"Nearly" Sheffield United rue what might have been at Norwich City as key absence felt ahead of hopeful Birmingham City return
"Nearly" Sheffield United rue what might have been at Norwich City as key absence felt ahead of hopeful Birmingham City return
Hindsight is always 20/20 and coming away from Carrow Road last night, it was impossible not to wonder how different things could have been for Sheffield United at Norwich City had fate conspired in slightly different ways. The Blades led 1-0 against the Canaries before they fought back and deservedly won 2-1.
For all their pressure, though, United were only eventually undone by two mistakes, one allowing a free header at the near post from a corner and the other losing possession a poor area and allowing Amankwah Forson to curl his side ahead just seven minutes from time.
Boss Chris Wilder was left frustrated by his side’s sloppiness in possession and there was a spell in the second half when they simply couldn’t get control of the ball against wave after wave of Norwich attack.
Wilder first raised the idea of his side being a “nearly team” recently and it was hard to shake that feeling again here. They did the hard part in getting ahead and then reverted into their shells, giving the ball away cheaply and once again squandering some golden chances to extend their lead and put the game to bed.
The end result was remaining eight points off the play-offs, with just nine games to go and sixth-placed Wrexham having a game in hand in which to extend their advantage over the chasing pack. Even Norwich, whose season looked to be petering out, are now only a point behind United with a game in hand.
They badly lacked any sort of focal point in attack, someone capable of holding the ball up and giving them a foothold in the game, as well as their defenders something of a breather. Patrick Bamford, who would likely have fulfilled that role perfectly, was missing after suffering a dead leg in Saturday’s draw with West Bromwich Albion.
"Nearly" Sheffield United rue what might have been at Norwich City as key absence felt ahead of hopeful Birmingham City return
Another key man capable of providing the spark United were lacking, Gus Hamer, was also absent as he served the first of a two-match suspension that was so avoidable. He will also miss Saturday’s trip to Birmingham City, where he scored from the halfway line earlier this season in the League Cup.
But there are hopes that Bamford will be fit to lead the line as United go to the second city looking to try and keep their season alive, with their top-six hopes left hanging by a thread after taking one point from their last two games.
Asked about Bamford’s absence, Wilder said: “That’s not an excuse. I think if you look at Norwich, they have a big squad and that’s still a strong bench tonight. But they've got some players missing as well.
“So no excuse that Pat's out. That team was good enough for 30-35 minutes to dictate the game against a decent side, or to keep a decent side quiet and the home crowd quiet. But the game lasts more than 30-35 minutes.”
Asked if there was any chance the former Leeds United man could return to face Birmingham this weekend, Wilder said: “Hopefully. He's going to be out on the grass tomorrow [Thursday] and we'll give him every opportunity. Because at times like this, we have to look at the experienced boys to get us through these difficult-ish times.”