Ricardo's report v Sheff Utd

[ricardo 8,034]

The day dawned with leaden skies here in Norfolk and although the rain was fairly light this morning, it became quite heavy by lunchtime and I was more than a bit damp when I arrived at the ground. It was a surprise to see Crnac thrown straight into a starting role but he looked a big unit and was fairly comfortable once he got into the game.

I was expecting The Blades to be among this divisions front runners and from early on they looked the part and more or less dominated in an energetic opening period. With Moore leading the line it was obvious that there would be plenty of balls into the City box and both Duffy and Gunn had to be alert early doors as the visitors took up the initiative. City were more or less restricted to breakaways but there was a real chance down our end in the seventh minute when Sainz came forward and found Crnac to the right of the box. The Croatian sidestepped a tackle nicely but niether Sainz, nor Sargent could find a touch as the ball squirted along the face of goal.

The visitors took a firm grip of midfield as City failed to help themselves with some sloppy misplaced passes out of defence and Fisher on the Sheffield right was a constant menace when he cut inside. Ref Josh Smith made a rod for his own back with some very cheap yellow cards that made no allowance for a very wet surface. At one stage it looked like he was going to yellow card every City tackle and the crowd burst out cheering when he finally gave one the other way.

After twenty minutes I said to the lad that this was a game where we needed to score first and within a minute we did. Forson got on to a Nunez pass and a lovely weighted touch left Josh Sargent one on one with Cooper in the Sheffield net. He kept his cool, held off a defender and planted the ball firmly into the net. Certainly against the run of play but welcome never the less. The boy Forson has some nice touches but could do with bulking up a bit as he was often hustled out of things by a more physical Sheffield midfield.

The Blades continued to hold the greater threat however and it was no surprise that City couldn't hold the lead until the break as they continued to be the authors of their own misfortune by being caught in possession or giving the ball away cheaply far too often. Just after the half hour they paid the penalty for it as Sheffield broke down the right and although  the cross was cleared, Arblaster was waiting on the edge of the box to blast a low effort inside Gunn's right post to square things up. To their credit, City came back with a neat free kick routine but Duffy's close range header could not beat Cooper and it was quickly back to the visitors being on top. As time wound down there were a couple of scrambles in the City box as Duffy and Gunn came to the rescue in a high ball heading duel and City trooped off rather fortunate to still be level in my humble opinion.

H.T.    CITY     1       SHEFF UTD      1

The rain was still quite heavy at times as the second half began and for a while assumed a familiar pattern but Forson was withdrawn after about fifty five minutes and it did become apparent the City began to get more possession in midfield when Gibbs came on. What we lost in vision and guile seemed to be compensated by a bit more physicality and City began to have longer periods of possession in the opposing half.

Gunn had to push a strong shot away just before the hour and Crnac tried a thirty yarder that Cooper fielded comfortably enough but most o the action was in midfield where again Mr Smith could not resist a flurry of yellow cards which disrupted any real flow to the game. Sargent and Nunez both got to test the Sheffield keeper as we hit the midway point but both lacked any real power while at our end the ever dangerous Fisher wriggled pass a posse of defenders but could only scoop the ball over the bar.

At least the Sheffield domination seemed broken as City began to assume a slight ascendancy but it never really looked like being enough to tip the balance and as the sand fell through the hour glass it began to look very much like ending in a stalemate. The last ten minutes were fairly eventless with both sides huffing and puffing but never looking like blowing a house down and in the end I have to say honours even was a fair result.

It was more an old fashioned blood and guts at times but with Mr Smith throwing cards about like confetti it was never going to be a classic so I'm going to give a surprise MOM to the much maligned Shane Duffy who dominated at the back and never really gave Moore much of a sniff. Sargent also in good form and I am sure many will name him as their own MOM.

A slightly dryer ride home thankfully.

F.T.    CITY    1      SHEFF UTD      1

 

 

Edited August 24 by ricardo

[Christoph Stiepermann 1,261]

Duffy was great today, Moore must dread facing him because he's not looked up to it both times recently and historically Moore is just the type of striker to give us problems so it was nice to see him quiet again. Thought Gibbs was good when he came on as well. Most in the team did well today just thought Crnac wasn't quite up to speed and Sainz had one of those frustrating games so it didn't quite click for us in the final third.  

[River End Rocker 117]

Great report.  Duffy did do well, but was not alone in putting in a good shift.  Signs of progress across the team.

Ref was very frustrating.  One of those who seemed to think that we had come to watch him.  He also completely mucked up his time keeping in stoppage time, blowing bang on 3 minutes despite multiple stops in extra time. A poor game from him. 

 

 

Edited August 24 by River End Rocker

[paddycanary 579]

Many thanks Ricardo! 

[pete 371]

Ric you seemed to have missed the proliferation of balls just being lumped up top to create somerhing but yeilded nothing.  If it had been the other way round there would have been screams of anguish.

[Badger 2,745]

Agree that Duffy had a good game. I think that the hate for him is overdone - sure he's slow but he's a good option for some of the challenges that defences face in the Championship. Agree about Forson and the physicality thing too. I'm sure that they will put him on sort of diet/ exercise regime - Nunez has certainly "beefed up" since he's been here + as he gets used to the division he'll probably find ways to deal with it better as well.

When you look at the attacking and creative talent that United have, I thought our defence overall did a good job and was pleased with our set piece defending, which (fingers crossed) seems to have improved massively.

Thanks Ricardo - great report as ever.

[ricardo 8,034]

40 minutes ago, Badger said:

Agree that Duffy had a good game. I think that the hate for him is overdone - sure he's slow but he's a good option for some of the challenges that defences face in the Championship. Agree about Forson and the physicality thing too. I'm sure that they will put him on sort of diet/ exercise regime - Nunez has certainly "beefed up" since he's been here + as he gets used to the division he'll probably find ways to deal with it better as well.

When you look at the attacking and creative talent that United have, I thought our defence overall did a good job and was pleased with our set piece defending, which (fingers crossed) seems to have improved massively.

Thanks Ricardo - great report as ever.

Yes, Sheff looked dangerous up front and we did well to limit opportunities first half.

I thought we finished the stronger side in the end.

 

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,791]

Thanks Ricardo. I’d add a couple of points. 
 

Doyle can pick a pass and is a great addition . I’m still not sure how Kenny and Nunez are supposed to work - in possession they both seem too easy to press. Kenny especially who seems to try and draw a player rather than find space. 

The Blunts no 2 Gilchrist looked outstanding as was their right sided winger Brooks. He has Chrisene in all sorts of trouble first half . 
 

I thought we dominated second half but Sheff looked happy to take time over all of the restarts which suggested they were happy with a point . I didn’t think they played out from the back once in the 2nd 45 even though they shaped every time to. 
 

At the end of the season I suspect this will be a decent point . But I do think anyone with Moore in their side is going to get a bit one dimensional.  i wont bother with the ref. His 4 prem games last year says it all. he isn't good enough . He probably booked his wife last night 
 

As I said - thanks for the report . 
 

GPB 

[ron obvious 1,711]

6 hours ago, pete said:

Ric you seemed to have missed the proliferation of balls just being lumped up top to create somerhing but yeilded nothing.  If it had been the other way round there would have been screams of anguish.

There's a huge difference between hoofing a ball any old where upfield & slightly miscalculating an ambitious pass. 

I saw none of the former, some of the latter & a few well-executed long balls that put our players through in promising attacks.

[Nuff Said 5,964]

It’s a good point you make about Gibbs Ricardo. While Forson was more entertaining, we definitely improved after he had been replaced. Down to Gibbs (in part)?

[TIL 1010 5,246]

10 hours ago, pete said:

Ric you seemed to have missed the proliferation of balls just being lumped up top to create somerhing but yeilded nothing.  If it had been the other way round there would have been screams of anguish.

You don't think the atrocious conditions played a part in how we went about the game then ?

[TheGunnShow 7,377]

12 hours ago, TIL 1010 said:

You don't think the atrocious conditions played a part in how we went about the game then ?

Aye, it takes a special brand of wet wipe to think you play tap-tap in all conditions. A greasy pitch on a wet day is not the time to faff around at the back, and especially when confidence isn't too high. Be pragmatic and play percentages.

[Big Vince 423]

Norwich City still in the business of playing/signing midgets. Eadie, Cureton, McVeigh, Fugelstad, wee Billy and now Forson. 

Crnac and Forson will need to be put on a diet of eggs and red meat before hitting the weights room.

[Don’t be Krul 452]

11 minutes ago, Big Vince said:

Norwich City still in the business of playing/signing midgets. Eadie, Cureton, McVeigh, Fugelstad, wee Billy and now Forson. 

Crnac and Forson will need to be put on a diet of eggs and red meat before hitting the weights room.

Would you have moaned if those "midgets" (completely disrespectful term BTW) had been Messi, Maradona, David Silva, Aguero?

[Big Vince 423]

1 minute ago, Don’t be Krul said:

Would you have moaned if those "midgets" (completely disrespectful term BTW) had been Messi, Maradona, David Silva, Aguero?

Maradona had a lot of beef on him for his size.

[daz 137]

1 hour ago, Big Vince said:

Norwich City still in the business of playing/signing midgets. Eadie, Cureton, McVeigh, Fugelstad, wee Billy and now Forson. 

Crnac and Forson will need to be put on a diet of eggs and red meat before hitting the weights room.

Crnac is certainly not small Either tbf. 

[Fen Canary 1,456]

1 hour ago, Big Vince said:

Norwich City still in the business of playing/signing midgets. Eadie, Cureton, McVeigh, Fugelstad, wee Billy and now Forson. 

Crnac and Forson will need to be put on a diet of eggs and red meat before hitting the weights room.

Add Hoolahan to that list, and while Gilmour did nothing for us the rest were all decent in a Norwich shirt