Bristol City v Sheffield United: A good night for Iliman Ndiaye and company but a bad one for Reda Khadra
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The players knew it, the fans knew it and manager Nigel Pearson knew it too, admitting during an interview published on the eve of this game that he hated the fact their training complex was dubbed a “high performance centre” because, in his own words, the work produced within it was actually “crap”.
But, as Paul Heckingbottom noted before leading Sheffield United into battle on a wet and windy night at Ashton Gate, something is stirring down in the south-west.
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Hide AdNot with quite enough vigour to beat the visitors, who prevailed courtesy of Iliman Ndiaye’s strike soon after the interval. But enough, with Tommy Conway and George Tanner both hitting the woodwork either side of that effort, to cause a team now third in the Championship plenty of problems before Tanner saw red for a woeful challenge on James McAtee late on.
Still, as Heckingbottom reflects on a performance which confirmed United are rediscovering their durability, he must also face-up to a potentially awkward issue. The on-loan Reda Khadra looked utterly exasperated as, with just over 30 minutes gone, he was withdrawn from the action. It was the latest set-back of what is proving an underwhelming spell on loan for the Brighton and Hove Albion man. Although his replacement, McAtee, helped create Ndiaye’s winner, a return to the Amex Stadium beckons unless something changes.
Before they locked horns with opponents fresh off a creditable draw with promotion chasing Swansea, United had to grapple with yet another injury. News that Tommy Doyle had become the latest of their players diagnosed with a soft tissue problem prompted them to make three enforced changes to their starting eleven given that Anel Ahmedhodzic was suspended and Oli McBurnie requires coaxing through a hernia issue. The other saw Wes Foderingham return following a ban of his own.
Inevitably it affected their rhythm during the opening skirmishes, as Ndiaye attempted to establish clear lines of communication with his new attacking partners Khadra and Billy Sharp. But there were signs of promise when the latter, despite turning 37 next February, demonstrated the agility of a teenager to get his head on an early Ndiaye centre. Fortunately for Max O’Leary, the United captain’s mid air contortions meant he couldn’t generate enough power to threaten the net.
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Hide AdNevertheless, City were the better side as the contest took shape. Nahki Wells had an effort deflected wide before Chris Basham was forced to clear as Conway prepared to shoot following one rapid surge upfield.
Maybe it was the sight of those openings being created that convinced Heckingbottom to introduce McAtee before the half-time interval. Either way, it wasn’t a decision which pleased Khadra who expressed his bewilderment before trudging down the tunnel.
City rattled the crossbar at the end of the first period, Conway continuing to cause problems as they picked holes through United’s midfield. It proved to be one of those pivotal moments Heckingbottom is fond of talking about, with Ndiaye pouncing for the eighth time this season soon after the interval. The finish - tapping home from close range, back across O’Leary - was as simple as the City goalkeeper’s star jump as the Senegalese prepared to take his touch when Andreas Weimann was caught out by McAtee’s cross.
Bristol City: O’Leary, Dasilva, James (Williams 80), Scott, Weimann ©, Conway, Pring, Sykes (Semenyo 60), Tanner, Wells (Martin 80), Vyner. Not used: Bentley, King, Klose, Low.
