DM1ST
mirror.co.uk/sport MONDAY 19.08.2019 DAILY MIRROR^47PREMIER LEAGUE
BRAMALL LANEBY JEREMY CROSS
JOHN LUNDSTRAM
continued his fairytale
journey with Sheffield
United to give Chris
Wilder’s men a perfect
top-flight homecoming.
But it was a nightmare
trip to Yorkshire for
Roy Hodgson as he
watched his Crystal
Palace flops go down
with a whimper at
Bramall Lane.
Hodgson recalled
want-away ace Wilfried
Zaha (right) to his
starting line-up, but the
sulking star made no impact
whatsoever as Palace were
out-fought and out-
thought by their newly-
promoted rivals.
Lundstram (celebrating
his goal, left) looked like
he never wanted the
afternoon to end, having
scored his first goal in 18
months in the 47th minute to
secure the three points.
The journeyman
midfielder started
his career with
Everton in 2012
but never made
a single senior
appearance,
going out on loan
to no fewer than
six different clubs.
He ended up at
Oxford before the
Blades took aJoel Ward before Baldock’s
cross just evaded the head of
Callum Robinson.
Robinson then found space
to shoot following a counter-
attack, but sliced his effort
wide as Wilder’s men
continued to show a lack of
composure when it mattered
most. Never more so than on
the stroke of half time when
the home side blew a golden
chance to break the stalemate.
Patrick van Aanholt lost
possession deep inside his own
half, allowing Lundstram to
pick out David McGoldrick,
but somehow he failed to beat
the sprawling Vicente Guaita
from point-blank range.
Wilder threw his arms into
the air in frustration. It was
threatening to be on of those
afternoons.
Then came the decisive
moment two minutes after the
restart, with defender Jack
O’Connell starting the move
with a surging run down the
left before feeding Stevens,
whose deft pass sent substitute
Luke Freeman charging into
the box.
When his cross was palmed
out by Guaita, Lundstram
reacted first to smash home
the loose ball and send home
fans delirious.
Palace looked bereft of ideas
and, unless there is a drastic
improvement, it could prove to
be a long season for manager
Hodgson.met on this ground in the
Championship in 2010, when
they shared five goals, three
penalties and two red cards.
Wilder would have been
hoping for something less
stressful as the Blades opened
their top-flight account at
home in front of a packed
Bramall Lane.
The Blades boss, who had
urged his stars to ignore the
emotion of the occasion,
named the same side that had
earned a point at
Bournemouth on the opening
weekend of the new season.
Hodgson made just one
change, but it was a big one
with Zaha returning at the
expense of Jordan Ayew.
But it was Christian Benteke,
not Zaha, who was the first to
threaten, testing Dean
Henderson with a low drive
from a tight angle.
The Blades were not short
on possession or pressure, just
clear-cut chances inside the
Palace box. Lundstram fired
a tame shot wide while
Enda Stevens saw a goal-
bound strike blocked byDREAMLUND
chance on him in 2017 for just
£700,000 – and within two
s easons he now finds himself
stealing the show in the
Premier League.
But Lundstram wasn’t alone
when it came to home heroes,
with Ollie Norwood, Chris
Basham and George Baldock
all outstanding.
Since the Blades were last in
the Premier League 12 years
ago, eight managers have come
and gone and Phil Jagielka left,
played almost 400 games for
Everton, and then came back.
To put their rise back to the
top into perspective, when
Wilder took charge just over
three seasons ago the
Blades had just
finished 11th
in League
One.
A great
d e a l h a s
happened
since the
last time
these
twoBYYJERJEREMYYCRCRCCRCCRRRRRROOSOSOSOOOSSSSSSSSS hh hi i 2017 f jstt memt ontthhisgrououndnddddiiiinnthe JlWdbf BldckJourneyman John steals the show as United send
Bramall Lane wild, but Palace face long hard season
WORRIED MAN Hodgson has
plenty to ponder after the defeatROY HODGSON blasted his
Crystal Palace side after a timid
performance at Bramall Lane.
The Eagles have yet to score
a Premier League goal this
season and their front three of
Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend
and Christian Benteke are under
increasing scrutiny.
Hodgson said: “I can’t be
happy with the performance. We
didn’t do enough to get back in
it. We seemed to lose that
composure and the passing
quality we had in the first half.
“There is no magic wand. We
have played 180 minutes and
haven’t scored, but I believe
there are players in the team
who are capable of scoring.”Roy blanks
Palace flops
CHRIS WILDER dedicated
Sheffield United’s first win back
in the big time to the club’s
long-suffering fans.
Twelve years have passed
since the last and
boss Wilder (right)- a lifelong Blade –
said: “I know what
these fans have
been through and
what they have been
served up.
“But they kept coming back
and this is a day for them to
enjoy and relish and stick in the
memory bank.”
Wild win is
for the fans
REF: David Coote AT T: 30,197MATCH STATS
43% POSSESSION 57%
3 SHOTS ON TARGET^4
6 SHOTS OFF TARGET^0
8 CORNERS^4
0 OFFSIDE^1
16 FOULS^11
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