Huddersfield Town 0 Sheffield United 0: Paul Heckingbottom's reaction as Blades draw with fellow promotion-chasers

Sheffield United couldn’t cut the gap between themselves and Huddersfield Town this afternoon when theplay-off chasers drew 0-0 in West Yorkshire.
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Here’s how the game unfolded, with reaction from both managers.

Huddersfield Town v Blades LIVE

Player ratings from today’s game

PH on David McGoldrick’s injury

It’s not good. We knew it’d be a significant tear so it’ll be followed up with other appointments now.

He’s earned his start, he worked extremely hard for six or seven weeks. He had covid and an illness but since the new year he’s worked extremely hard and forced his way in. it’s not been easy for him but he earned it and I told him that. We all know what he can be and what a problem he can be for the opposition. I’m pleased he got minutes and efforts on goal and as always he put a shift in as well.

He can naturally come off. It depends who he’s playing with. Oli’s more than comfortable doing that, he’s a good footballer but we all want him in the 18-yard box, scoring goals. Pleased he got some efforts on goal but would have been better if he got the winner.

Paul Heckingbottom’s reaction

You’ve got to earn everything. That’s what we say to the players, you’ve got to be a good team to beat us and that’s what Huddersfield will have been saying. Our big challenge was when we’re attacking and their first pass out, and pace on the counter. That made it hard for us, and we had to put a shift in to get back and kill their danger. It was end to end in that respect but the way we defended, and they defended, meant it was low on clear-cut chances.

There were moments in the second half when the crowd was up at chances and a big tackle, I love those moments and I think the players are starting to. I fancy us in those moments.

Carlos Corberán’s reaction

“I saw the team maybe perform better than the result and that was very positive. "In the first half if I divide into three blocks of 15 minutes we dominate the first and the last. "We tried to adapt our behaviours in defence and be more attacking in our pitch. "In the second half there were moments for both teams but the team was trying to create chances and have the ball more in the offensive half than we did in previous games. We couldn’t find  a way. "We had three ways - set pieces and we did but we had a goal disallowed, counter-attacks and we didn’t counter-attack enough in the second half.”

and the Blades settle for a point against their fellow promotion chasers, who had a goal ruled out in the first half - the closest United came was when Fleck hit the post late on but on the balance of it a point was probably fair. It lifts United to seventh ahead of the 3pm games and they’ve still got a game in hand on sixth-placed Forest. Stay tuned for player ratings, a full match report and reaction from both managers

for the Blades as Fleck hits an effort from a well-worked corner kick - it bounces back, hits the ‘keeper and goes out for another corner, which sees an almighty scramble that sees McBurnie and Berge have efforts blocked. McBurnie is then replaced by Ndiaye for the final few minutes here

as McBurnie collides with Lees as they go up for a cross, but the referee waves them away

to get across and cut out the cross from the right before it reached Ward in the middle for a tap in

McBurnie sees yellow

after an aerial challenge sees him catch his marker in the face, nothing malicious in it and the booking is issued

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