What Sheffield United star said about “embarrassing” Norwich City man’s tactic after Canaries “shrinking” claim

Two goals from Teemu Pukki gave City total control of the game before a spirited fightback from United, and goals from Ben Osborn and sub Oli McBurnie, earned the Blades a point.

Either side could have gone on to win it late on, McBurnie seeing a header well saved by City goalkeeper Angus Gunn before Pukki’s penalty was well saved by Adam Davies.

On another feisty afternoon at Bramall Lane, the home crowd were frustrated by Gunn’s timewasting efforts and incensed by the actions of Dimitris Giannoulis – who appeared to go down holding his face after an altercation with Billy Sharp, when replays suggested the Blades skipper may have caught Giannoulis’ foot at worst.

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Dean Smith, the City boss, claimed the Greek left-back was becoming a “pantomime villain” for Unitedites, with United’s bench also appearing to become increasingly frustrated at the antics of his side. Boss Paul Heckingbottom boiled over and was booked by ref Josh Smith after one incident with Giannoulis went down under the ‘challenge’ of McBurnie, with absolutely no contact made, and the foul given.

But the antics didn’t pay off as they let slip a two-goal lead after, in Ollie Norwood’s words, the Blades gave themselves a “mountain to climb” by “conceding two real poor goals”.

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“Then, second half, we came out, played forward and turned them round,” the midfielder added on SUTV. “We were a bit more aggressive and left a bit on them, and they were shrinking a bit.

“The lad in the middle kept throwing himself on the floor, which was a bit embarrassing really. They were playing for time really and clinging on. We’re all experienced enough to know that every team that come here this season has done the same thing.

“They take two minutes to get the ball back in play from goal kicks and it's just something we've grown used to. It's pointless the refs coming in pre-season and saying they're going to clamp down on this, this and this, when they let the same thing go every single week. For us, we're frustrated and it’s what teams are going to do at Bramall Lane.

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“They know once we get momentum, once we get the crowd behind us, we can really push on and get that momentum, keep building and building and not let the ball come out their half. Keep turning them round. And second half, it genuinely felt like there was one team going to win it. And one team happy to get out of here with a point.”

United dropped to fifth in the Championship table after another draw saw their winless run extended further, and return to action this weekend at West Bromwich Albion after what feels like a rare blank midweek.

Norwood was once again a key man against Norwich, making more passes, completing more accurate long balls and enjoying more touches than any other player on the field. He also played a key role in United’s equaliser, as John Egan headed his excellent crossfield ball into McBurnie’s path for 2-2.

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