Sponsored by
Deadly Danny stakes another Blades claim
Scunthorpe United 0 v Sheffield United 2: SHEFFIELD United insist, albeit unconvincingly, that no decisions have been taken on team selection for next month's Championship curtain-raiser against Birming ham City.
Barring injury, illness or suspension at least six of the players who finished this match are expected to feature in Kevin Blackwell's first-choice eleven at St Andrews.
Or should that be seven?
Danny Webber, who started the club's pre-season programme on the periphery of the manager's thinking, continued to press his case for a starring role in the Midlands with another exquisite strike against tenacious opposition.
Darius Henderson celebrated his United debut with a goal and while the 26-year-old's strike was a typically industrial effort - Scunthorpe captain Izzy Iriekpen unable to dispossess him during a skirmish in the box - Webber's opener was a triumph of invention and suggests he could be the perfect foil for the 2m signing from Watford should James Beattie prove unavailable for the trip.
"Danny is on fire at the moment," Blackwell's assistant, Sam Ellis, admitted.
"But everything is still up for grabs.
"That was another good work-out against a team who you could tell really wanted to beat us."
The muggy conditions inside Glanford Park - where thunderflies outnumbered fans - guaranteed a mundane first-half.
Indeed, the liveliest thing during the opening 45 minutes was Michael Tonge's language during an early tangle on the touchline.
The midfielder, like the other 21 players on show, started the afternoon armed with the best of intentions but, as the temperature soared, so any enthusiasm for a fast-paced, frenetic encounter ebbed away.
Keith Gillespie, Billy Sharp and Gary Speed all shot wide but, despite making little impression on the visitors' rearguard, Scunthorpe still managed to fashion the first gilt-edged chance.
Former United winger Jonathan Forte, who had already wasted an opportunity to test Paddy Kenny on the counter-attack, should have scored after meeting Paul Hayes' cross but instead scooped over the bar under pressure from Derek Geary.
Both sides improved after the interval and United took the lead within two minutes of the re-start when Henderson delivered a perfectly weighted cross for his fellow substitute to convert for the second time in as many games.
Kevan Hurst, another graduate of United's academy, hit the side-netting with a powerfully attempt as Scunthorpe responded but Henderson dashed their hopes of an equaliser by smashing home from close-range six minutes from time.
Scunthorpe (starting 11): Lillis, Byrne, Iriekpen, Milne, Williams, Thompson, Sparrow, McCann. Hurst, Hayes, Forte.
United: Kenny, Naysmith, Morgan, Stead (Henderson 46), Speed (Hendrie 72), Kilgallon, Tonge (Montgomery 72), Gillespie (Naughton 60), Sharp (Webber 46), Geary (Sun Jihai 57), S Quinn (Armstrong 65).
Referee: G Laws.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
READ MORE
He's Beatt-ing down the door
Football headlines
More Blades
More Owls
More Spireites
More Rovers
More Reds
More Millers
More Ice Hockey
More rugby league
More rugby union
More boxing
Sports columnists
All sport categories
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
