Blades rattle Shakers - Bury 1:3 United

Last updated : 15 July 2013 By Bladesmadeditor @ Gigg Lane

Conditions in Greater Manchester wouldn't have looked out of place in Spain's La Liga Primera, with the intense heat being an unusual issue to deal with in this rare band of hot weather lately.

The game, though, wasn't affected as The Blades and Kevin Blackwell's Bury fought out an entertaining encounter at Gigg Lane.

Bury, who have had to confront recent off field problems, were probably just grateful for the fact that their team were playing football today, with the club revealing in April that "it will close" if investment wasn't found; luckily for them, property entrepreneur Stewart Day came to the rescue in their hour of need.

The game started in quick fashion, with Ironside and Kennedy both having efforts curl wide of the post, and Bury formed a couple of openings themselves too but for the presence of Mark Howard.

The deadlock was broken on 20 minutes though when United's backline persisted to back off and allowed Shaun Harrad to rasp a low footed strike into the bottom corner from outside the area.

David Weir rung the changes on the hour mark and this started the United revival, with three second half substitutes getting their names on the score sheet.

New acquisition Jasper Johns, who signed for the club last month, needed just one minute to score his first goal for the Blades, tapping in from close-range.

Jamie Murphy's deflected effort deceived and looped over the keeper to put United in front for the first time, and then Stephen McGinn, another one of David Weir's summer signings, put the icing on the cake with a close-range volley at the back post.

It was a job well done for United in the end, with fitness still the key ahead of the curtain raiser with Nott’s County on August 2nd.

The Blades now travel to Mansfield next Saturday, and then on to York a week later to wrap up their pre-season preparations.

Local newspaper, the Bury Times (www.burytimes.co.uk) made a minute by minute account of how the game unfolded – this you can see below.

4:50pm

F/T - Bury 1 Sheffield United 3

4:49pm

89 - GOAL - Bury 1 Sheffield United 3 - Stephen McGinn side-foots home at the back post after getting on the end of a Marcus Williams cross from the left.

4:39pm

78 - GOAL - Bury 1 SHEFFIELD UNITED 2 - Jamie Murphy leaves stand-in left-back Shane Byrne for dead before dinking a chip over the onrushing goalkeeper Andrea Guatelli.

4:33pm

60 - Subs: Bury - Adam Lockwood, Chris Sedgwick, Andy Procter, John Rooney, Shane Byrne and Tom Soares on for Gareth Roberts, Euan Holden, Craig Jones, Shaun Harrad, Ashley Grimes and Nathan Cameron.

Sheffield United – Marcus Williams, Harry Maguire, Chris Porter, Neill Collins, Kevin McDonald and Jasper Johns on for Danny Higginbotham, Matt Hill, Joe Ironside, Callum McFadzean, Sean McGinty and Jahmal Smith.

68 – Subs: Bury – Tom Pratt on for Mark Randall.

70 – Subs – Sheffield United – Jamie Murphy on for Febian Brandy

4:22pm

62 - GOAL - Bury 1 SHEFFIELD UNITED 1 - Substitute Jasper Johns has a shot cleared off the line by Richard Hinds, but taps home the rebound.

4:18pm

59 - Joe Ironside turns Nathan Cameron but drags his weak shot wide of the near post.

4:17pm

Time for some more subs...

4:08pm

I tell a lie, Sheffield United have made two subs - Darryl Westlake on for Terry Kennedy and Stephen McGinn for Michael Doyle; and Bury have switched keeper, Andrea Guatelli on for Rob Lainton. 

4:04pm

No changes at half-time as the second half gets under way.

4:04pm

No changes at half-time as the second half gets under way.

3:48pm

Deserved standing ovation for the Bury players as they leave the pitch. Not just a disciplined performance, they showed some good touches and Grimes and Harrad, in particular, look threatening going forward.

3:47pm

H/T: Bury 1 Sheffield United 0

3:45pm

44 - Howard nervously tips over a miscued Cameron header from a Jones free-kick, inswinging from the right.

3:44pm

40 - Nice little interchange between Harrad and Jones. Both are looking sharp.

41 - Howard forced to make two saves from Harrad, who turned a Grimes centre goalwards then tested the Sheffield keeper with an overhead kick from the rebound.

3:38pm

36 - Harrad tries his luck again, but this time he drags his snap-shot wide from a central position, about 25 yards out.

3:32pm

30 - Sheffield United had a decent shout for a penalty again waved away, this time after Jahmal Smith went down under a shoulder charge by Dikamona.

3:29pm

26 - Good work on the right by Dikamona before laying on a ball for Craig Jones to whip into the centre. Harrad looked well placed to head the ball goalwards before going down in the box following a nudge from behind, but referee Paul Tierney waved away calls for a penalty.

3:22pm

20 - GOAL: BURY 1 Sheff Utd 0 - Shaun Harrad drills a right-footed shot into the bottom corner to rack up his second goal in two pre-season matches. He was given plenty of time to pick his spot after getting on to the end of a fine threaded pass from trialist Mark Randall.

3:20pm

17 – Holden’s cross from the left almost drifts in as Howard backtracks to tip it over. The centre-midfielder drew cheers from the Bury crowd after tracking back and hustling Jahmal Smith off the ball before launching an attack.

3:16pm

14 - Higginbotham fires the set-piece wide of Lainton's far post with his left foot.

3:15pm

13 – Mazy run by McFadzean draws a foul on the edge of the Bury box.

3:08pm

5 - Harrad forced a decent save on the turn from Mark Howard, breaking forward before swivelling on the loose ball. Ashley Grimes was unable to turn the rebound past Howard, who was back in position sharply.

3:04pm

The match is underway here at Gigg Lane following a moving tribute to bugler Lee Ryan. 

A minute's silence, which began with a rendition of the Last Post, was impeccably observed by the crowd of around 1,200.

3:02pm

Bury also have one trialist on the bench.

Andrea Guatelli is a 29-year-old Italian goalkeeper. The 6ft5ins stopper joined Portsmouth in 2004/05 season after starting off in the youth team at Parma. He moved to Oxford United in 2006 to link up with former Pompey coach Jim Smith, but joined FC Zurich the following season. He has since played 44 times for the Swiss Super League side.

2:51pm

Bury's starting line-up today includes four trialists, two of whom, Hinds and Chippendale, played in last week's 2-1 win at Radcliffe Borough:

Clevid Dikamona: Right-back, 23, played nine professional matches for Le Havre.

Richard Hinds: Centre-back, 32, played 35 games for Yeovil last season and previously had spells at Tranmere, Hull, Scunthorpe, Sheffield Wednesday and Lincoln. Scored Bury's winner at Stainton Park last week.

Mark Randall: Centre-midfield, 23, the former Arsenal youth player joined Chesterfield in 2011 after loan spells at Burnley, MK Dons and Rotherham. He was released in the summer after scoring four goals in 51 appearances for the Spireites.

Aiden Chippendale: Left-midfield, 21, looked lively on the wing in the second half at Boro. The free agent was at Accrington last season after starting his career at Huddersfield.

2:38pm

Line-ups

BURY: Lainton; Dikamona, Hinds, Cameron, Roberts; Jones, Holden, Randall, Chippendale; Grimes, Harrad.

Subs: Lockwood, Sedgwick, Procter, Rooney, Byrne, Pratt, Soares, Guatelli.

SHEFFIELD UNTIED: Howard; Hill, Higginbotham, McGinty, Kennedy; McFadzean, Doyle, Whitehouse, Brandy; Ironside, Smith.

Subs: Willia, Westlake, Williams. Maguire, Flynn, Porter, Murphy, McMinn, Collins, McDonald, Johns.