Sheff Utd 1-4 Wolves
The opening report from the 75/76 season blames an inept Blades defence for a home thrashing.
13/3/1976
Dry & cold. Attendance 17,800.
Utd started well - in the 2nd minute Johnstone missed an easy chance, after a Franks blast from a freekick was turned back by Bradford.
Brown subsequently had a reprieve when allowed to recover in time to save Hibbitt shot.
Despite early promise, Utd went 1 down when Kelly (unmarked on the left wing) found Richard unmarked with a cross which he volleyed in (14th minute).
3 mins later Richards fed the ball back to Palmer who clipped over Brown.
Utd came back - Currie + Johnstone put Woody away, but his cross was caught one handed.
Utd got one back in the 32nd minute. Currie found Edwards behind the defence on the right & his cross was met by a diving header from Johnstone which went threw Parkes’ hands.
But 3 mins later, despite more effort from Utd, Richards put Kindon through the Utd defence and Kindon easily lobbed Brown.
Utd returned with a Bradford shot from the right, which Parkes allowed to hit the post. Utd had more of the play & looked dangerous & though Wolves had less possession the ineptitude of the Utd defence made them look even more dangerous.
In the 2nd half the Utd defence gave the Wolves team two free shots whilst one great 50+ yds ball from Currie to Woody produced a blocked shot from Edwards.
Meanwhile, Brown saved from Carr, Richards shot over the bar, Kindon miskicked completely with an open goal & missed 2 other sitters soon afterwards. Richards breaking through the middle dribbled round Brown & then shot over.
Utd managed a long range shot from Woody that hit the post. Kindon headed in the closing stages from cross by the unmarked Kelly.
Though Utd played some good football in midfield the lack of marking in the defence led to their downfall & led to them giving up.
1. Brown - caught in no mans land for 2 goals. Made a couple of good saves though.
2. Franks - diabolical - he left the right flank completely unguarded & Kelly was constantly unmarked - Franks need not have bothered.
3. Garner - beaten occasionally & generally unimpressive.
4. Flynn & 5. Colquohoun - dreadful - their marking was non existant and Kindon & Richards ran riot. Offside trap not played as is usual. Never have I seen a worse defence.
6. Bradford - best Utd player & the best I have ever seen him - some nice construction work out of defence on the left side & some good vision.
7. Woody - in his proper position - got poor service and often had to come & fetch + frequently outnumbered. Still, he looked happier on the right tho had a quiet game.
8. Johnstone - played in midfield & made some good ground tho his distribution & strength on the ball was suspect - tended to get in the way (of Woody esp) a lot & often his subtle flicks were unread by his colleagues.
9. Guthrie - I detect a slight improvement - still spends a lot of time on his backside & needs a partner, tho he headed on to his teammates quite well. One blazing shot over the bar.
10. Currie - not bad, a bit casual at times, but a couple of magical thro’ balls - spent most of the 2nd half unnecessarily on the left wing.
11. Edwards - showed promise - ran a lot mostly on the left side of Guthrie & had a couple of shots blocked & his shooting was a bit feeble at times.
12. Calvert - shd have come on to strengthen defence.
N.B. David Bradford interviewed on Radio Sheffield afterwards said “they were frightened to play”.