Chapter 22
The whistle blew as either team took their positions and it felt like two armies were facing each other, such was the focus his team was putting on this game. He had drilled into them, the difficulty they would face and not to underestimate these opponents as they would offer a much greater challenge than the previous ones. The players had celebrated their previous victory but had been eager to get more after having their first taste of glory. The whole week had been taken up drilling the squad on the unique tactical difficulties that facing Sheffield United would pose and he was confident they were as ready as they could be, it was now about seeing if that was enough.
The opponent lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation which was highly irregular. A double pivot of midfielders operated in front of the back three. Two wing backs provided the width on either side of the double pivot, in defence the formation would be a very difficult one to break. The towering Sander Berge played just in front of them and a two up lead the line. Paul Heckingbottom had been appointed manager at the end of the last year but had been at the club for a while before that. The team was steeped in the DNA of Chris Wilder and the innovative tactics he had used to get them promoted from League One to the Premier League and even receive a top half finish in their first season there.
The kick off had started with The Blades and the ball was immediately passed back to the most central of their defenders John Egan. The team then immediately started playing the triangles they had become so famous for. The use of angles was remarkable, and the players always seemed to have an option with which to pass to. The best way he found to describe it to his players was that if looked from above it would look like a zig zag line connected the defence and the midfield. The team had a high level of fitness and moved often to disrupt any pressing moves as well.
His own team immediately went to the strategy they had practised with Mvoue sticking closely to the giant in midfield Berge. To stifle such a player, it was needed for someone with the right physical attributes to mark him and Mvoue had volunteered for the opportunity. Emanuel pushed up to place himself between Egan and the defensive pivot, which had been a group decision. Egan was talented and able to distribute the ball well, but he struggled for pace and made up for it by playing cautious and not moving up often. The positioning of Eman would either force him to move up or leave the space in front of me either of which was desirable. The midfielders would also try and play deeper to deal with him which would only increase the congestion in the centre. The striker was aware he would play a lonely game today, but he was willing to suffer for the team having seen the importance of off the ball actions.
The ball was moved between Egan and the four midfielders to attempt to draw the opponent out, but his team was under strict instructions to maintain defensive shape and control the zones not the players. The ball eventually landed to George Baldock who played on the right wing back and he immediately moved forward. This meant he was coming into conflict with Marcelino who tried to prevent him moving forward. Instead of attempting to run past Lino, Baldock passed the ball centrally to Norwood and then feinted as if he was going to run past. This caused Lino who was being especially cautious to back off at which point the ball was pasted right back to Baldock who now had more room to move. Berge was attempting to get closer and offer an option, but Mvoue was refusing to give him an inch and bordering on fouling him with how close he was sticking. Lino tried to close down his opposite number again but didn't notice Norwood moving to get into the space behind him. Baldock then released the ball and Norwood took up his position as the wide option, while he dropped in to cover the space left behind. Norwood dribbled up the pitch and now found himself up against Valentin who was quicker and not going to be as easy to get past. The physical battle between Berge and Mvoue was still heating up nicely and it was at that moment by using a quick dummy run, Berge was able to separate himself from the tall Cameroonian. Berge then proceeded to use his strong size to his advantage and held him behind him which gave a clear pass route. Norwood saw this and immediately ran centrally as if to pass the ball to him which would be very dangerous. Valentin was quicker though and reacted running to cut off the pass, a pass that never ended up coming. The ball was instead fired into the space left behind Valentin and Chris Basham was following it.
The overlapping centre backs that had become synonymous with Sheffield had appeared once again. The team had known about it and practised throughout the week but had still fallen suspect to it and he couldn't blame them either. It was on thing to consider it an option and another all together to see it happen. Footballer was a game played at speed and it was his wholehearted belief that the difference between players in the Premier League and the Championship was mainly in their mindset. A player could have all the skills in the world but if they were applied at the wrong time, it would be completely useless. The best players were able to squeeze out every advantage from the decisions they made. This was what the strategy relied on, opposing players were used to seeing fullbacks overlap and had come across it so many times in their youth game but to then see a centre back overlap the fullback was not muscle memory like a lot else was.
Basham found himself in acres of space and carried the ball almost to the corner flag. This was also part of the strategy intended to give as much time as possible for players to get themselves in the box. The ball was lofted into the box and an avalanche of players from the opposing team attacked it. The wrecking ball frame of Berge was right in the centre of the box throwing himself at the ball while Mvoue tried everything he could to hold him back. The ball flew dangerously into the centre of the box and a powerful figure launched himself off the ground to meet it. The individual was Bafode who refused to be beaten at this corner, managing to connect with the ball and send it back the way it came. The ball landed in space on the outside of the eighteen-yard box where it was picked up by Jobe who had been waiting for it. The young midfielder took the ball and reverted to his old style by taking off in the direction of the goal.
The dribble was almost perfect as he found the hole caused by the transition and ran into it with full determination. The rest of the team sensing the possibility of a goal were disentangling themselves from the box to follow along with him. It was at that point when the full back decided that the young man had gone as far, he would and put in a beautiful tackle to force it out. The fitness of the opponent allowed them to not get caught out, the overlapping centre back strategy was not recent, and they had climbed up from League One using it. This had given them ample time to work out the weaknesses and what to be careful off.
The first half came to an end with both teams having huffed and puffed but not gaining any advantage. The players came back to the changing room exhausted as if they had run a marathon and that showed the difficulty they had been through. Yusuf motivated them with a team talk and the second half was soon underway.
The second half started in the worst possible manner possible, the focus they had shown in the first half had cooled slightly from the break and the overlap had caught them out this time. Basham was again bearing down on the right wing, but this time Berge had managed to get free of his marker completely. A sneaky challenge in the blindside of the referee had meant that Mvoue was a few steps behind which the opponent planned to take full advantage of. The ball was lofted into the box for the Norwegian, who directed a powerful header far out the keepers reach.
The game only became tougher from there as the need to score exposed them to further counter attacks. The game ended one to zero in favour of The Blades because of the hard work of the defensive players but that was no conciliation. The team had played well but found themselves walking away with none of the points.
Trivia:
Sheffield United are nicknamed the Blades, owing to the status of the city as a major producer of cutlery in the UK. This nickname was originally held by Sheffield Wednesday, their arch nemesis who became The Owls instead. The original nickname of the club was The Cutlers. An interesting factoid is that they were the first English sports club to be called United.