Sheffield United 1 City 1
City showed great character and spirit in holding Sheffield United to a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane last night.
In fact better finishing, especially during the first half, may well have seen us return with all three points from a trip to one of the division's fancied tips for the top six.
Nigel Pearson largely kept faith with the side that had held Ipswich on Saturday, with Nicky Adams replacing Lloyd Dyer as the only change to the starting line-up.
Indeed Adams had the first chance of the game as a Robbie Neilson long throw found him at the far post. However he miskicked and the ball flew wide of the United goal.
The blades were their usual physically -competitive selves and it came as little surprise when home left-back Andy Taylor picked up the first yellow card of the game for a foul on Dany N'Guessan.
The Foxes winger recovered after treatment. But a couple of minutes later, striker Steve Howard was not so fortunate and had to limp off with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. He was replaced by loanee Martyn Waghorn.
City, however, bounced back quickly from this setback and created a string of clear openings. Matty Fryatt quickly linked up well with Waghorn, and forced two excellent saves from former Foxes loanee Mark Bunn, as well as having another effort scrambled off the line by Matthew Kilgallon…..
The only riposte from the home side came when Darius Henderson broke clear after a slip by Bruno Berner. His shot beat City keeper Chris Weale only to strike the woodwork. Midfielder Nick Montgomery was first to the rebound but fired well over, to the relief of the large and vociferous City contingent at that end of the ground.
City were quick to regain the initiative, and attacked the home goal repeatedly, but too often the lack of an end product let them down. Even so, the frustrations among the home side and their fans was becoming apparent.
The only blemish on an excellent first-half performance by the City midfield came when Richie Wellens collected his third booking of the season for a foul on Jamie Ward. Home midfielder Brian Howard soon followed him into the ref's notebook for an unpleasant challenge on Fryatt which raised tensions between the teams. It was one of his last actions of the game as he did not reappear for the second half.
United emerged from the break with far more impetus, as sub Alan Quinn quickly forced Weale into action. However City's next attack saw another mini-skirmish as the notorious Chris Morgan went through Waghorn from behind and was extremely lucky to escape without a card.
The Foxes then took retribution in the best possible way as Wellens touched the freekick to Matt Oakley, and the skipper's thunderous shot was diverted home by Fryatt for a long-overdue opener.
City took total command of the game and both Fryatt and Oakley wasted glorious chances to increase the lead. Fryatt also picked up a needless booking for preventing a quick home throw-in.
Fears grew among the visiting hordes that the lead would prove to be too precarious. And after 65 minutes, those fears were realised. Home winger Simon Treacy, largely anonymous for long spells earlier in the game, collected a throw from Taylor and fired an unstoppable swerving 30-yard effort past Weale.
Treacy's next contribution to the game, though, was rather less impressive as an appallingly-late challenge on Neilson saw him become the fifth player booked.
But the equaliser reinvigorated the home side and they laid siege to the City goal. The centre-back pairing of Jack Hobbs and Wayne Brown stood firm though, as did Weale.
Many City players were now feeling the effects of their third game in six days. Dyer replaced a fading Adams while Waghorn suffered a knock and had to be subbed for Andy King.
A fine break from Dyer almost enabled Fryatt to notch the winner, but the home defence were able to recover.
The home side launched a ferocious finale as the volume around the ground grew louder. However. the City defence again withstood the pressure until the final whistle blew.
Despite the disappointment of losing the lead, it was another encouraging City performance. The players showed far more strength and resilience than has been evident on some recent visits to the steel city.
However the weakness in front of goal was again apparent, which the injuries to Howard and Waghorn will do little to ease. Pearson's activity in what remains of the transfer window may be a signicant factor in the shape of our season.
City: Weale; Neilson, Hobbs, Brown, Berner, N'Guessan, Oakley, Wellens, Adams, Fryatt, Howard. Subs: Waghorn (11 for Howard), Dyer (78 for Adams), A King (83 for Waghorn). Not Used: Logan, Morrison, Tunchev, Dickov.
Booked: Wellens, Fryatt, Oakley. Goal: Fryatt
Sheffield United: Bunn; Montgomery, Morgan, Kilgannon, Henderson, Evans, Taylor, Ward, Howard, Treacy, Walker. Subs: Quinn (46 for Howard). Reid (73 for Treacy), Cotterill (87 for Ward). Not Used France, Bennett, Bromby, Sharp,
Booked Taylor, Treacy. Goal: Treacy
Referee: N Miller. Attendance: 26,069
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation