Academy Result 27 9 08

Barnsley 3 (1) Sheffield United 2 (1)

1.Danny Free (yr2)
2.Danny Fearneough (yr1) Y
3.Kieran Scargill (yr1)
4.Connor Branson (yr1)
5.Martin Grundy (yr2)
6.Tyrone Crapper (yr1)
7.Alastair Taylor (yr1) Y
8.Jack Watts (yr2) (Steven Bennett 50 mins)
9.Jamil Adam (yr2)
10.Reuben Noble-lazarus (U16)
11.Tom Mellor (yr2) (Danny Warburton 75 mins)
Subs
12.Danny Warburton (yr2)
14.Steven Bennett (yr1)
15.Liam Reffin (yr1)

Today I saw the future, and the future is Reuben Noble-Lazarus, and name that will earn the club a fortune in shirt lettering.

Only Conor Branson and Martin Grundy survived in a defense that let in 6 last week, and Grundy moved to centre half from full back. The 2 full backs played in midfield last week. Jamil Adam dropped back into midfield which also included Tom Mellor to strengthen the left side. Up front, Jack Watts was supported from deeper by Lazarus.

United took the lead after 15 minutes when Chappel headed in a cross from the right with neither Branson or Free totally blameless. The young Reds equalised on 38 minutes when Lazarus barely got his toe end to a through ball which trickled agonisingly across Kang Ho Lee, the united goalie, and in off the far post.

I expected another defeat when Chapman restored the United lead just after half-time with a freekick from the edge of the box after a foul by Lazarus. However, Lazarus restored parity once more when he hit home a bouncing ball from 6 yards, this time off the bar, after chaos at the heart of the United defence.

The winner was the classic striker's goal. Lazarus was left with only the centre half to beat down the right channel. This he did with ease before beatting the keeper for the 3rd time with a shot that flew high into the net. In the hot sun, the Reds were made to work very hard for victory in the last 15 minutes with Tyrone Crapper working hard in front of the back four. A special mention must be made of Danny Free who made 3 stunning saves during that time to keep United at bay and Steven Bennett who was a combative foil for Lazarus from 50 minutes.

MotM: Reuben Noble-Lazarus

 

Something I forgot in my report, after slagging off the bench last week for defending a player after a very bad tackle, special praise for handing the booking of Taylor very well. Taylor was brought down by a tackle that the referee was intent on rewarding the Sheffield player with a booking. Taylor decided that he would handle the matter personally and pushed the player, an action that the bench were quick to condemn in no uncertain terms. It has to be said that the relationship between the benches was 100% better than the week before so there may have been some undercurrent from previous meetings last week.