Pre Season Friendly
at Bramall Lane
Sheffield United (1) 1
David McGoldrick 28
Inter Milan (1) 1
Mauro Icardi 35
Admission £12. Programme £2
Attendance 18,883
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| Teamsheet: courtesy of David Sluman |
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| Proper food: courtesy of 'Man Friday' Shoreham Street, Sheffield S2 |
Having had a bit of a mishap on the A1 travelling home from Deeping Rangers at the weekend, I found myself without any transport tonight, so we opted to use the train instead... which meant having to be back on Sheffield station at around twenty to ten for the last available boneshaker to the people's republic of East Retford upon Idle; which wouldn't ordinarily have been a problem for a 7.30PM kick off, given that it's only a ten minute walk away from the ground, but having held a renaming ceremony on the pitch for the South Stand, prior to kick off, by way of a tribute to the Blades club legend Tony Currie.. and rightly so, even though I personally think that Currie was a very good player, very, very good actually,
but Alan Woodward was (in my humble estimation), even better... somebody thought it would be a good idea. to delay the players coming out, and the kick off, so that a plump woman who apparently been on a TV talent show, could belt out a full length rendition of Nessun Dorma.
I dare say that she was actually very good at what she does. in her own chosen field, but: "Gerroff the pitch and shut up big lass, or we'll have to leave early to avoid missing our train at this rate"... and besides, we're here to watch a game of football, not, with all due respect, to listen to a big lump belting out a Pavarotti cover version. I'm damn sure she'd hate it if we turned up at her next concert performance at Shiregreen Working Men's club and disrupted the beginning of her set by belting out a few verses of "we're on our way!", meaning that she'd have to run to catch the last bus home to Parsons Cross.
The Nerazzurri fielded a fairly strong line up, while the summer signings of Dean Henderson, John Egan (a club record £4 million transfer from Brentford) and David McGoldrick all started for the Blades.
It's not like Sheffield United to chuck that sort of outlay about on transfer fees, but if Egan can help to Bolster their defence and push them towards the play offs this season, it will have been money well spent.
It's not like Sheffield United to chuck that sort of outlay about on transfer fees, but if Egan can help to Bolster their defence and push them towards the play offs this season, it will have been money well spent.
There was a lengthy stoppage during the opening exchanges when Inter's Brazilain star Estevao Dalbert had to leave the field of play on a stretcher, having stayed on the ground after feeling the full force of a fifty/fifty blocking tackle with John Lundstram. Dalbert looked to be in a sorry state, from our seats in the wing of the Tony Currie Stand, as he was wheeled into the medical room, inhaling lungs full of oxygen. I almost felt a slight pang of guilt for saying: "Get up and run it off, have you seen the price of a chuffing taxi from Sheffield to Retford at night!?"
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| Internazionale fans in the Bramall Lane upper tier |
The three times champions of Europe and eighteen times Serie A champions, showed their undoubted class from the outset, stringing together approximately seven zillion passes in a row, none of which was more than twenty yards in distance, while moving around swiftly off the ball, always making themselves available and offering the man in possession a plethora of options. I did a quick headcount to check that the Italian side only actually had the requisite number of players on the pitch at one point and to make sure that they only had one Roberto Gagliardini, such was his propensity to pop up all over the pitch, here, there and everywhere at any given moment.
But it was the Blades who took the lead, halfway through the first half, when, having already caught the eye when he set up a chance for Leon Clarke earlier in the game; McGoldrick applied a neat finishing touch, to lift the ball over the advancing Samir Handanovic, after a neat interchange between Enda Stevens and John Fleck had opened up tonight's illustrious visitors through the left channel and fleck had threaded a precision ball through into the path of the former Ipswich Town striker.
Luciano Spalletti’s star studded team equalised seven minutes later through the Argentinian, Mauro Icardi, who added the finishing touch to another masterclass in ball retention and quick passing, that saw Lautaro Martinez play a sublimely measured pass across the front of the Shoreham Street Kop goal with the outside of his left foot.
After half time, Chris Wilder had tweaked his formation slightly, pressing high and not allowing Inter as much room to manoeuvre, while all but forcing them to cut out the short passes by Handanovic, to any number of visiting players who were positioned around his area, with a view to building up patiently from the back.
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| Anthony William Currie |
Henderson made a timely interception to deny Icardi a second goal, right at the death, the south Yorkshire side almost grabbed a win when Handanovic thwarted the mercurial Billy Sharp with a great reflex save, while Mark Duffy clipped a decent half chance over the visitors crossbar.
FT: Sheffield United 1 v Inter Milan 1
We caught the last train home with a few minutes to spare, which is just as well, because I didn't fancy hanging around on Sheffield Station until after 6AM tomorrow morning... so much for the new 'extended' Northern Rail train timetable, eh!?
Oh, and on a final note... I hope that the young lady who toppled off of her stack heels outside the ground, and displayed her big belly warming pants to everybody who was crowding out onto a Bramall Lane after the game, with her legs all akimbo, isn't too badly bruised or embarrassed in the morning. Always put a clean pair on before you go out mi' duck, to cover yourself (and any dignity you might still be able to muster) for any eventuality.
