Turning draws into wins

Last updated : 08 October 2012 By Bladesmadeditor

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Blades fans could have been excused for a tinge of apprehension before last week’s trips to both ends of the country when Danny Wilson’s men clocked just under 300 miles to face Hartlepool United in the North East and Leyton Orient in the Capital.

Before these two tricky assignments away from home, United fans were getting a little uneasy about the amount of drawn games for Wilson’s side; it was probably the most irritating unbeaten start a team has ever had.

If you would have said to Blades fans before the curtain raiser with Shrewsbury in mid-August that after nine games not one side would beat United, then you couldn’t have blamed them for being joyous.

A draw at home to Notts County at Bramall Lane over a week ago prolonged the frustrations, and it increased the amount of games drawn to six out of nine.

Inner strength and a great deal of unity has been shown by the players in the past seven days though, showing that they can turn one point into three by claiming victories at Victoria Park and Brisbane Road in the space of four days; no mean feat considering both side’s longevity in League One.

The display in County Durham was a dogged one to say the least, but nonetheless an effective one. Another 1:1 draw looked destined until loanee Paul Gallagher coolly slotted home an 89th minute winner.

And Danny Wilson’s troops had to face adversity again on Saturday after losing the ever-present Neill Collins out of the heart of the defence because of a toe injury, and then losing goalkeeper Mark Howard, who has seen an improvement in recent performances by his manager’s admission, stretchered off after just 10 minutes because of a thigh problem; not the most convenient ways to start a stern away test in London.

But striker Nick Blackman had the final say when on the hour mark he beautifully curled the ball past Allsopp into the top corner with his left foot, securing his fifth goal of the campaign in all competitions.

A special mention for young goalkeeper George Long who when called upon was there to pull off a couple of important saves. Whether he is the answer whilst Mark Howard nurses his injury is down to Danny Wilson.

I don’t think it sounds arrogant to say that four or five of those six drawn games quite easily could and should have been wins, which would have seen United fighting it out with Ronnie Moore’s Tranmere Rovers at the top, but third place and one point behind Stevenage in second is a promising position at this stage of the season.

A good chance to build on those two invaluable triumphs on the road on Saturday afternoon at the Lane against Oldham, but as we found out last season against Paul Dickov’s men we can’t take anything for granted.

It’s United’s best start to a season for over 100 years. Unbeaten in 11 games, and if you carry on going back into last season’s games (including the play-offs), our last defeat over 90 minutes was against MK Dons in April.

Here’s hoping these two away wins can be the catalyst to go on a winning run instead of a drawing run, because there’s ground to improve on and hopefully no stone will be left unturned! Definitely optimism for the games ahead!