Sheffield United 1 Rochdale 0: Collins states case for defence but says magic up front is what counts

DO not tell Sheffield United defender Neill Collins that keeping clean sheets is just like scoring a goal when it comes to producing a winning team.
Jamal Campbell RyceJamal Campbell Ryce
Jamal Campbell Ryce

The veteran Scottish centre-back has been the rock in the Blades defence over the last couple of seasons, taking youngster Harry Maguire under his wing and helping earn the Sheffield-born stopper a £2.5m move to the Premier League.

Last season, the Blades racked up 15 clean sheets from February onwards as new manager Nigel Clough transformed a team which had struggled under David Weir’s stewardship.

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A summer overhaul has left Collins as the only survivor in the back four, with 18-year-old Harrison McGahey, Craig Alcock and Jay McEveley joining the Blades.

On Saturday, United fans witnessed the new defensive unit keep their second clean sheet to stretch their current unbeaten run to five games.

Jamal Campbell-Ryce was the late match-winner, his deflected cross somehow finding a way past the impressive Conrad Logan in Rochdale’s goal.

But this was a victory earned through some gritty defending from United, not that Collins is putting too much emphasis on that.

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“A clean sheet is not as good as a goal, trust me, but you can go home and say you have done your job. People say clean sheets win you leagues. It’s a bit of that, but mostly it’s goals. You have got to be able to score goals.

“If we have a team that’s good enough to win this league, chances are you are going to have a striker, winger or midfielder who is going to pick up all the awards.

“I would be delighted if that was the case, because it means we would be getting promoted.

“At the end of the day, defenders can do so much but you are relying on players like Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Jose Baxter, to produce that bit of magic.

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“Inevitably, in these sort of games at Bramall Lane you need that bit of magic, and I am quite happy for them to take the plaudits.

“In the last two years, I don’t think there would be any team in any of the other leagues who can beat our clean sheets to games ratio.

“Even this season, if you look at our defensive record it will be as good as anyone’s in the league.

“When you lose Harry (Maguire), you lose our 150-game partnership together, so it’s not going to click straightaway, the back four is pretty new with new players at the club.

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“People have to respect that, and to keep clean sheets at this stage of the season is good and, hopefully, we can improve.

“Hopefully, the back four can keep getting better because you cannot afford to drop too many points in this league.

“I’d like to think we can improve as a team. We have obviously lost some good players, like Conor Coady, Harry Maguire, but we still have a good group of players.”

United had the better of the chances in the first half, Baxter twice going close, and Jamie Murphy – pushed up front just ahead of Baxter – curling an effort just wide.

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Visiting goalkeeper Logan blocked efforts from Chris Basham, then Collins, with United looking likely to break the deadlock from a set-piece.

If any criticism can be levelled at the Blades, while they are solid in defence and midfield, they lack a real cutting edge in front of goal.

Ian Henderson came close to scoring for Rochdale – managed by former Barnsley chief Keith Hill – when his thunderous shot smashed against the crossbar.

Baxter’s free-kick beat the wall but not Logan, and substitute Marc McNulty failed to find the target when well-placed.

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Just when it looked like being a frustrating afternoon for United, Campbell-Ryce – whose trickery was the spark behind most of the home side’s best attacks – saw his left-wing cross deflect off Stephen Dawson, loop over Logan, and drop inside the far post.

Blades goalkeeper Mark Howard had to be alert to deny Peter Vincenti late on but victory pinged the Blades up to ninth, though early results show how tight League One is turning out to be.

No game has featured more than a one-goal winning or losing margin, and Collins believes this trend will continue for the first three months of the campaign.

“It was a good victory, obviously we would have liked it to be more comfortable,” he said. “We had some great opportunities, and if we had got the first goal earlier we maybe could have driven on.

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“Credit to Rochdale, they have a good manager, and I think if you play any team in the first three months of the season there won’t be much between any of the teams. All the squads are fit, positive, and it’s not until after the three months when teams down the bottom lack confidence and get injuries, that the league starts to spread itself out.

“Anyone who thought Rochdale would be an easy home win were wrong, it’s never like that.

“From January, there’s no easy games but there’s teams that are totally different from when you met at the start of the season.”