Sheffield United show valuable promotion trait in welcome win as Tyrese Campbell hits back at Stoke City taunt
Tyrese Campbell hits back perfectly at Stoke City taunts as Sheffield United display valuable promotion quality
One of football’s more curious quirks is the immutable law of the ex, the sense - whether reality or just perceived - that players tend to perform better against their former clubs. Think Adebayor running the length of the field to celebrate in front of Arsenal fans back in the day or, in more recent times, former Sheffield United favourites including Kyle Walker and Phil Jagielka finding the net against the side with whom they took the first steps of their illustrious careers.
So it was on Saturday, too, as Tyrese Campbell, formerly of the Stoke City parish and now at Bramall Lane, should score his first goal in United colours against his old employers. Made all the sweeter, too, by constant barracking of the forward by those in the away end, and less-than-complimentary chants about his weight. Little wonder that the first part of his celebration, after putting United 2-0 ahead, was to aim a finger-on-lips gesture towards the Bramall Lane side of the ground. You sense that the only way his goal could have felt any better was if he could have looked into their eyes as he scored it.
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“It was obviously a great feeling, getting the first goal,” said Campbell who signed for United in the summer after a delay in his next move following the sad passing of his father Kevin. “It was on my mind and I woke up with a feeling I was going to score today. So when it came, I was buzzing. I just think subconsciously maybe something is in the air [against a former club]. ‘The ball’s going to fall my way and it’s going to go in for me’.
“I was just delighted that it went in and we could get the three points. The moment I made my debut, it [scoring] has been on my mind. I’ve got the first one, I’m just happy that it has come now. And hopefully I can build on it, next week and for the rest of the season.”
His start in the 2-0 win over Stoke, which helped calm a bit of anxiety amongst Unitedites after back-to-back defeats on the road, was only his second in Blades colours and his seventh appearance overall as he gets back up to full speed. The finish was a calm one, under former Blades target Viktor Johansson who excelled to keep Vini Souza (twice) and sub Jamie Shackleton at bay, with fellow striker Kieffer Moore also on target after his own nine-game goal drought for his club.
It has been a superb start to the season for the Blades, winning 24 points from 12 games, but there will be plenty more difficult moments across the course of the Championship campaign and their good response to their first signs of adversity at Leeds and Middlesbrough bode well. “I think it was a professional performance,” Campbell added, on an afternoon that United paid poignant tributes to late defender George Baldock. “We controlled the game and even when we didn’t have the ball and we sat in, we were solid and rigid. So I don’t think you can ask for much more.
“It was tough for everyone, but especially the boys that knew [Baldock] and were with him every day. The manager, the coaches. So it’s just about getting together as a group and being one, making sure we guide each other and help each other through those moments. We’re going to have not-so-great moments through the season, and we’ve just got to stick together as a team, like we did today, and get through it.”