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Blades make point with guile and grit: MATCH REPORT AND SLIDESHOW
Bristol City 0 v Sheffield United 0: A PREDICTABLE result between the division's defence specialists but Sheffield United left Ashton Gate last night the more satisfied of the two sides.
Despite failing in their attempt at a League double over Bristol City, Kevin Blackwell's players returned home having made a mockery of the myth being peddled in these parts that they are all graft and no guile.
But United, who slipped to sixth in the table despite extending their unbeaten run to three matches, were still required to demonstrate the battling qualities which had prompted City's manager Gary Johnson to claim - "They don't look to pass the ball. They try and ram it down your throat" - as opponents, out-witted and out-fought throughout the first-half, mounted a rousing come-back during the second.
Indeed, both teams were indebted to their goalkeepers for helping them secure a result which keeps them within striking distance of the early pacemakers.
Adriano Basso was James Beattie's nemesis, preventing the former England marksman from doubling his season's tally with three fine saves, the pick of which came when he tipped a thunderous free-kick over the crossbar a quarter-of-an-hour from time.
However, Paddy Kenny arguably produced the evening's most important intervention when he denied Lee Trundle from close range after parrying Lee Johnson's initial attempt.
"City are hard to play against and now we've taken four points of them," Sam Ellis, Blackwell's assistant, said after also helping to mastermind a resounding 3-0 victory over the hosts earlier this month.
"Neither have we conceded and I think that speaks volumes.
"I thought we dominated things to begin with and then, credit to City, they came back into it.
They're direct but we coped with that well.
"Okay, perhaps we're not finding the net as much as we'd like at the moment, but we are creating chances.
"Their 'keeper has made three or four really good stops and so that's a good quota."
Gary Johnson clearly has no desire to win friends or influence people in South Yorkshire.
Having effectively accused the visitors of committing football's equivalent of GBH when the two teams met at Bramall Lane, Blackwell's counterpart used an interview with the Western Daily Press to accuse Barnsley's Jon Macken of a "disappointing" tackle on Jamie McAllister during Saturday's stalemate.
Nursing a badly bruised toe, the full-back was the only change to the starting line-up which saw City complete a hat-trick of clean sheets since a match which, Johnson suspected, would be the forerunner to another bruising encounter.
However, while he is clearly an astute tactician, having guided the West Country club to May's Championship play-off final at Wembley, Johnson's forecasting powers are clearly on the wane as United were intent on bewitching rather than bludgeoning their way towards Basso throughout an intriguing opening period.
Beattie, whose brace had put City to the sword just 24 days earlier, announced his return to form after a disappointing fortnight by testing the Brazilian's reflexes with a vicious snap-shot as early as the second minute.
Michael McIndoe, who later had a strike disallowed for offside, responded by forcing Kenny, unaware an offside flag had been raised, to produce an even more acrobatic effort at the other end before Beattie again went close.
With Danny Webber, Matthew Spring and Anthony Stokes combining effectively in midfield - the latter spurining a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock after being released by Stephen Quinn - United had established a territorial advantage by the time referee Rob Styles blew for the interval.
But not before an even more inviting chance for Dele Adebola, which the giant striker inexplicably headed over, served notice of what was to come.
"Stokesy probably should have put that away," Ellis conceded.
"We were disappointed with that but, then again, so was he."
City, roused by Johnson's stirring dressing room address, came bursting out of the blocks and only Kenny's reactions, when Trundle pounced on the loose ball, denied them a potentially decisive opener.
Substitute Stern John, signed on loan from Southampton, saw his appeals for a penalty turned down when Ugo Ehiogu appeared to handle but Styles, no stranger to controversy in recent weeks, correctly ruled that any contact was accidental.
But with their rearguard remaining intact for the third outing in a row, United reapplied the pressure during the closing stages with Beattie bringing the best out of Basso after Gavin Williams impeded Quinn and Brian Howard's 90th minute corner agonisingly close to be prodded over the line.
"We didn't do enough in the first-half," Gary Johnson said. "So we need to produce more quality.
"But there were some quality strikers out there so, when it finishes the way it did, you've got to give credit to their goalies and defenders.
"They (United) will have gone home pretty pleased I'm sure.
"We're both right up there and neither of us wanted to get beat.
"You can be gung-ho but, at this stage, it's all about staying in games."
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 10 February 2012
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Temperature: -6 C to 0 C
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