Sheffield United 3 Europa Point 0: Slavisa Jokanovic gets off to winning start as Blades boss in first friendly
Goals from John Egan, Lys Mousset and Tyler Smith sealed victory for the Blades who made 11 changes at half-time to give a number of their young stars a run-out.
It was also be the first time the Blades wore their new black and silver away strip, which is made by Adidas and was released earlier this week – to a great reception from the majority of Blades fans.
This is how the action unfolded.
Sheffield United v Europa Point LIVE
Chance for 4-0
as United take advantage of some sloppy play at the back from Europa, Freeman looks to skip around his man and onto his left foot but his shot is blocked
3-0 Blades
and Smith eventually gets his goal, finishing confidently into the far corner after great work from Max Lowe to skip around his man and then find Smith with a lovely clipped pass inside - just before the hour mark and the Blades are three to the good
Baldock’s ball over the top
looks to pick out the run of Smith, but the Europa goalkeeper is quick off his line to gather as the young Blade looked to capitalise
Chance for Lopata
as the corner from the Blades left comes all the way across to him in the middle when it looked like it would be cut out, the centre-half swings a leg at it but can’t test the Point goalkeeper
Blades seeing plenty of the ball
now as the opposition begin to tire, Zak Brunt is heavily involved in midfield after Dan Jebbison had a snapshot blocked
Great chance for 3-0
as United work the ball beautifully down the left, it’s squared across goal for Smith who’s a yard or two out and he got a touch on it, but he somehow puts it wide - Smith then had the chance to redeem himself a few moments later, but his shot was this time blocked off the line
Baldock now has the armband
playing on the right side of United’s back three, with Femi Seriki down the right wing in this second half
Raft of changes for the Blades at the break
Second half team is...
Eastwood. Seriki. Lowe. Baldock. Lopata. Gordon. Freeman. Slater. Brunt. Jebbison. Smith.
Half-time
and the ref’s last action of the half is to book Brewster, I expect from his backchat after being penalised for barging over his defender as he looked to race through on goal - the Blades led through Egan’s header from a corner before Mousset doubled their lead. So far, so good for the Blades in their first run out of the Jokanovic era
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.