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Sheffield United get revenge for Tevez saga 13 years on as West Ham suffer new keeper blow
David Moyes was left cursing his goalkeeper problems and the cruellest of video assistant referee decisions after defeat in one of the Premier League’s grudge matches.
With emotions running high between the clubs from the Carlos Tévez affair in 2007, the whole spectrum of joy to despair arrived in stoppage time when Robert Snodgrass’s strike for West Ham was ruled out at Stockley Park.
Trailing to Oli McBurnie’s goal for Sheffield United, Declan Rice had unintentionally handled in the build-up when the ball was headed against him by John Egan.
“It was a good goal, to me. I’ve seen the replay and it’s still a goal,” Moyes said. “It looks like a law that nobody is enjoying very much. Do all the players on the pitch need their hands behind their back?”
It meant McBurnie’s fourth goal of the season was the winner, lifting Chris Wilder’s team into fifth place. Tévez had kept West Ham up at the expense of Sheffield United in 2007, but it feels a long time ago now.
Wilder’s side were helped by Lukasz Fabianski limping off with a recurrence of his hip injury in the first half. David Martin came on and was at fault for the winning goal.
Fabianski’s three-month absence led to West Ham going into freefall earlier in the season, while Moyes has been unable to sign Darren Randolph from Middlesbrough as he is also injured.
“We will have to see how Lukasz’s injury is, whether it is a bad one or it is just a recurrence and he will be back shortly,” Moyes said.
Martin’s poor distribution led to the only legitimate goal of the game, his pass failing to find Fabian Balbuena and allowing John Fleck to run at goal. Fleck gave the eyes to Martin before slipping a pass square for McBurnie to finish.
Wilder was not particularly pleased with his team’s first-half performance – or failing to easily close out the game – but was at least celebrating on the day he signed a contract extension to 2024, with the club having the option of a further season.
“There is a load of work to be done,” Wilder said. “We’re a bit of a distance from other Premier League clubs on certain aspects. We will try to do that in our own way. I don’t need to go on record what this club means to me.”
Wilder’s team should have been home and dry before the late drama, but with moments to go Rice tussled for the ball with Egan before sending through Snodgrass to finish via the post.
There were wild celebrations for West Ham fans and players as Moyes wheeled away on the sideline, only for VAR to stop them in their tracks. When the goal was disallowed, it was the home fans who were cheering.
“It’s not just me, it’s the thoughts of every Premier League player. There isn’t pretty much anyone who wants to have VAR in the game,” Rice said.“There’s been several decisions this season that are absolutely crazy. Sometimes it works, but they’re celebrating like it’s a goal.
“Football shouldn’t be like that. The emotions the West Ham fans showed when we equalised. That’s raw emotion and they’re celebrating VAR.”
Wilder has been there before. Against Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, they were on the wrong end of marginal decisions, with Wilder admitting VAR has been making some managers look silly when they celebrate goals that get disallowed.
“I feel for David as a fellow manager,” he said. “We’ve been in that position ourselves this season. We will only know at the end of the season if it has evened itself out, like everyone says it does. We dodged a bullet and were saved by a decision.
“But I feel a little bit deflated, if I’m honest, because of a fellow manager on the pitch at the end, knowing how much it means to David, what he has done in his career.
“It’s a huge three points for us in a game where we gave the ball away and didn’t have rhythm. We didn’t react or anticipate and weren’t physical enough in the first half.”
Starting lineups and marks
Sheffield United (3-5-2) Henderson 8 - O’Connell 7, Egan 6, Basham 6 - Baldock 6, Fleck 8, Norwood 7, Lundstram 6 (Besic 70, 6), Stevens 6 - McBurnie 7 (Sharp 84, 5), McGoldrick 6 (Mousset 60, 7).
SubsRobinson, Eastwood (g), Jagielka, Osborn.
West Ham (4-4-1-1) Fabianski 5 (Martin 15, 6) - Zabaleta 5, Ogbonna 5, Balbuena 5, Cresswell 6 - Rice 6, Noble 6 - Anderson 7, Lanzini 6, Masuaku 6 (Snodgrass 69, 7) - Haller 5.
Subs Fornals, Cardoso, Diop, Rosa, Ngakai.
Referee Michael Oliver Attendance 30,124
Join me in the comments
If you fancy a chat about the game, join in me in the comments! I'm going there now.
FULL TIME!
SHEFFIELD UNITED GO FIFTH! West Ham were awful and deserved nothing but that VAR call was still a cruel way to lose it. Not a great game but United's achievements this season are incredible.
90 mins+5 - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
"An absolute joke, this handball rule" says Jamie Carragher. I agree.
90 mins+4 - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
What a dreadful way to end the game. There's no intention in that handball, the law is a nonsense.
NO GOAL!
The goal is disallowed, the point is snatched away, VAR gets the decision right and the goal doesn't count. Wow.
VAR check
Oh god. It's happening. There's a handball check... and it does hit his arm.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!
SNODDY HAS SCORED!
Sheffield United 1 West Ham 1
A last gasp equaliser! Haller heads on a long ball from the goalie, Rice runs through the middle, puts a little pass into Snodgrass and he buries it on his right foot off the near post. Henderson can't get across, almost as though he's been wrong footed, expecting a left foot effort.
90 mins+1 - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
Anderson clearly wants to come off. He can't even run.
Sheffield United will be in fifth if they can hold onto the win.
89 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
The good news for West Ham fans is Anderson is able to walk off the pitch and seems to be fine. The free-kick is again sent to the back post and HALLER IS THERE! Oh dear. He's headed into the ground and the bounce takes it over. He should have buried that.
And now I have bad news for West Ham fans. Anderson looks gubbed, clutching his side and bent over. He's just on the pitch because there are no subs left to come on.
87 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
Mousset has started shielding the ball in the corner. United happy with a 1-0. But Norwood's not read the email and tries a cross, which West Ham can break from, Anderson runs away and Besic brings him down. That's the game's first yellow card, which is a lot later than I expected before kick off. Anderson's down receiving treatment after that foul.
85 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
BILLY SHARP IS ON. Is this his last ever game at the Lane? He's got some work to do in the closing stages of this one. West Ham will push hard in the final five minutes.
83 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
And oh my lord there's the random act! A slip by Egan and Lanzini can run into the box. He has a pass option in the box, shapes to pass but has to shoot because of the incoming recovery tackle... and Henderson saves well at the near post.
81 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
United still look really good going forwards. Clever movement, players breaking lines with driving runs. West Ham look like they need something random to happen to help them score.
78 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
David Martin (1 in 5) and Roberto Jimenez (2 in 8) have made three errors leading to goals in 13 combined appearances in the PL - two more than Lukas Fabianski has in 48 such matches for the Hammers.
77 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
United look entirely capable of scoring on the counter, and most times they get the ball forward, while West Ham are starting to open up as they chase a goal. Anderson wins a free-kick wide of the box.
Lanzini will take it.. and SHOOTS! Great save by Henderson! He has to get a strong hand to that to turn it away.
74 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
BIG CHANCE! Fleck finds Mousset with an outstanding pass but the striker shoots straight at Martin, who deserves more credit than I've just given him for the quality of the save. Brilliant stop.
72 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
Snodgrass lines up another free-kick but this time there's a foul committed by Haller rather than an offside.
71 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
Lundstram is subbed moments after Wilder yelled something angrily at him.
Oli McBurnie is the first player to score against a David Moyes side since Oumar Niasse. Finally the heir to Niasse emerges.
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) January 10, 2020
GOOOOOOAAAAAA - OFFSIDE
Snodgrass makes an instant impact. A brilliant free-kick is curled round the defence to the back post where Haller finishes superbly on the volley. He's offside.
68 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
United in control of this game. They don't mind if West Ham take the ball up the park since that frees up space to counter-attack.
Another Scot is soon to come on the pitch. Snodgrass is receiving his instructions.
65 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
Now I've slagged West Ham off they've picked up the pace a bit... but now Mousset - who came on as a sub for McGoldrick - races in behind on the counter... and Baldock is played in on the right, shoots from 10 yards and wins a corner.
That turns into a goal kick very quickly.
63 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
West Ham are a bit rubbish aren't they? They've spent something like £20billion and have barely been able to link more than two passes together in the United final third.
60 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
David Martin pressed X without looking at the map
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) January 10, 2020
Really was a Pro Evo moment to forget. Can't believe United didn't adhere to the gentlemen's code of punting the ball over the goal the first time it happens, as we did on Pro Evo 4 throughout uni.
57 mins - Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
So anyway, about Steve Clarke. Scotland don't have any strikers and you'd think a £20million one of those would get in a pretty poor international side. Fleck is having another stormer anyway so it'll have been worth the journey.
I'm starting to think that United goal is more the fault of Balbuena than Martin. He turned into a crab as it came towards him, unable to run towards the ball and caught as a result.
GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!
Ooooooohhhh noooooooo!!!! Martin plays a goal kick that Balbuena can't reach, two United players grab it and dart towards goal. Dreadful mistake by the goalie.
Sheffield United 1 West Ham 0
The ball is cut across the area by Fleck for McBurnie who almost manages to completely mess it up in front of an empty net and gets the ball under the diving, recovering Martin to make it 1-0.
53 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
McBurnie heads another decent chance over the bar at the near post. Steve Clarke is in the crowd watching and I'm not sure this match is helping the striker's chance of getting in the Scotland team. BUT WAIT A MINUTE! A MISTAKE!
51 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
BIG CHANCE! Baldock holds the ball in the corner, flicks it back and it's crossed into the area. McBurnie tries some weird flailing leg thing, the ball bounces out to Fleck and he launches a piledriver towards goal which is blocked, then powers another shot just wide of the bottom corner.
48 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
David Martin does really well to control a wild pack pass with his head then volley it away. It feels a little like he's just some lucky fan pulled out the crowd like it's a movie but, in reality, is actually not a bad goalie at all.
No change in approach from either side.
KICK OFF 2
We're back.
Both teams out early to warm up
Gary Neville suspects that Chris Wilder will have gone nuts at his team during the break. Both sides are out doing quick fitness drills before kick off.
A bad stat
Three of the nine Premier League games this season to see no shots on target during the opening 45 minutes have involved Sheffield United (against West Ham (tonight), Aston Villa (December) and Man City (December)).
HALF TIME
I have already forgotten the entire of the last 45 minutes.
45 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Punt, header, pass back, throw-in. Really stop start, West Ham barely trying to attack, United wary of sending too many forward and kicking long to get forward. The most entertaining thing about this whole match so far was Carragher boxing with Brook before kick off.
43 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
This is a real 0-0 of a game.
40 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Lovely bit of play on the right wing from Sheffield United but a cross curled in to the back post is too far ahead of McBurnie for him to reach.
38 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
United win a corner from a goal kick. As in the boy launches it so far that Ogbonna and Balbuena have to team up to get rid.
36 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Superb work by the United midfield to chase the ball and win it back after hitting crosses into the area yields exactly zero chances to shoot. Anderson has been a bright spark for West Ham so far, who have been a little sloppy. Noble is setting the tempo for them.
33 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
It's not the prettiest football but it does seem to work. Sort of. United hit long balls forward and then chase it down.
31 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
ANDERSON IS IN! Martin boots the ball up the park, Egan heads it back but doesn't get enough on it and suddenly Anderson sprints in behind, gets to the edge of the box... and drags his shot way wide.
28 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
West Ham keep the ball for a bit but United are just sat waiting for them to make mistake, which they do.
26 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
United love switching the play. They tend to gang up on one side of the pitch and then fire a long ball to the other to find a player in space.
Lundstram gets away with catching Cresswell's Achilles with a clumsy tackle. West Ham are sending so few players forward in attack that I'm not sure how they'll ever create anything. Noble turns and looks at the box to see two players surrounded by five red shirts. It's way too easy for Sheffield United to defend.
23 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Masuaku runs into the area and appears to give serious thought to finding a reason to fall over in the penalty area. He gets up straight away and doesn't look at the referee to ask for anything, so the game remains one played by gentlemen this evening for now.
20 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Close for United! Anderson gives away a free-kick after tracking a wing-back all the way into his own half and it's a decent set piece. Curled into the area, the ball lands with Lundstram who tries a shot but is blocked.
West Ham don't look great here.
18 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
David Martin, West Ham's number one fan, is on the pitch and in goal now.
Felipe Anderson has just hit an outrageous 80 yard pass from right back to the edge of the box on the left, Haller follows it, controls and goes past his defender but slips and lifts the shot miles over.
15 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Uh oh. Fabianski has sat down and looks to be in all sorts of trouble. He kicks long from a goal kick and immediately pulls up, knowing that he's done damage to a muscle in his right leg.
The physios are massaging his thigh... but he's done. Fabianski leaves the pitch looking devastated after his teammates give him a touch on the head, as is non-verbal football parlance for 'don't worry pal'.
12 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Norwood whips the corner with pace to the six yard box but Egan heads over! Should probably have scored.
11 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
United build pressure around the final third and West Ham clear, get up the pitch and then pass backwards to keep control. It's definitely a 4-2-3-1 from Moyes' team.
A sloppy pass gives United possession back, they pass until they have their shape and then fire forward balls through the lines. It's really impressive how they build play, considering how few of these players would be considered 'top'.
Corner.
8 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Fairly scrappy game so far. Sheffield United - who I'm going to just call United from now on to save typing - win a corner but Fabianski gets it away, West Ham recover in the second phase and try to counter but Lundstram snaps into a challenge at halfway and wins possession back.
5 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
O'Connell is limping a bit after slipping at halfway. Should be OK to continue but it's noticeable.
3 mins - Sheffield United 0 West Ham 0
Another thing you should probably know about is that lots of West Ham fans have turned up wearing Carlos Tevez masks, which is quite the wind up.
Masuaku seems to be high up the pitch and wide, Cresswell at left-back. I wonder if the shape changes depending on phase of play, would make sense but might leave gaps for Sheffield United to make use of.
KICK OFF
Sheffield United get the game started.
Comments Q & A at full time
I'm going to be hanging about after full time to have a chat in the comments, so if you feel like getting involved rather than being out somewhere nice on a Friday night, join me there!
Players in the tunnel
I bet Bramall Lane's a pretty fun place to be tonight. The crowd are buzzed, Wilder has signed a new deal, the team is really good and West Ham aren't - this should, hopefully, be a decent game.
How the table looks
A win for Sheffield United would see them move up into fifth (!!!) while defeat for West Ham could see Moyes' side drop into the relegation spots. Madness. If West Ham win they climb all the way to 14th. It's going to be a long, difficult second half of the season for West Ham fans.
Jamie Carragher and Kell Brook boxing
Jamie Carragher brings out some boxing gloves as part of a wee chat with Kell Brook at Bramall Lane, who takes the role of coach and lets Carra batter some pads a few times. The boy can punch! Brook looks surprised and goes "Ooooh! Not bad!".
Chris Wilder signs new four and a half year contract
Some news you might not have seen:
By PA
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract to keep him at the club until the summer of 2024.
Wilder has guided his boyhood club to eighth place in the Premier league, having taken over in May 2016 when the Blades were in League One.
"Naturally, I'm delighted to sign a new deal until 2024 and commit to the club that is close to my heart," Wilder told United's website.
"I am grateful to (club owner) Prince Abdullah for taking the initiative and offering this contract. We've had a great few years and hopefully we can continue the upward curve - let's see how far we can go on this journey."
David Moyes
The players have responded really well but they need the credit because we've not had time to put things into them.
Are you playing a back four or three?
The team I've picked tonight allows me to play both, I want to be flexible, I don't want to be tied to any one way at the moment so we'll see, we've got the ability to change.
Explain your decision to include the young players on the bench
I watched the 23s in midweek so I had a chance to look at them, a bit of illness and sickness but that's what happens as a young player, you have take your opportunities.
Starting lineups
A classic 3-5-2 for Sheffield United, with Mousset on the bench. He's a decent player.
West Ham are, I think, a 4-2-3-1 but might also be a 3-4-3 or something similar. Cresswell could play as a centre-back with Masuaku either wing-back or left wing.
The return of Moyes
He's back. West Ham's season has gone all wrong and the only man for the job is the Chosen One, the same Chosen One who was allowed to leave not so long ago because he didn't seem like the right man to lead the club. What has changed since then?
Other than Pellegrini being sacked and the millions spent on players who haven't shown enough to suggest the team is capable of finishing anywhere near the top six they were aiming for. Other than those things, it's the same.
And who's to say Moyes isn't a genius move? His return has brought about a 100 per cent winning record for the West Hams, and with time, he might be able to give them some actual foundations to build from and improve. He certainly wants to anyway, as he told Sky Sports recently:
"West Ham need to grow first. I don't think we can go from the position that we are in at the moment to a European or Champions League place right away. I think you have to grow as a club.
"I think you have to go stage by stage. I would love to say that it will be really quick and we could get there immediately. I think that comes from stability, having a manager who is there for a while growing the team.
"Having people who are not just coming in for a couple of years and then moving on again. I would love to be given the opportunity to do that because I think I am good at it and I think I can do that.
"That's the way I see it, it doesn't always happen now in football because jobs are shorter than they were in the past. I think West Ham could really do with a period of stability."
Kick off is at 8pm, team news to follow in a minute.
