Unjust 8/10 rating for Sheffield United's top man as Daniel Jebbison taunts come back to haunt v Preston North End
Sheffield United threw away the chance to finish a three-game week with a hat-trick of victories as they let slip a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Preston North End this evening. The Blades looked good value for another three points after goals from Andre Brooks and Callum O’Hare early on.
But Lewis Dobbin’s strike in first-half injury time changed the mood inside Deepdale and the hosts levelled just moments after the restart, when the ball hit Blades captain Japhet Tanganga and looped into his own net.
The comeback was complete when former Blade Daniel Jebbison, taunted by the visiting fans at 2-0 to United, was allowed to rise unmarked in the middle and head a cross from Andrija Vukcevic past Michael Cooper.
Sub Djibril Soumare had a great chance to get United back into it late on with what would have been his second goal in a week, but he couldn’t keep his effort down after Tanganga had headed back across goal and United were left to rue what could have been.
Here’s how we rated United’s players at Deepdale...
Michael Cooper 4
The Blades ‘keeper was a virtual spectator for almost the entire first half before he was beaten twice in the space of about three or four minutes of play, either side of the break. The first was a good finish from Dobbin which saw some criticism of Cooper from Unitedites, although for my money his sight was impeded somewhat by Mee in front of him and he’ll have seen it late.
The Preston second was farcical, the ball rebounding so unfortunately off Tanganga and leaving Cooper scrambling, and a keeper of his quality will surely feel he could have done better with the third as he got a good touch on Jebbison’s free header but couldn’t keep it out.
He redeemed himself a little with a smart save shortly after, after a North End effort took a deflection off McGuinness and could easily have flown past him,
Chieo Ogbene 5
Put in a shift as ever but couldn’t really get in the game and even on the occasions he had the chance to square up his full-back and run at him, he seemed to lack the belief to try to do so and instead passed backwards or sideways instead. Replaced by Barry just after the hour
Japhet Tanganga 5
Great early block saw him throw himself in the way of an effort from Hughes and protect his goalkeeper but he was to put the ball past Cooper himself early in the second half, one of those own goals that leave you scratching your head as it bounced off Tanganga’s thigh area and flew into the far corner.
The United skipper then failed to prevent Vuckevic from getting to the byline and picking out a completely-free Jebbison in the middle for PNE’s third. The Tanganga/Soumare combination was almost revived again after gelling in midweek when Tanganga headed a deep corner across goal, but the sub couldn’t keep his effort down and a huge late chance went begging
Mark McGuinness 5
Had to be brave early on to put his head in the way of Dobbin’s well-struck effort as he cut in off the left and unleashed a well-hit strike that would have troubled Cooper but for the intervention of his giant centre-half.
McGuinness then survived vociferous handball appeals from the home crowd soon after as he competed for a long ball with Jebbison, and did his growing popularity with Unitedites no harm with a strong tackle on the former Blades contract rebel on halfway later in the first half.
But he was part of the defence that gave Jebbison the freedom of Lancashire to rise highest and head past Cooper for 3-2 before he made way for Shackleton to allow the Blades to change shape
Ben Mee 4.5
Caught on his heels somewhat as Jebbison scored the decisive goal - McGuinness had shifted across to fill the space left by Tanganga but Mee didn’t do likewise and the former Blade took full advantage, with the experienced defender appearing to realise too late that he had been caught out of position at a vital time.
Harrison Burrows 5
Back in the side after his superb cameo from the bench in midweek at Blackburn but didn’t cover himself in glory for the first two Preston goals here, selling himself too easily by diving in for the first and then being beaten fairly comfortably in the air by Storey as the ball ended up in United’s net via a deflection off Tanganga for the second.
Saw plenty of the ball down the left but couldn’t find the quality United were looking for in big moments and still looks to be lacking in belief a little in possession, hesitating a tad when sent clear in the dying minutes and electing to chop back onto his weaker right foot before seeing his effort snuffed out.
Looked to have a completely free header even later in the game from a chipped cross into the box but he failed to make any meaningful contact whatsoever and any United hopes of salvaging a result from a game they were in complete control of quickly evaporated
Jairo Riedewald 5
Handed his first start for the Blades after a couple of cameo appearances off the bench and showed his defensive abilities early on with a couple of timely interceptions where he read what a Preston man was going to do probably before his opponent did.
But showed some inevitable rustiness at times as well and saw yellow just after the half-hour mark for a clumsy challenge on Whiteman in the middle of the field after the ex-Blade had got away from him.
Like Burrows also sold himself a little too easily for Dobbin’s first which came at a crucial time for the home side, and a terrible one for the Blades, and they fell apart after that. Made way for Soumare just after the hour
Sydie Peck 5
Paired with his latest partner of the season in Riedewald and earned what sounded suspiciously like a stern word or two from boss Wilder as he tried his second fancy drag-back flick of the half near the end of it, which almost landed the Dutchman in trouble as he lunged for the ball and narrowly avoided a foul that could have led to a second yellow.
Andre Brooks 6
Got a chance from the start after the failed experiments of Barry and Cannon this week and showed his teammates exactly how to make an impact, putting the Blades ahead early on with a composed finish after being given the freedom of Lancashire to pick his spot past Iversen.
It would have been easy for a player to panic and fluff the chance but Brooks did nothing of the sort, finding the bottom corner to put the Blades fans at the other end of the ground in even finer voice.
He showed some more bright moments after that on the ball before fading a little as PNE got back into the game. Replaced by Danny Ings as part of a triple change just after the hour mark
Callum O’Hare 8
The issue with player ratings sometimes is that they are tied very much to the result; so a poor performance will be elevated by a victory and an outstanding one sometimes capped by a defeat. The latter is the case here for O’Hare, who was an excellent creative force throughout but somehow ended on the losing side.
He continued his red-hot recent form with the Blades’ second goal as he cut inside his man with ease and found the net with a great left-footed finish and seems to be really relishing the opportunity to step out of pal Hamer’s shadows and be the main creative force for the Blades.
His link-up play with Campbell was a joy to watch at times, with a series of feints and dummies so often nearly creating chances for the Blades and O’Hare could have got the Blades back into it after they inexplicably went 3-2 down when a clearance was fluffed in the home box but the United No.10 just couldn’t quite stretch his dimunutive frame far enough to get a proper touch past Iversen
Tyrese Campbell 6.5
Looked a real threat alongside O’Hare at times but at others cut a real frustrated figure as he was penalised a couple of times by ref Hallam for challenges that were 50/50 at worst. At least occupied his centre-halves much better than Cannon did in midweek and picked up an assist when he spotted the gaping gap in North End’s defence and fed Brooks. Replaced by Cannon
Subs: Ings, Shackleton, Soumare, Barry, Cannon. None really made any impact, apart from a great chance fluffed by Soumare and a half-decent one into the side-netting from Cannon on his return to his former loan club
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