all due to undergo late fitness tests.
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Premier League: Sheffield United v Newcastle United
Sheffield United! Against Newcastle! On a Tuesday! At 6pm! The kind of glamour tie between two of the worst sides in Premier League history that sells itself, it almost certainly doesn’t need any additional hype or bombast from us.
Kick-off, as we may already have mentioned, is at 6pm (GMT) for reasons that aren’t quite clear to anybody involved but almost certainly have something to do with TV.
Stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up to this eagerly-awaited contest that is strictly for the purists from the self-styled Best League In The World™.
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