Sheffield United (U23s) 2-1 Coventry City (U23s)

Sheffield United (U23s) 2-1 Coventry City (U23s)
Professional Development League
Tuesday 5th October 2021

A spirited second half fightback saw Sheffield United edge out Coventry City in this Professional Development League game at Bramall Lane.

The Sky Blues fielded quite a few players with first team experience and led at half-time thanks to Fabio Tavares converting from close-range after Tyler Walker's squared pass.

Paul Heckingbottom's Blades also had their chances during the first 45 minutes but they 'upped the ante' after the re-start and having quickly equalised through Zak Brunt's penalty (awarded after the eye-catching Oliver Arblaster was brought down by Blaine Rowe), Regan Slater headed home for what turned out to be the winner.

The Blades were slightly indebted to their 'keeper, Jordan Amissah because he showed impressive agility on more than one occasion to foil the visitors. He'll have certainly caught the attention of onlookers in the stands which included current Sky Blues manager Mark Robins.

As was the case yesterday in witnessing Sheffield Wednesday's U23s lose 1-0 to their Barnsley counterparts, this was my first time watching United's youngsters in action for some time and it was good to discover new players who I've not seen previously.

Initially, Coventry began the brighter of the two teams and within five minutes Amissah was at full-stretch to tip over a well-struck shot from the edge of the area. United responded to that with a bit of neat build-up play followed by successive corners at the other end; going close as Zak Brunt saw a goalbound effort blocked by Tyler Walker who then headed over from a resulting cross a few moments afterwards before more pressure was applied which ultimately came to nothing.

The visitors went close again just past the quarter-hour mark as Blaine Rowe's through ball released Walker whose low drive forced a good low save from Amissah. Soon afterwards they made their pressure count and went 1-0 up courtesy of a very impressive goal; the excellent Marco Rus feeding a perfect low pass through to the feet of an accelerating Walker in an inside-right position. It cut the Blades defence apart and the forward duly squared the ball across the box for Tavares who took a touch before firing home with aplomb.

Both sides looked neat in possession and worked the ball around the pitch quite well at different points although it was from a mistake that United so nearly managed an equaliser as Oliver Arblaster's left-foot half-volley drew a solid save from Cian Taylor, who also parried away a 20-yard shot by Brunt in a separate move around 10 minutes later.

Coventry also went close; spurning a glorious, gilt-edged chance to double their lead shortly before half-time as Walker blazed over at the near-post following some intelligent link-up play involving Tavares, Jordan Shipley and Rowe. The 24-year-old got a more speculative effort on target two minutes later but his long-range strike was matched with a flying save from Amissah.

United stepped things up after the break and got themselves back on level terms within two minutes. Arblaster nipped in to get to the ball first in a 50-50 with Rowe and was subsequently caught late which left the referee with no option but to point to the spot and Brunt duly converted from the resulting spot-kick. The turnaround was then quickly completed as Regan Slater sent a looping rebound header over the Coventry 'keeper who'd parried Angelo Cappello's initial shot following some nifty footwork and movement by the youngster to get his effort away.

Amissah underlined his importance to the SUFC team in the last half-hour - showing excellent agility to make some low saves as the visitors wrestled back the initiative and searched for an equaliser. The Blades had chances to make it 3-1 at the opposite end - notably Leo Gaxha was heavily involved and he hit the woodwork and forced a good save from a long-range effort. The hosts almost came unstuck in the closing stages though when they momentarily switched off at a set-piece - allowing substitute Aaron Evans-Harriott to play a quick set-piece low into the box from which an equaliser very nearly materialised.

Will Lankshear only replaced Cappello in the final minute of normal time but the match ended with the substitute in evident discomfort and pleading for treatment by the physio. It was George Burroughs who (accidentally, it must be said) inflicted the pain as he went up to win the ball as Lankshear was on the deck and then trod on his arm as he was landing. It was a freak accident and certainly without malice; one which you sometimes get playing football, but there'll no doubt be a big bruise on Lankshear's left arm this morning.

In reflection, both teams contributed something to this game - the quality and ball retention was certainly decent (most of the time anyway), it was a close contest, the players with senior experience added their value, whilst the majority of the youngsters will have learned plenty from it. The Blades can also take confidence - especially from a defensive viewpoint, at having come out on top (by virtue of the scoreline) against slightly more experienced and technically-good opponents who are a force to be reckoned with.

Marco Rus stood out for the Sky Blues with the way he moved the ball. His passing was excellent and pretty much faultless for the opening 45 minutes. He created his team's goal with his eye-of-a-needle through ball to release Walker initially, possesses a lot of ability, and I'd imagine has enhanced this Coventry team from where they were at prior to his recent-ish arrival at the club.

For Sheffield United, whilst Jordan Amissah made a number of good saves, it was the performance of Oliver Arblaster that really caught the eye. The fact he's still, in essence, a youth team player but one who has forced his way into the reckoning to feature in this game (and also sign a professional contract) is testament to his potential. Moreover he effected what happened in a positive way and can take a lot of individual pride and confidence from his contribution. It wasn't perfect because not everything he attempted to do with the ball at different points actually came off - however, he still nearly scored, won a penalty, and evidently possesses a lot of skill and technical ability and set a really positive benchmark. With time most definitely on his side to learn, develop and get better then he's certainly in a good place to succeed and become an even more influential player in the long-term. He sat slightly deeper than his midfield partner, Zak Brunt who also performed well and embarked on a couple of driving runs, and it was a pleasure to watch their on and off the ball movement, positional sense and awareness and reading of the game.

Regan Slater, who was the most experienced Blades player, definitely added his quality and had numerous touches across the right-hand side of the pitch. He added exactly what you'd expect from a player who has been out on loan, improved and got nearly 100 senior appearances to his name - the interesting thing with him will be whether he establishes himself as a regular at Bramall Lane in the weeks/months to come or has to go elsewhere to launch the first team career he's thoroughly capable of having.

Overall, it was another enjoyable afternoon with plenty learned about the players on the pitch which is duly noted and stored in my brain for future reference. Well done to the lads on what they produced!