Point not enough as boss Adkins bemoans Blades' luck

A miserable Tuesday night on a Lancashire coast battered by Storm Jonas, on a boggy pitch against a side seemingly beginning to finding their feet in League One.
Che Adams of Sheffield Utd tussles with Will Aimson of BlackpoolChe Adams of Sheffield Utd tussles with Will Aimson of Blackpool
Che Adams of Sheffield Utd tussles with Will Aimson of Blackpool

Only gaining a point from their 0-0 draw at Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road on Tuesday may not have been as catastrophic as some fans suggest.

But for Sheffield United boss Nigel Adkins, it wasn’t enough.

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“I wouldn’t say it was a good point because we wanted all three.

“Let’s not get away from that,” the Blades manager said.

“But probably, in a game like that, it was going to be a moment of magic, a mistake or a refereeing decision which decided it.

“It was a war of attrition.

“You saw the pitch was energy sapping. Look at the goalmouths... they were horrendous. Conor Sammon did well, and their goalkeeper [Colin Doyle] was man of the match.

“Conor should have had a penalty, it was the clearest you’ll see when he was pulled down, but the young referee didn’t give it. Yes, we got a point, a clean sheet but we wanted the three points.”

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The point was enough to lift United to seventh, a point behind sixth-placed Millwall.

But they still trail the automatic promotion places by 12 points, with 18 games of the League One campaign still remaining.

“Conor was very lively early on and could have easily come away with a goal,” Adkins added.

“He put one just inches wide and then got denied by a brilliant save. We played Jamal Campbell-Ryce on the wrong side so he could cut in. He’s done that very well for us before, before he came out of the team.

“We changed our shape late on to get Jam on the ball more

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“We had to make one or two changes but it’s all about the group, not any individual player.”

United, who are still keen on recruiting Fulham’s Dan Burn after having a six-figure bid rejected recently, have no fixture this weekend after their FA Cup exit at Manchester United. They return to action a week on Saturday, facing promotion rivals Wigan at home.

One player welcoming the rest will be top scorer Billy Sharp, who was withdrawn at Bloomfield Road after playing through the pain barrier.

The striker is thought to be suffering with a toe injury.

“We showed an attacking intent,” Adkins added.

“Sammon and Sharp linked up well and could have scored but we wanted to win the game and it is frustrating that we didn’t.”