Sheffield United 1-0 Brentford: Chris Wilder not carried away after win on return
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said “you have to enjoy days like today” after a wonderful James McAtee goal was enough to beat Brentford and give him a first win since returning to the club.
The Manchester City loanee’s first Premier League goal lit up a rainy Bramall Lane in first-half injury time as he cut inside onto his left foot and curled a beautiful shot into the far corner.
Wilder said after a tough start to the season it was important to celebrate the victory but added that he would not get carried away.
“The key now is to have more of these days like today. It’s about small steps. Everybody played their part,” he added.
The win is only Sheffield United’s second in the Premier League this season and came in Wilder’s second match back in charge following a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool in midweek.
It was also the Blades’ first clean sheet of the season but it was not enough for them to jump off the foot of the table as they remain bottom on goal difference from Burnley, with both sides on eight points from 16 games.
Blades sub Anis Ben Slimane missed a great chance to make it 2-0 after 56 minutes as he shot straight at Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal.
Brentford, without top scorer Bryan Mbeumo through injury, struggled to create many openings as they fell to a fourth defeat in their last five games.
“We have had two days training [since I arrived]. We were a bit off in the first half. Is that because of what they did on Wednesday? Possibly,” said Wilder.
“We possibly should have put the game to bed before the end. This is a day to be celebrated and then we move on to Chelsea [next Saturday],” he added.
The Blades earned a first clean sheet of the season in the win over Brentford
Goalmouth action had been few and far between when Brentford’s Frank Onyeka was cautioned in the 29th minute for a tackle on Vini Souza with the high challenge checked for a potential red card by the video assistant referee but it remained a yellow.
The game suddenly sprung to life in the closing moments of the first half as Sheffield United forward Will Osula hit the side-netting after being played through by Gustavo Hamer before Brentford’s Neal Maupay was denied by Jack Robinson’s block.
Magical McAtee makes the difference
McAtee’s goal came after the visitors made a mess of clearing the ball and Gustavo Hamer found the 21-year-old who stepped inside and hit a shot which gave Flekken no chance.
Wilder was full of praise for McAtee’s “outstanding” performance.
He added: “He has great ability and he loves playing for this club. He wanted to come back here after last season.
“I’m delighted to be managing him and to have the chance of trying to get something out of him.”
Brentford ‘have to keep going’
The Bees have slipped into a poor run of form as they face a stern test of their squad depth with a host of injuries to key players.
Yoane Wissa had a couple of half-chances saved as Brentford rarely threatened an equaliser but boss Thomas Frank said he cannot complain about the effort of his players.
“This is the Premier League. You can quickly run into a patch of games and you can lose four in five.
“Unfortunately it has happened right now. We have to keep going. Injuries don’t help any team. I think we have a little bit too many,” he added.
Player of the match
McAteeJames McAtee
Sheffield United
Squad number28Player nameMcAtee
Squad number8Player nameHamer
Squad number25Player nameBen Slimane
Squad number35Player nameBrooks
Squad number10Player nameArcher
Squad number19Player nameRobinson
Squad number21Player nameVinicius Souza
Squad number15Player nameAhmedhodzic
Squad number32Player nameOsula
Squad number18Player nameFoderingham
Squad number3Player nameLowe
Squad number20Player nameBogle
Squad number42Player namePeck
Squad number5Player nameTrusty
Brentford
Squad number5Player namePinnock
Squad number11Player nameWissa
Squad number37Player nameOlakigbe
Squad number6Player nameNørgaard
Squad number16Player nameMee
Squad number23Player nameLewis-Potter
Squad number24Player nameDamsgaard
Squad number14Player nameGhoddos
Squad number33Player nameYarmoliuk
Squad number27Player nameJanelt
Squad number7Player nameMaupay
Squad number1Player nameFlekken
Squad number26Player nameBaptiste
Squad number15Player nameOnyeka
Line-ups
Sheff Utd
Formation 4-1-4-1
18Foderingham
20Bogle15Ahmedhodzic19Robinson5Trusty
21de Souza Costa
28McAtee8Hamer35Brooks10Archer
32Osula
18FoderinghamBooked at 90mins20BogleBooked at 82mins15Ahmedhodzic19RobinsonBooked at 90mins5TrustyBooked at 17mins21de Souza Costa28McAteeSubstituted forPeckat 81’minutes8Hamer35BrooksSubstituted forLoweat 73’minutes10Archer32OsulaBooked at 51minsSubstituted forBen Slim aneat 53’minutesSubstitutes1Davies3Lowe11Traoré14Thomas25Ben Slimane26Oné27Larouci38Seriki42Peck
Brentford
Formation 4-3-3
1Fleks
14Ghoddos5Pinnock16Mee27Janelt
15 Onyeka 6 Nørgaard 26 Baptiste
23Lewis-Potter7Maupay11Wissa
1Flekken14Ghoddos5Pinnock16Mee27Janelt15OnyekaBooked at 29minsSubstituted forYarmoliukat 45’minutes6Nørgaard26BaptisteSubstituted forDamsgaardat 65’minutes23Lewis-PotterSubstituted forOlakigbeat 66’minutes7Maupay11WissaSubstitutes4Goode13M Jorgensen21Strakosha24Damsgaard25Peart-Harris30Roerslev33Yarmoliuk37Olakigbe42Adedokun
Referee:Stuart Attwell
Attendance:28,509
Live Text
Match ends, Sheffield United 1, Brentford 0.
Second Half ends, Sheffield United 1, Brentford 0.
Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Gustavo Hamer.
Yoane Wissa (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Vinicius Souza (Sheffield United).
Wes Foderingham (Sheffield United) is shown the yellow card.
Jack Robinson (Sheffield United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jack Robinson (Sheffield United).
Attempt blocked. Ben Mee (Brentford) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Max Lowe.
Attempt missed. Cameron Archer (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Robinson following a fast break.
Jayden Bogle (Sheffield United) is shown the yellow card.
Neal Maupay (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Anel Ahmedhodzic (Sheffield United).
Attempt missed. Anis Ben Slimane (Sheffield United) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right.
Substitution, Sheffield United. Sydie Peck replaces James McAtee.
Attempt saved. Cameron Archer (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Anis Ben Slimane with a headed pass.
Attempt saved. Yoane Wissa (Brentford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner.
Offside, Sheffield United. Cameron Archer is caught offside.
2023-12-09 19:01:47
#Sheffield #United #Brentford #James #McAtees #goal #Blades #muchneeded #win
