Sheffield United 1 Gillingham 2: You do realise where we are in the table? Clough asks Blades

Unfortunately for Sheffield United’s new Saudi Arabian co-owner and his first game at Bramall Lane, the opposite turned out to be the case.

Feted by a grateful Blades support when introduced to the crowd ahead of kick-off, Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud could then only watch in dismay as his new club hit the self-destruct button.

Basic mistakes cost United dear as, first, a woefully under-hit back-pass by Harry Maguire and then a catalogue of defensive errors early in the second half allowed Gillingham to waltz off with all three points.

It meant a flat end to what should have been a day of celebration as Prince Abdullah jetted in to attend his second Blades game, the first having been September’s equally disappointing derby defeat at Rotherham United.

Afterwards, manager Nigel Clough, who had a brief chat with the club’s new co-owner shortly before the match, was in no mood to mince his words about a side that has spent much of the past two months rooted in the relegation zone.

He said: “The table has been a concern from day one. That is the disappointing thing. I said to the lads afterwards, ‘You do realise where we are, don’t you?’

“You don’t do things like we did if you are in our position. Mind, you shouldn’t take chances like we did if you are top of the table.

“Football is very, very simple at times. Don’t give goals away. No-one means to make mistakes but we have to do better.

“I am not the sort to come out and bull**** you. I think you would see through me straight away and that is why it won’t happen at all.

“I will always try and be honest in my appraisal of the players. We had some good things at times but there are certainly things to work on.

“We contributed to our own downfall, without a doubt.”

The tone for United’s defensive display was set in the seventh minute when Maguire, normally such a reliable figure at the back, inexplicably attempted a back-pass when the easiest option seemed to be to clear his lines.

Compounding the error of his decision-making was that the intended pass to George Long was woefully weak, which allowed Danny Kedwell sufficient time to close down the Blades goalkeeper and block his intended clearance.

The ball, almost in slow motion, then rebounded into the goal to leave Clough furious.

“The centre-halves can set the tone for a game,” said the Blades manager. “As a forward, you know within five minutes what sort of game you are in for against a defender.

“Is he going to be tight to you? Is he going to whack you?

“Well, we didn’t set the tone I wanted in the first five minutes. Harry had one of those before the goal, where he should have whacked it up the line.

“If I was a right-back or centre- half, I would be screaming at him to put his foot through it. I don’t know if anyone else in the back four is doing it. That is down to communication.”

To a team sitting just one place off the foot of the table going into the weekend, such a wretched start could have left the players deflated.

Credit, therefore, is due for how the Blades responded. With Simon Lappin providing the guile and passing accuracy from midfield to supply the front pairing of Shaun Miller and Chris Porter, the hosts soon started to ask serious questions of the Gillingham defence.

Only a goal-line clearance by Elliott Hewitt kept out a header from Maguire on 17 minutes that seemed destined for the net. Lappin had picked out Maguire from a trademark corner and the loanee from Cardiff City was at it again moments later, as Porter powered an unstoppable header into the net from close range to bring the scores level.

For the rest of the half, United looked the more likely to go ahead only for a mixture of resilient defending and impressive handling by Stuart Nelson in the Gills’ goal to keep out Clough’s side.

It meant the two teams went in level at the break. Parity, however, only lasted for two minutes of the second half with poor defending by the Blades allowing Cody McDonald to head in at the second attempt after Long had touched an effort from John Mousinho onto the crossbar.

Falling behind so early after the restart meant the home fans in the 16,560 crowd were not unduly worried, most notably because of how their side had responded so admirably to the game’s opening goal during the first half.

This time around, though, United failed to look anywhere near as threatening and, as the game wore on, their attacking efforts took on a more and more desperate edge.

Porter did go close with a header that flew just wide but, otherwise, Gillingham were rarely troubled as captain Adam Barrett led by example to shut out the Blades and ensure it was a disappointing debut in the Bramall Lane stands for Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Lappin admitted that United had been their own worst enemies in surrendering two goals to Peter Taylor’s side.

However, the loanee midfield player also insists there is no need to panic despite the club’s lowly league position.

He said: “The belief is there. We are all good players. We know that. But it is up to us to get the results.

“People mention the table to us but there are a lot of points to play for yet. We will learn from this and bounce back.”